Just 25 minutes northeast of Seattle, Woodinville is a small town in the Sammamish River Valley. It's home to more than 40 wineries, along with 7 wine bars and tasting rooms.
One of the crown jewels is Chateau Ste. Michelle, Washington's oldest winery and one of the Seattle area's top visitor attractions. It receives many national awards and was named "American Winery of the year" in 2004.
You can tour the grounds then taste a wide range of wines. Winery President Ted Baseler personally enjoys the cold creek cabernet.
He says, “It's an historic vineyard, has some of the oldest cabernet vines on the west coast, and produces intense, beautiful cabernet.”
Hey, even if you don't know much about wine, don't be intimidated. Woodinville retains a small-town feel. Most wineries here are small, family-run operations where you can
taste at your own pace and talk with the owners.
At Distefano, if you don't know what to choose, just ask the winemaker herself!
The goal here is simple: teaching you to be wine savvy, not wine *snobby.*
Distefano is Wine Press Northwest's 2008 winery of the year... and its most popular summer wines is the 2007 Sauvignon Blanc. The 2004 Sogno, which means ‘dream’ in Italian, is another signature wine.
Down the street is "Brian Carter Cellars." They’re known for blending grapes in all six of their wines.
“We believe that blended wines are the cutting edge of where washington is going and we're having a lot of fun doing it”
Some of the names may be tough to say-- Tuterosso, Byzance and L'etalon.
Then there's Columbia Winery, founded in 1962. As a pioneer in Woodinville, the tasting room features wine educators whose goal is to help you find what you like.
So come for a wine tasting in Woodinville...
There are fees to taste at some of the wineries-- from 5 to 8 dollars per person, but some will waive the fee if you buy a bottle of wine to take home.