Last Monday, Jim and I joined just one other couple on a tour of the wineries in Woodinville, Washington, which is located just 30 minutes from downtown Seattle. Bob, our knowledgeable guide for the day-long tour, picked us up in a luxury touring van from our hotel early on Monday morning. He drove us out of Seattle, across a floating bridge, and past Bill Gates' home on the way to our first stop - Chateau Ste. Michelle, the largest of the Woodinville wineries.
At the Chateau, we we were given a tour of the facility and a chance to walk across the gorgeous grounds. Employees were busy taking down tables and chairs after a Riesling tasting event held at the winery on Sunday night, and busy setting up for an outdoor concert at the winery on Thursday night (The Chateau was a happenin' place!). We learned that most of Washington's vineyards are located in eastern Washington, where the weather is warmer, drier, and more predictable than it is around Seattle. None of the wineries that we visited during the day had vineyards on their premises.
After purchasing a six-pack sampler of some of the Chateau's wines, we once again boarded our van to drive a short distance to Novelty Hill/Januik for a tasting of a few of the wines produced under the separate labels Novelty Hill and Januik. We enjoyed the Januik Chardonnay so much that we bought a bottle to take back to our hotel room.
From Novelty Hill/Januik, we headed off to eat a delicious lunch at Molbak's Garden and Home, a huge nursery that sold the most beautiful plants! In the middle of all of the gorgeous plants and flowers was a small cafe that served sandwiches, soups, pizza, snacks, and beverages. After a long morning of tasting wine, our food tasted so good! 
After lunch, Bob drove us to a most unusual tasting room housed inside of a warehouse and located in a business park. At the Woodhouse Family Cellars, we sampled several wines made under the four Woodhouse labels.
Next, we moved on to Columbia Winery, located just across the street from the Chateau Ste. Michelle. Columbia was founded in 1964 by a group of professors from the University of Washington. The winery was the first in the state to produce Cabernet Franc, Pinot Gris, and Syrah.
Our last stop of the day was at one of the area's newest wineries, Airfield Estates. The vineyard sits on what was an airfield during WWII. The entrance to the tasting room resembled a runway, and the arched ceiling in the tasting room gave the effect of being inside an airplane hanger. I loved the labels on the wine bottles at Airfield. I also liked their non-alcoholic merchandise. I bought a shirt for both me and my sister.
By the time we left Airfield, it was close to 5:00. It had been a full day, and although we enjoyed ourselves, we were tired! After we grabbed some dinner, we called it a night!
1 comments:
Very cool! I would love to go back to California and do a winery tour on a bus so we can all drink and not have to worry about driving.
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