This weekend my boyfriend and I were exploring Woodinville on a smoky Saturday afternoon. He’s a beer drinker and doesn’t enjoy wine, so we struck a deal: He would patiently hang out on a beautiful wine tasting room patio while I did a tasting, and then we’d go to a Woodinville brewery for him to enjoy.
Our plan agreed upon, we drove around until we saw this beautiful patio at Basel Cellars here in Woodinville.
I wonder if their new tasting room in Leavenworth (which opens on August 11) will have a lovely patio as well.
I settled my boyfriend on the patio and went in to ask for a wine tasting experience.
Inside, I found two very friendly and helpful ladies – I wish I had done a better job of catching their names! Note that this tasting room is open until 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays in the summer – wonderful news! I wish more tasting rooms were open later like this.
Here’s a look at some of the wines for sale at Basel Cellars’ tasting room. They specialize in Bordeaux style wines.
Their logo fills a giant back wall. Love the vineyard motif!
There’s a small seating area inside too, for days with inclement weather.
Here’s their current wine release list. Love the freehand chalk art – someone’s talented!
Here we see that most of their reserve wines are already sold out – phooey!
They proudly display a print of their 2010 estate reserve wines.
After exploring the tasting room, it was time to start the actual wine tasting! First up was the white wine, which I forgot to get a picture of. Then we moved onto the Rosé wine – I was especially excited to try this on such a hot day. This is their 2901 Rosé, made from 100% Syrah.
Next I tasted their 2901 Red Blend. I always love wine with notes of cherry in it! The 2901 in their wine names is inspired by their Walla Walla address.
As I enjoyed the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, I noticed a menu of wines by the glass. I haven’t seen a lot of tasting rooms yet that offer this. I love the idea of ordering a glass of wine to sit on the patio and drink after the tasting. I don’t want to sit on the patio and ask the wine steward ladies to haul themselves out every time the next tasting is up, I would feel bad. So I was delighted to see wines by the glass as an option here.
The final tasting was the 2013 Syrah.
Except the tasting wasn’t over – the ladies treated me to a surprise tasting of the 2012 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon!
I didn’t manage to get a photo of their flagship wine, Merriment. Probably because I was too busy asking to buy a bottle of it to take home! It’s a meritage of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. I also brought home a bottle of their Cabernet Franc – I didn’t taste it but after tasting all these wines I know it’s likely I’ll enjoy it.
Then it was off to the Woodinville Warehouse District in search of a nice cold beer for Bob!
-Carrie
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