Take in a Show at the Chateau
CHATEAU STE MICHELLE, WOODINVILLE
Like a Disneyish pentagon, the sprawling mansion at Chateau Ste Michelle serves as an imposing architectural reminder that this is Washington’s largest and most powerful winery. In summertime the chateau’s perfectly pruned lawns are dotted with picnickers, who come to take in concerts by Lyle Lovett, Elvis Costello, or Crosby, Stills and Nash as they sip on CSM bottles sold on the premises.
Harry Connick Jr wraps up the 2010 series on September 26 but if you can’t secure tickets, you can still enjoy a plein aire repast at the enchanted castle. Just show up any day between 10am and 6pm, snag a bottle and some snacks at the shop inside, spread out your blanket, and enjoy. 14111 NE 145th St, Woodinville; 425-415-3300; ste-michelle.com
WHEN TO GO The summer concert series runs from June to September.
WHILE YOU’RE THERE Woodinville’s oldest winery has a lot of new neighbors; winemakers from across the state are setting up tasting rooms there. Just up the road in the Schoolhouse District, check out new pour spots from Alexandria Nicole, Mark Ryan, and Dusted Valley, among others.
Get to Know Homegrown Merlot
NORTHSTAR WINERY, WALLA WALLA
In 1994, Ste Michelle Wine Estates-owned Northstar Winery set out to show that the world’s best merlot—a black grape traditional to France’s Bordeaux region—could be grown and blended in Washington state. Consider that point proven: In a blind tasting at the Food Network’s 2009 South Beach Wine and Food Festival, Northstar’s 2005 Walla Walla Merlot defeated five wines from France’s famed Right Bank region, securing our place in the merlot-making hall of fame.
A short drive from the Washington-Oregon border, Northstar Winery is perched on a large patch of lawn surrounded by 14 acres of vineyard and backdropped by the shadow-scarred Blue Mountains. Inside the tasting room, stacked stone and wood accents create a contemporary country-lodge atmosphere, and the tasting bar serves up wine flights and picnic platters featuring Mediterranean bites. If you have any merlot doubters in your midst order up the Northstar Experience flight, comprised of recent vintages and blending wines. They’ll convert before your eyes. 1736 JB George Rd, Walla Walla, 866-486-7828; northstarwinery.com
BE SURE TO SIP Don’t miss the 2006 Walla Walla Merlot, number 33 on our Top 100 list.
WHEN TO GO The tasting room pours from 10am to 4pm Monday through Saturday, and 11am to 4pm on Sunday.
Escape to the Gorge
CAVE B ESTATE WINERY, QUINCY
The last Dave Matthews Band CD you bought may predate iTunes, but the group still sells out a set of shows every summer at the Gorge Amphitheater in Quincy, Washington. And every summer the DMB entourage buys out Cave B—110 acres of vineyard surrounding a Tom Kundig -designed inn, its sloping half-moon roof mimicked in a smattering of private guest houses perched on the edge of a 900-foot basalt cliff overlooking the Columbia River Gorge.
You can see why they like it. It’s just a few hours from Seattle, but the sun shines 300 days a year in Quincy, and all there is to do at Cave B is have fun. When not kayaking the river, mountain biking, or hiking through the sage, guests bring a bottle down to the cliffside swimming pool; slip into the spa for a hot stone massage; or stroll up to the airy tasting room to drink through winemaker Freddy Arredondo’s reds and whites. (Arredondo is son-in-law to owners Vince and Carol Bryan but sometimes nepotism pays off—Cave B’s wines have never been better.)
There’s more wine during dinner at Tendrils restaurant where chef Joe Ritchie serves up delicate nests of homemade pasta topped with seared scallop, pork loin braised in cider, and citrusy salads anchored by greens grown in the onsite chef’s garden. 348 Silica Rd NW, Quincy, 509-785-3500; sagecliffe.com
WHEN TO GO Daytrippers should check the website for tasting room hours, which change with the season. When planning an overnight getaway, do like Dave Matthews and book well in advance.
WHILE YOU’RE THERE Consider “roughing it” in one of Cave B’s brand-new luxury yurts—complete with WiFi and iPod docking station.
Published: September 2010
Portteus…..YES!
You guys removed all the comments from the 100 Best Washington Wines article… why did you do that? But aren’t… you are in the kitchen serving up your processes and methodologies that your journalists use to create work presented in YOUR magazine…I realize it is hard to take criticism however comments provide objective feedback and questions that deserve to be aired…it is rather shortsided and dare I suggest ….cowardly…
Delete them here and they will just show up on another article, perhaps totally unreated to wine…
The 100 Best Washington wines is getting all of the debate over method but this article is the more puzzling of the two for me. There are lots of reasons why to visit a winery. Of course there is the opportunity to taste the wine but it is also the opportunities to experience the wine making process, to enjoy stellar views, to experience the terroir, to enjoy concerts large and small, to enjoy a romantic picnic, to experience events that become treasured memories.
I read the article twice but I am still confused about why some of these particular wineries were chosen. I think it would have been much more helpful to readers to hear suggestions specifically about the best place to picnic, to visit on a day trip, to experience crush, to do barrel tastings, to catch the best views, the most welcoming family wineries, the most family and dog friendly etc. Oh yeah, better not forget the wine, like the wineries that have special reserve or library tastings.
No one mentioned the Prosser Wine & Food Fair!! Coming up pretty soon in early August. SO MUCH FUN! With amazing wine from all the local vineyards in WA’s beautiful wine country. I went last year with friends and we are definitely trying to go again.
Check out the Pontin Del Roza vineyard too; they are now pretty much my standard I hold other wines to! Red or white you will love their creations… :)
Portteus has been my favorite for years, last visit every single bottle was over the top good. This lead to several cases being bought. I enjoyed the 2007 estate bottle of reserve red wine last night and am still thinking about the rich deep flavors…Delish!