On a recent sunny Sunday afternoon, some ladies from my social club met up in Woodinville for wine tasting. We’d already had snacks and enjoyed glasses of Rosé at Davenport Cellars, but wanted to explore a bit more. Wandering by Smasne Cellars in the Woodinville Warehouse District, we were intrigued and went in to check them out.
The tasting room was very large, air conditioned, and proudly displayed both a Washington Winery of the Year award banner and a Seahawks 12th Man flag.
I felt bad we didn’t have an appointment, since there were six of us in our party. The tasting room associate, Jen was initially a bit flustered by our surprise arrival, but then welcomed us to this cozy table and was super friendly from there on out.
We liked the farm/barn feel to the decor, with rustic barrels, bales of hay, and red painted barn doors.
We almost had the tasting room to ourselves. I love that the doors were thrown open to welcome in sunlight and fresh summer air.
Here’s one of Smasne Cellars’ nice decorative displays and wine bottle showcases.
This tasting room is dog friendly, and we were delighted to make the acquaintance of Maddie, a Cockapoo who let all of us love on her a bit.
My friend Leslie opted for a glass pour of one of Smasne Cellars’ white wines.
In fact, the day was so hot, most of us opted for white wines. Here’s the ladies from Eastside Social Club. Left to right: Carrie, Leslie, Ronnie, Cheryl, Tamra, and Valerie.
I had to try the Rosé!
One of the ladies sampled the Albarino, a Spanish style wine and really enjoyed it.
These ladies have only had two glasses of wine each so far, I promise!
I was truly astonished to see such a wide variety of wine varietals, with both French and Spanish style wines. I had to stop and really look at the chalkboard and take it all in. There’s everything from a Chardonnay to a Carmenere, a Petit Verdot, a Roussanne and a Marsanne (I need to read more about the difference), a Mourvedre, a Pinot Gris and even a Zinfandel! Besides the usual expected Washington varietals, of course, like Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.
I resolved to come back when I had more time and less distractions so I could really focus and learn more about the wines. And of course, so I could taste even more of them! I brought home a bottle of Malbec and a bottle of Grenache, both untasted, based on how incredible the other wines were that I tasted that day. I truly was surprised, in a very good way! I’ll be recommending this place to some out-of-town relatives who are coming to visit this summer.
You can read about the third-generation winemaker, Robert O. Smasne, here. Smasne Cellars’ main tasting room is in Prosser near Kennewick.
-Carrie
RESOURCES:
Smasne Cellars Woodinville Tasting Room on Yelp
