Happy New Year! As we begin 2018, it’s time for our annual Top Washington Wineries List. We have returned to our original list of 50, after it climbed up to 65 wineries last year. Why? As time goes on, our palates change, and our wine experiences become more focused. In addition, in 2017 we visited Walla Walla again for the first time in a few years, which shone the light on some new favorites.
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Our Top 65 Washington Wineries
Happy New Year! As we begin 2017, it’s time for our annual Top Washington Wineries List. Why 65 wineries? The list grew to 65 from 60 last year, and from 50 the year before, as we were introduced to new wines or new wine experiences.
The way to get on our list is fairly simple; we only have two criteria: wineries must offer great juice and good people who provide an excellent wine experience. Perhaps we had fun or learned something in a tasting room or at a wine event such as Taste Washington, Taste of Tulalip, Seattle Wine and Food Experience, Bellingham Bay Rotary Grape and Gourmet or Bellingham Northwest Wine Festival. Perhaps someone from the winery gave us a call, or sent us a personal note or samples. Or perhaps we were invited to an incredible winery party.
These people might be the winemakers or the winery owners; in some cases, they are the hard-working staff in a tasting room who went out of their way to make us feel welcome or the amazing workers in the vineyards where it all begins.
We welcome ten newcomers to our list this year, and thank you for the 2016 wine experiences you brought us — Ambassador Wines of Washington, Canvasback, DeLille Cellars, Matthews Winery, Mullan Road Cellars, Savage Grace, Spring Valley Vineyard, Tildio Winery, Upchurch Vineyard and Two Vintners.
Write for Wine’s Top 70 Washington Wineries (in alphabetical order):
- Alexandria Nicole Cellars
- Ambassador Wines of Washington
- Andrew Will
- Avennia
- B. Leighton
- Barrage Cellars
- Barrister Winery
- Bartholomew Winery
- Betz Family Winery
- Boudreaux Cellars
- Buty Winery
- Canvasback
- Chateau Ste. Michelle
- Columbia Crest
- Cooper Wine Company
- Cote Bonneville
- Darby
- DeLille Cellars
- DiStefano
- Double Canyon
- Dunham Cellars
- Dynasty Winery
- Efeste
- Ensemble Cellars
- Fall Line
- Fidelitas
- Fielding Hills
- Figgins
- Force Majeure
- Forgeron Cellars
- Gard
- Gorman Winery
- Guardian Cellars
- Hard Row to Hoe
- JM Cellars
- L’Ecole 41
- Lauren Ashton
- Leonetti
- Long Shadows
- Maryhill
- Matthews Winery
- Mercer Estates
- Mullan Road Cellars
- Obelisco Estate
- Otis Kenyon
- Passing Time
- Quilceda Creek
- Reynvaan
- Ross Andrew
- Savage Grace
- Seven Falls Cellars
- Sinclair Estate
- Sleight of Hand
- Spring Valley Vineyard
- Stottle Winery
- Tildio
- Two Vintners
- Upchurch Vineyard
- Va Piano
- Vin du Lac
- Walla Walla Vintners
- William Church
- Windy Point
- Woodward Canyon
- Woodhouse Wine Estates
To these people, we thank you; we support you. Cheers to Washington state wine!
Happy new year!
Margot and Dave
Write for Wine — it’s Wine O’clock Somewhere!
Our List of Top 60 Washington Wineries
As the new year begins, we want to reflect on the wineries in Washington state that made our list of Top 60 Washington Wineries.
The way to get on our list is fairly simple; we only have two criteria: wineries must offer good juice and good people who provide an excellent wine experience. Perhaps we had fun or learned something in a tasting room or at a major wine event such as Taste Washington, Taste of Tulalip or Seattle Wine and Food Experience. Perhaps someone from the winery gave us a call, or sent us a personal note or samples. Or perhaps we were invited to an incredible winery party.
These people might be the winemakers or the winery owners; in some cases, they are the hard-working staff in a tasting room who went out of their way to make us feel welcome or the amazing workers in the vineyards where it all begins.
Why 60 wineries? The list grew to 60 from 50 last year, as we were introduced to new wineries or new wine experiences in 2015. We welcome the newcomers to the list, and thank you for the 2015 wine experiences you brought us — Andrew Will, B. Leighton, Cote Bonneville, Dynasty Cellars, Ensemble Cellars Kiona, Leonetti, Passing Time, Reynvaan, Seven Falls and Stottle Winery.
Write for Wine’s Top 60 Washington Wineries (in alphabetical order):
- Alexandria Nicole Cellars
- Andrew Will
- Avennia
- B. Leighton
- Baer
- Barrage Cellars
- Barrister
- Bartholomew
- Betz Family
- Boudreaux Cellars
- Buty Winery
- Chateau Ste. Michelle
- Columbia Crest
- Cooper Wine Company
- Cote Bonneville
- Darby
- DiStefano
- Double Canyon
- Dunham Cellars
- Dynasty Winery
- Efeste
- Ensemble Cellars
- Fall Line
- Fidelitas
- Fielding Hills
- Figgins
- Force Majeure
- Forgeron Cellars
- Gard
- Gorman Winery
- Guardian Cellars
- Hard Row to Hoe
- JM Cellars
- Kiona
- L’Ecole 41
- Lauren Ashton
- Leonetti
- Long Shadows
- Maryhill
- Mercer Estates
- Northstar
- Northwest Totem Cellars
- Obelisco Estate
- Otis Kenyon
- Passing Time
- Quilceda Creek
- Reynvaan
- Ross Andrew
- Sleight of Hand
- Seven Falls Cellars
- Sinclair Estate
- Sparkman Cellars
- Stottle Winery
- Va Piano
- Vin du Lac
- Walla Walla Vintners
- William Church
- Windy Point
- Woodward Canyon
- Woodhouse Wine Estates
To these people, we thank you; we support you. Cheers to Washington state wine!
Happy new year!
Margot and Dave
Write for Wine — it’s Wine O’clock Somewhere!
Washington in Washington
A day of double-takes comprised what I like to call our experience of “Washington in Washington.”
Dave and I were in Washington, D.C. at the same time as this state’s Washington Wine Commission held a trade and media tasting there.
Ryan Pennington, the Commission’s social-media-savvy PR director, saw my Facebook update that we were headed to D.C., so he kindly invited us to stop by the tasting event at the Rooftop Terrace at The John F. Kennedy Center.
Of course we went! The tasting area was packed, and we listened with pride as many D.C.-area wine experts, restaurant owners, media and wine enthusiasts extolled the virtues of Washington state wine.
And we laughed at the looks on the faces of several winemakers and winery owners when they saw us, out of context, in “the other Washington!”
“What are you doing here?” exclaimed Charlie Hoppes of Fidelitas, Mike White of Barrister, Lisa Baer of Baer, John Abbott of Abeja, Darcey Fugman-Small of Woodward Canyon, Jerry Riener of Guardian Cellars and Doug Long of Obelisco.
“We just happened to be in the neighborhood and heard some excellent Washington state wine was being poured here,” we replied.
We also had an opportunity to taste wine and talk to Daniel Wampfler of Dunham Cellars, Kristi and Lou Facelli of Facelli, Kim Bolander of L’Ecole 41, Debbie Hansen of Cougar Crest, and Mark McNeilly of Mark Ryan.
These were the wines we tasted and recommend (in alphabetical order):
- Abeja 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla ($52)
- Baer 2009 Ursa Red Bordeaux Blend, Columbia Valley ($39)
- Cougar Crest 2007 Estate Cabernet Franc, Walla Walla ($38)
- Dunham Cellars 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon XIV, Columbia Valley ($45)
- Facelli 2008 Barbera, Columbia Valley ($25)
- Fidelitas 2008 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Mountain ($55)
- Guardian Cellars 2009 Gun Metal Red Bordeaux Blend, Columbia Valley ($37)
- L’Ecole 41 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla ($37)
- Long Shadows 2007 Feather Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley ($55)
- Mark Ryan 2009 Dead Horse Red Bordeaux Blend, Red Mountain ($52)
- Obelisco 2009 Electrum Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Mountain ($65)
- Woodward Canyon 2009 Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington State ($54)
Frankly, I couldn’t say it any better than the Washington Wine Commission’s brochure:
“Washington State’s exceptional grapes reach their potential in the hands of extraordinary winemakers, who create bright and balanced expressions of our region with world-class wines.”
Cheers to Washington state winemakers!