NWR: Wine Tasting

amandasw

has anyone been to the wineries around here?  I'm trying to compare places to go - want to take my dad for our birthday  

Chateau Ste. Michelle is the only one I know of really and it's ok... I feel like it's either really cheap or really expensive.  If I did one of the cheaper ones I'd take him to lunch (before? after?).  I really like the idea of the wines paired with cheese, fruit etc but that one is $75 a person and DH and I live on a grad student stipend, lol.  My dad is pretty into wine and I know nothing about wine, so I think this will be a fun thing to do together.  Thanks for the advice!

amandasw

(continuing in my research...)  has anyone been to the Columbia Winery? 

I also realized that I will probably buy a bottle of wine a) as a birthday present and b) because I feel like it would be awkward to go to a wine tasting an not buy one...?  Which then explains why the tasting itself isn't that expensive (abviously I have a lot of experience with this...).

jamers22

i am friends with a lot of wine makers in woodinville (my parents own a wine store so i've gotten to know some of them pretty well). i'll PM you some information tomorrow, if you dont mind. there's so many better options than columbia winery and chateau ste. michelle... i wouldnt waste your time with them.

ahuette

It is a small winery but Efeste (pronounced F.S.T.) in Woodenville has great wine, every year.  They always have tastings and events going on.

amandasw

I knew if I asked on here I would get a good answer!  (one good reason to stick around, great resources!)  I would love it if you could give me more info tomorrow, TIA

dreamwinds

I belong to the DeLille wine club and the Alexandria Nicole wine club.

The Alexandria Nicole wine tasting room is located in the basement of the Hollywood Schoolhouse and they serve tapas with their tastings now (I think), but you'll have to call and make sure. That room might be reserved for their wine club members.

I also have a coupon for a free carriage room tasting at DeLille, but I'm not quite sure it's transferrable. It expires at the end of August, and I doubt we'll be going over for a tasting any time soon. Let me check on that.

jennlin

i've done columbia and ste michelle. if i were to compare the two, i would like ste michelle better.

ste michelle is a prettier atmosphere, there's a tour with how wine is made, etc. it's free, but you only get 3 tastes. also, the tour is on scheduled times, so you can't just walk in..

columbia has many more wines to choose from..i think about 10, and you get 5 tastes for $5. you can buy additional tastes, too. and i like columbia wines better. you can just walk-in and do tastings.

jennlin

oh and they sell packaged cheese at both, but no "cheese plates" to go with your wine or anything. columbia has a few things to order...pizza and flat bread and a few other misc things, but no slices of cheese.

Tygirljojo

Last year for my bday we went wine tasting.  we checked out Chateau Ste Michelle, Columbia, and JM Cellars.  DH and I are more casual type people and while the ground on Ste Michelle are prettier, we prefered Columbia better for atmosphere.  That being said, JM Cellars was our fave by far - very small winery, but unique grounds and we enjoyed being there so much we stayed for a couple hours! http://www.jmcellars.com/ Bonus: you can put your tasting fee towards the purchase of one of their bottles (not cheap at about $30-40 each, but a nice option vs. the two big wineries which didn't offer that) and they supplied some free grubbage (rosemary crackers, salami, and Beechers cheese....yummm....)

I printed out this list http://woodinvillewinecountry.com/Wineries.cfm when we went tasting so we could GPS our way around and knew their hours for tasting.  Most of the wineries are in pretty close proximity to each other.  And as Jenn mentioned, Ste Michelle does offer the tour (which we didn't do  - didn't want to wait for it) and Columbia does have a limited appetizer to order from if you want to eat something as you taste.

heissls

There are over 260 wineries in Woodinville. Just wine taste hop and try a lot of different ones, don't get stuck at one place. So much wine....so little time!

darby0422

Novelty Hill/Januik Winery does two different tastings (a cheaper one and a little more expensive--I think it's like $5 & $10) plus they have really tasty flatbread pizza for $10 or $12 each with upscale toppings.  I think there are usually three or four flavors to choose from.  Sometimes they do tapas or bbq as well.  They are right next door to Columbia, Chateau St. Michelle & Redhook but in a much more modern setting.  They get my vote!

amandasw

thanks everyone!  I really appreciate all the info, now to hunt around...

Ty - that one you guys liked looks really good!  I'll check that one out

actually, I'm going to look into all of these because they all look really amazing.  thanks again!

ginabrat911

Another one to add to the list - Airfield Estates!!! They have a tasting room in Woodinville but their main winery is in Prosser.  They don't have food (that I know of) but they are in a strip mall that has a good Mexican restaurant and another strip mall across the street that has a couple other food places.  Their wine is so tasty!!! Tastings are $5 for 8 different types and their bottles of wine are affordable.  Honey and I are getting our wedding wine there