WOODINVILLE!

We visit Seattle on a fairly regular basis, but until recently the explosion of wineries, tasting rooms, and distilleries in Woodinville - about a half-hour's drive northeast - escaped our notice. With over eighty wineries in close proximity the idea of going tasting was a bit daunting, but on a rainy Friday afternoon we decided to at least get a sense of the place. A friend recommended DeLille Cellars so we planned to start there, but had a hard time finding it. Our first stop, Goose Ridge, was a somewhat random choice among a strip mall full of tasting rooms. The vineyard and winery are on 1600 acres in Richland (south-central Washington). Given our focus on boutique wineries, it was quite out of the ordinary to be in the tasting room of one big enough to be its own AVA! And... we loved the wine. The 2010 Chardonnay is lemony and spicy, aged six months in French oak but definitely not over-oaked. Our absolute favorite was the 2007 Reserve Malbec for its double layers of flavors and hints of tobacco and raisins.

DeLille is right across the street. The tasting room is inviting in an unpretentious way; guests can stand at the bar or congregate around tables, either way getting plenty of attention from a very knowledgeable staff person. The estate's grapes are in the Red Mountain AVA, a bit north of Walla Walla. Currently they have twenty acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, planted in 2000 and cut down after three years to jump-start the vines' maturation. The winery sources other fruit from the Red Mountain and Yakima Valley AVAs. These wines are definitely French style: dry, smooth...even silky, with lots of nuances. We loved the 2010 Roussanne, 2008 Syrah, and 2006 Grand Cru Estate Cab.

Here are some more Woodinville recommendations we collected there and back in Seattle:

Alexandria Nicole

Dusted Valley

J. Bookwalter

Mark Ryan

Sparkman Cellars

The Library at Apex

And here's a link to help you out:

Woodinville, WA Wine