Six wineries and a distillery have found a new home in The Vault @ Maltby (9206 200th St. SE), in a new wine region less than 30 miles northeast of Seattle and only five miles from Woodinville. We recently visited two wineries — JM Cellars and Guardian Cellars. The new space impressed us, just like their wines have over the years. In fact, we’ve been fans of the wines crafted by John Bigelow, owner/winemaker of JM Cellars, and Jerry Reiner, owner/winemaker of Guardian Cellars, since we launched Write for Wine in 2007.
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Tag Archives: Gorman Winery
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!
Woodinville Wineries
Now that we don’t live in Seattle anymore, we have to carefully choose the wineries we want to visit on our trips to Woodinville.
It is not an easy task! Woodinville Wine Country boasts 108 wineries now — an amazing growth rate since 30 tasting rooms when we started Write for Wine in 2007.
Here is a list of the wineries (in alphabetical order) that we tend to visit most often — they are among the best, although there are more. So spend your time wisely – do your homework and develop a plan before you go!
- Alexandria Nicole Cellars
- Ambassador Wines
- Avennia
- Baer
- Barrage Cellars
- Chateau Ste. Michelle (Estates)
- Darby
- DeLille Cellars
- Efeste
- Fidelitas
- Forgeron
- Gard Vintners
- Gorman Winery
- Guardian Cellars
- JM Cellars
- Laura Ashton
- Obelisco
- Otis Kenyon
- Savage Grace
- William Church
- The Woodhouse Wine Estates
For a list of all wineries in the area (including maps), restaurants and events, check out the Woodinville Wine Country website.
We highly recommend visiting Woodinville wineries every month, because there are always new releases to taste and a warm, welcoming tasting room where you can learn about wine and have fun at the same time.
Cheers!
Margot and Dave
Big Reds, Good Value
Looking for a reasonably priced big, bold Cabernet Sauvignon to take to that holiday party? Or maybe you want to serve it at your holiday open house? Perhaps you want to pour it before or during a holiday meal?
If so, you’ve come to the right place. Over the last few months we’ve found some big Cabs at good price points.
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Seven Falls Cellars 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon ($15)
100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Winemaker’s Notes: “Ripe black cherry and boysenberry layered with notes of caramel, mocha and black tea. Concentrated, full body with a smooth lasting finish.”
Wine Enthusiast: “This wine has immediate appeal showing aromas of milk chocolate, cherry and dried herbs. The flavors are plump and rich in feel yet backed by soft tannins.”
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Columbia Crest 2012 and 2013 H3 Cabernet Sauvignon
($10-$14, depending on where you shop)
99% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc
Winemaker’s Notes: “This bold Cabernet opens with flavors of black cherries and blackberries with a touch of currants and vanilla, complemented by earth and mineral notes. Deep berry flavors lead to a soft tannin cocoa finish.”
Wine Spectator: 91 points (2013); 92 points (2012)
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Giant Wine, 2013 Ghost of 413 Cabernet Sauvignon ($16-$19, depending on where you shop)
This is the fourth vintage of a great red wine created by Chris Gorman from Gorman Winery and Mark McNeill from Mark Ryan.
Full Pull Tasting Notes by Editor-in-Chief Paul Zitarelli: This begins with a nose of smoky crème de cassis fruit, complicated by notes of dried herb and soil. At its heart, it is a deep, black-fruit driven Cab, full of blackcurrants and blackberries and black plums.
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If you like your Cabernet Sauvignon big, bold and beautiful, don’t let these low prices fool you. We think some of them would surprise you in a blind tasting next to more expensive Cabs.
Of note, samples were provided by Seven Falls and Columbia Crest; however we enjoyed these wines so much, we purchased additional bottles.
Cheers!
Margot and Dave