We don’t drink WA wines, so it would be nice to taste a variety. I guess we would have most interest in Cabs, Chards and Rieslings. We do like Syrahs and have quite a bit from our Paso travels. How do WA Syrahs compare to Paso? Which tasting rooms do you like to visit?
Easiest from Seattle is a cluster of tasting rooms in Seattle’s SODO neighborhood just a few miles south of downtown. Sleight of Hand (one of my favorites), Rotie, Kerloo and Latta are there and are excellent. All make very good to great southern rhone style wines as well as a range of other varieties. Just a few miles from this cluster is House of Smith/K Vintners and they’ve got a great range and their Syrahs are excellent.
Woodinville is only about 25 minutes from downtown Seattle if traffic is clear but be careful of your timing as you can get hung up on the freeway and it can become more like 45 minutes. The “schoolhouse” area of Woodinville has Trust, Mark Ryan, Long Shadows, Gorman, Amavi/Pepper Bridge, Dusted Valley at least those are the ones I’d recommend. The warehouse area of Woodinville has Two Vintners, W.T. Vintners, and Savage Grace but the warehouse area tasting rooms open usually on the weekends so check the hours.
I think Syrah is WA’s finest variety but I am biased of course. If I had to generalize (which means there are many exceptions) about the differences between CA and WA I’d say that CA syrah has the fruit elements up front while WA syrahs tend to have the fruit hanging back a little inside the structure (if that makes sense). Within WA there are a huge range of Syrah styles depending on where the grapes are grown and the grower/maker. Enjoy
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Steve has given some good recommendations. I have become a more recent fan of Sleight of Hand - years ago they were a bit too big and fruit forward for me; they are now a bit more restrained.
On the warehouse district in Woodinville, there are lots and lots of wineries. Scott has given good recommendations – I would add Avenia which is nearby. I would refrain from just walking into a random tasting room there. We did that once and spent time tasting mediocore wines. Oh another one in the warehouse area worth trying is Orr wines.
Outside of the warehouse district, in addition to Steve’s recommendation, I would add Adam’s Bench (for cabs) – and DeLille for cabs, syrah, and their white bdx blend which is one of my favorite.
To be honest there are few if any WA chardonnays I would recommend - Savage Grace would be an exception. I have not been overly impressed with the Rieslings either. Oregon does better Chards i think, and Okanagan does better Riesling. But that is for my palate of course!
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We ended up booking a room in the Capitol Hill area for the first two nights. Any restaurant recommendations? We would love to check out Shota’s restaurant Taku. We love Top Chef. It doesn’t look like there is anything vegetarian on the menu, though, for myself.
If you want vegetarian you can go to Cafe Flora – not too far from Capitol Hill. Lots of good restaurants in the Capitol Hill area – but you should know that for many restaurants in Seattle you may need proof of vaccination. Spinasse is great for Italian food – Artusi, right next door is good for lighter fare. We love Plenty of Clouds for spicy Chinese food. A friend went to Violet the other night and really liked it – on the fancier/pricier side, with tasting menus. Many other good options also – I am sure others will chime in.
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Thank you! All of those menus look SO good! My husband and I are both vaccinated, so no problems there.
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wholeheartedly recommend Plum Bistro, which is plant-based. Finch & Pine has many vegetarian options. Ramen Danbo is nice. If you’re looking for delicious casual breakfast/lunch, try Peloton Cafe - they have meat, veg, and vegan options.
Some really good coffee shops in Cap Hill - Vivace and Victrola
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We had a really nice trip. Thank you for all of the suggestions. We liked the Capitol Hill location but were surprised at how dirty it was there and downtown. We walked to the market since we hadn’t been in so long. It was crazy crowded (Sunday), but we enjoyed ourselves. We then drove up to Ballard to walk around. I think I would stay there next time. So many cool spots. We stopped at Holy Mountain Brewing (great saisons) on our way back to Capitol Hill and then had a really delicious dinner (great wine) at Spinasse.
On to Bellingham- My sales meeting was at Hotel Bellwether- Nice hotel right on the Bay. They took us out for a little sunset dinner sail on the Zodiac one evening. https://schoonerzodiac.com/ It was awesome.
My husband was able to explore much more than I was, since I had meetings all week. Chuckanut Dr is absolutely beautiful. On Friday, we drove to Diablo (did not disappoint) and then stopped and hiked in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest on our way back to Bellingham. Absolutely gorgeous. Dinner was tacos and tequila at Black Sheep. My husband made multiple visits to Taylor Shellfish during the week. He loved it there. I wish we were able to do some more hiking around the Bellingham and Mt Baker areas, just not enough time.
Our flight home wasn’t until last night, so we stopped in Woodenville for a couple of hours. We only got to Gorman and Long Shadows. We were very impressed with Long Shadows and ended up shipping some wine home. I would definitely revisit Woodenville.
Now hopefully, I get reunited with my lost suitcase.
Sounds like you packed a lot in around your work schedule. Well done!