Tag Archives: The Woodhouse Wine Estates

Le Bec Fin by Chateau Beck

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Le Bec Fin by Chateau Beck is a new side project by Jean Claude Beck, the winemaker of The Woodhouse Wine Estates in Woodinville. We first met Jean Claude when he arrived at Woodhouse about ten years ago to lead their wine production, and we were immediately charmed and impressed.

He was born in the Alsace region of France, following several generations of winemakers; his family estate has been producing wine since 1579 in a small village south of Strasbourg. According to European gourmet magazine Feinschmecken, “everything this winemaker touches turns to gold in the bottle.” Jean Claude’s motto is “No boring wines!”

We also love another of his quotes: “As my Grandfather Char once said, ‘I don’t want to make the most expensive wine in the world, I want to make a wine that when you sit at the table and the glass is poured, you empty it and without hesitation you ask for another.’”

Jean Claude’s love for wine is evident in every conversation we have with him. (And you can see his creativity by his July 4th Facebook photo, above.) So we eagerly awaited the arrival of his three Le Bec Fin wines to sample: 2016 Vin Rosé, Vin Blanc and 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon. They were all lovely. Continue reading →

Another Success for Taste Washington

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Congratulations to the Washington State Wine Commission and Visit Seattle for another successful Taste Washington March 22-25, 2018. Thousands of people participated in the annual celebration of the excellent wine made in this state — at the Grand Tasting, educational seminars, lunches on local farms, and other events.

Every year, we hope that people did more than taste the fine wine of Washington. We hope they appreciated it, and the hard work by people in our state’s wine industry – from farmers to vineyard managers to those in the production facilities, winemakers, distributors, tasting room staff and more. In particular, we applaud the workers in the vineyards who toil over the grapes and the terroir; the winemakers who balance creativity and science in every barrel and bottle; and their families who support this extreme effort. We definitely appreciated every taste that was poured for us at the Grand Tasting. Our top 25 favorites are listed below. ((Note, some were “under the table” pours!)
Continue reading →

Our Top 65 Washington Wineries

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NYE WineHappy 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):

  1. Alexandria Nicole Cellars
  2. Ambassador Wines of Washington
  3. Andrew Will
  4. Avennia
  5. B. Leighton
  6. Barrage Cellars
  7. Barrister Winery
  8. Bartholomew Winery
  9. Betz Family Winery
  10. Boudreaux Cellars
  11. Buty Winery
  12. Canvasback
  13. Chateau Ste. Michelle
  14. Columbia Crest
  15. Cooper Wine Company
  16. Cote Bonneville
  17. Darby
  18. DeLille Cellars
  19. DiStefano
  20. Double Canyon
  21. Dunham Cellars
  22. Dynasty Winery
  23. Efeste
  24. Ensemble Cellars
  25. Fall Line
  26. Fidelitas
  27. Fielding Hills
  28. Figgins
  29. Force Majeure
  30. Forgeron Cellars
  31. Gard
  32. Gorman Winery
  33. Guardian Cellars
  34. Hard Row to Hoe
  35. JM Cellars
  36. L’Ecole 41
  37. Lauren Ashton
  38. Leonetti
  39. Long Shadows
  40. Maryhill
  41. Matthews Winery
  42. Mercer Estates
  43. Mullan Road Cellars
  44. Obelisco Estate
  45. Otis Kenyon
  46. Passing Time
  47. Quilceda Creek
  48. Reynvaan
  49. Ross Andrew
  50. Savage Grace
  51. Seven Falls Cellars
  52. Sinclair Estate
  53. Sleight of Hand
  54. Spring Valley Vineyard
  55. Stottle Winery
  56. Tildio
  57. Two Vintners
  58. Upchurch Vineyard
  59. Va Piano
  60. Vin du Lac
  61. Walla Walla Vintners
  62. William Church
  63. Windy Point
  64. Woodward Canyon
  65. 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

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Screen Shot 2016-07-24 at 9.14.49 AMNow 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