On a recent Sunday, some friends from Eastside Social Club joined me in the Woodinville Warehouse District for wine tastings. We began our day at Davenport Cellars with glass pours and delicious snacks.
Our next destination was Pondera Winery. Jen and I had just been there a few evenings before during After Hours Woodinville and really enjoyed the wines, so I was glad to bring friends to a great place I suspected they would really enjoy.
My friends enjoyed wandering around the tasting room checking out the artwork. (Pondera Winery shares the space with Howard/Mandville Gallery.
Our first tasting pour was the 2017 Viognier, a new release from Pondera Winery. We tasted apricots and citrus, with a bit of melon. I’m always delighted to try a viognier. This one is aged in stainless, and the tasting room associate pouring for us said it’s a good white for red wine drinkers who might not ordinarily enjoy a white wine.
Next we tasted the other new release wine, the 2017 Chardonnay. This wine was grown at Stillwater Creek Vineyard. It begins by being lightly oaked in brand new French Oak, and then is moved into neutral French Oak for the rest of its barrel aging.
We met this darling brindle Corgi named Wallace, who graciously accepted our feverish attempts to all pet him at the same time. The tasting room staff allowed him and a couple other well-behaved dogs into the tasting room on this occasion, but said they preferred not to have dogs visit, since the tasting room is full of expensive art and nice rugs.
Next we tasted the 2014 Cabernet Franc. I’m a big fan of Cabernet Franc and definitely loved this wine.
The next wine that was poured turned out to be a crowd-pleaser, as most of my friends chose this as their favorite of the day: The 2013 Peace, Love, Wine Bordeaux-style blend. This wine was limited to 25 cases.
Our next pour was the 2013 Syrah, a single vineyard red wine. I loved the hints of black cherries and black currant I could taste in this wine.
The final wine pour was the 2014 Malbec from Stillwater Creek. This was a really impressive wine! It tasted of pepper and spice, and was really smooth. Everyone in my party really enjoyed this wine as well. This wine won Gold in the 2018 Cascadia Wine Competition.
Do you see what I see in the corner of this tasting room? An upright piano! Perhaps Pondera Winery has some live music in the evenings? Visit their website to learn more about the tasting room.
Our next stop was Beaumont Cellars at The Junction in Woodinville.
Jen and I had stopped by here the other night too and were so eager to taste more of their amazing wines.
We’d already had quite a bit of wine by that point, so my friends and I opted for one last glass wine pour instead of a full tasting. I chose the 2017 Tempranillo, and took a bottle home for my wine cellar as well.
The staff at Beaumont Cellars is always super friendly. Check out their Woodinville tasting room’s events calendar to see all the fun things coming up, including Beat the Geek Trivia on Thursdays.
Outside, the Blue North Trio jazz band was performing music as part of Block Party at the Junction.
We were hungry again, and ordered some tasty snacks from the Nacho Mama’s food truck. Beaumont Cellars (and the nearby tasting rooms as well) allows you to bring the food into their tasting room to enjoy along with your wine.
My friend Curt enjoyed a glass pour of the Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.
As the Block Party wore down and we got ready to go home, I stopped by Gard Vintners to say hello to Lindsay, whose exuberant spirit always brings a smile to my face.
I’m so glad to live so close to Woodinville and be able to host fun wine events at fabulous tasting rooms for my local friends!
-Carrie
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