When Carrie and I stepped inside àMaurice Cellars Woodinville tasting room, my jaw dropped.
The aesthetic of this space is so elegant!
Here you can see the light marble wine bar counter, with a pour from 2014 The Artist “Mason.” This blend of 63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 27% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot had notes of blackberries, spice and currants. It was a delicious full-bodied wine and I absolutely fell in love with the bottle label!
The tasting room is located in the Hollywood District, next to Purple Café and William Church Winery. There is plenty of parking available at this cheerful, boutique winery but note that it does get very busy on the weekends. Carrie noted that this tasting room is not dog friendly inside, but leashed well-behaved dogs are welcome on the patio outside in front.
The wine lineup was outstanding and the service we received was top notch. Terri was so friendly and helpful in teaching us all about the wines from this Walla Walla vineyard.
We admired the art on the walls. àMaurice features artwork by either winemaker Anna Schafer or from Northwest Masters artists from the 1970s on their wine bottle labels. Note that they won “Coolest Wine Label” at the 12th annual Washington Wine Awards.
This 2016 Boushey Viognier Marsanne was our first tasting, and was one of my favorites. I could definitely pick out the scent of jasmine, and taste notes of melon and pineapple. It’s a bit higher in alcohol than a viognier normally is.
Here is Terri chatting with Carrie about all the delights Woodinville wineries have to offer. I love the support that Woodinville wineries show one another, and it really enhanced the experience for me.
The 2014 Estate Syrah “Fred” was named after a hummingbird in the vineyard. (Other wines, such as “Night Owl” were named after a screen owl who lived near the crush pad.) “Fred” is a Rhone style 100% estate Syrah that’s not been aged in new oak.
The next wine we tasted was The Night Owl Bordeaux blend, featuring 43% Merlot, 34% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Cabernet Franc and 9% Petit Verdot – Carrie especially enjoyed this one.
After that we tasted the Amparo Estate Malbec. Terri told us that the trees at the vineyard protect these particular grapevines from wind. The winemaker is one of just a very few people in Washington State to use Malbec as a single varietal.
The cheerful white tasting room is accented by these beautiful wooden signs. I think the light wooden signage adds to the warm and bright atmosphere of the tasting room, in addition to letting us know what wines we were tasting.
The winemaker’s grandfather, Maurice Schafer, was in the timber business, so the wood used in the tasting room is a tribute to him. The winery is named after and dedicated to him – àMaurice means “to Maurice” in French.
Logo art lined the walls at àMaurice. This is some of the most beautiful label art that I have seen.
The winemaker, Anna Schafer, designs wine to be enjoyed with food. She purposely makes it approachable, with a lower alcohol content, and not too much oakiness. She uses whole cluster fermenting, stem tannins, old world techniques, cement eggs and natural yeast in her winemaking.
You do not want to miss this wonderful tasting room on your next trip to Woodinville wineries. I have spoken to several friends that are members of their wine club, which you can read more about here.
àMaurice offers highly acclaimed wines and truly wonderful service. You can find them at 14463 Woodinville Redmond Road NE, Woodinville, WA.
Their current hours of operation are: Thursday – Monday from 12pm-5pm.
Check their events page for more info on upcoming events.
Let me know what you think of your visit in the comment section below.
Cheers,
~Jen
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