On a recent Sunday afternoon, my friend Serret and I had an enjoyable Girls Day Out in Woodinville. One of the first places we stopped to taste wine was over at W.T. Vintners in the Woodinville Warehouse District. We met the fantastic and friendly tasting room manager, Elise, and some of her children.
We examined the map of vineyards where grapes for W.T. Vintners wines are grown. The vineyards include Underwood Mountain, Destiny Ridge, Stoney Vine, Les Collines, Stoneridge and Boushey.
Elise told us that the winery is named for the White and Thorsen Family Vintners. They’ve been making wine for ten years now – their 2017 wines were their tenth vintage. They started with just one barrel in a Woodinville garage.
Our first pour was the Chenin Blanc. It is a 100% varietal, grown in the Upland Vineyards from grapevines planted way back in 1979! I never can resist a nice Chenin Blanc, so chose to take a bottle home to enjoy later this summer. (Hopefully sooner rather than later!)
Hooray for Rosé – our second pour was the 2017 Underwood Mountain “Parasol” Rosé. We really enjoyed it – but what’s not to like about a cold glass of Rosé on a hot day?
It’s made with 100% Pinot Noir grapes. (Note that this winery also makes an Oregon Pinot Noir!)
I took a moment to relax on a bar stool and enjoy the Rosé while Serret photographed the barrel room and event space.
We loved how this grapevine was festively lit and showcased in the club room. You can rent the room out for private parties and events.
You can keep an eye on the goings-on in the tasting room, from next door in the barrel room.
Their barrel room/event space can seat quite a few people.
W.T. Vintners is very kid friendly – they even carry a selection of toys and coloring books for little ones to occupy themselves while their parents taste wine. It’s also very dog friendly here.
Check out the funky chandeliers with fairy lights! (I like to call festive strings of lights “fairy lights” like Australians do. It sounds more versatile than “Christmas lights.”
I’m always really curious and eager to try a Mourvedre, I really want to learn more about this kind of wine. The 2015 Boushey Mourvedre was spicy and oaky, and tasted of black pepper. Serret especially loved it.
To assure quality, the winemakers make just a couple hundred cases of each wine. Elise mentioned that they will release a Gruner Veltliner in October – I absolutely have to remember to come back to try that!
Our fourth tasting was the 2014 Les Collines “Damavian.” It’s a Syrah, and got 93 points at Wine Enthusiast.
Elise explained that the winemakers used neutral winemaking on this wine with no manipulation, and aged it in stainless.
The last wine we tasted was the 2014 Stoney Vine Vineyard Syrah. Serret loved it. It was so interesting to us that you can make two syrahs from the same grape but grown twenty miles apart, and have them taste so different!
This is the latest tasting menu at W.T. Vintners. You can see that they offer glass pours as well, which is nice to know. Sometimes you just want a glass of something you know you’ll enjoy, and you aren’t up for a full tasting.
W. T. Vintners is located at 19495 144th Ave NE Ste. B210, Woodinville, WA 98072. They’re open Saturdays and Sundays from 1-5pm.
-Carrie
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