When you think of the United States and wine, I imagine your mind takes you straight to California. But did you know that Washington State is the second largest wine-producing state in the US? And that it is home to more than 1,000 wineries?
As prices rise in California’s best-known wine regions like Napa, more and more people are looking to Washington State as the next big name in US wine. Add to this the outstanding natural beauty of Washington State, its fantastic food scene, friendly people, and temperate weather, and you have a wine region that is a pleasure to visit.
1. Rotie Cellars
Rotie Cellars is a Walla Walla-based winery in the Rocks area with a tasting room in Seattle’s SODO. If you like the wines of Cote du Rhone, then this is the winery for you. Rotie is all about making traditional Rhone blends using Washington State fruit. So these are red wines with lower alcohol levels, less oak, and more balanced.
2. Sleight of Hand
Another Walla Walla based winery, Sleight of Hand, is only a couple of doors down from Rotie at SODO. Sleight of Hand was founded in 2007 by Trey Busch and Jerry and Sandy Solomon. Their signature wine is the Archimage which is a Cabernet Franc and Merlot blend. They also make some fantastic Syrahs, including the Psychedelic Syrah from the highly rated Rocks area of Walla Walla.
3. Chateau Ste Michelle
Chateau Ste Michelle is the oldest and the biggest winery in Washington State. I always want to be most passionate about the small guy wineries, but I must admit I loved Chateau Ste Michelle and its wines.
Their property in Woodinville was originally marshland that was converted into a dairy farm. Their first wines came in 1967 and their French-style chateau in Woodinville was built in 1972. The winery’s white wines are made in Woodinville, and their red wines are at their Canoe Ridge Estate Winery in Eastern Washington.
4. Efeste
Efeste’s first vintage in 2005 was actually made with grapes from California. They started growing their own grapes in Washington in 2007. This is a true family business. I met Eleni and Big Papa, who have involved their entire family in their winery. Many of Efeste’s wines are named after family members.
5. Pondera
Shane Howard started the Pondera winery in 2003. He taught himself winemaking and decided to focus on Bordeaux-style red blends. He also makes Syrah, a very popular Malbec, Chardonnay and Viognier. Pondera has taken many awards for its wine, including 2022 double golds for its Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon Blends Entwined 2017 and Stiletto 2018 and gold for its Viognier at the Belle and Bottle Awards.
6. Rocky Pond
Founded in 2013, Rocky Pond grows twenty different grapes in Washington. They are best known for their Stratastone, a blend of Grenache, Mourvedre and Syrah, Cabernet and their white wine blend Glacial Treasure. I also thought that their traditional method sparkling was excellent.
7. Delille Cellars
Delille Cellars was the first Washington winery to produce a Bordeaux-style blend, and it has one of the oldest vineyards in Woodinville. Delille sources its grapes from Red Mountain as well as various sites in the Columbia Valley.
8. Long Shadows
Long Shadows Winery was started by the former CEO of Chateau Ste Michelle, Allen Shoup. He developed seven ultra-premium wines inspired by the world’s top wine regions. The winery worked with a winemaker in each region to develop unique versions of their top wines using Washington fruit.
These include Tuscany, Bordeaux, Napa, South Australia, Pomerol and Schlossgut Diel in Germany. All of their wines are aged in French Oak.
9. Jaine
Unlike most Washington state wineries, Jaine is all about white wine and rose. Their tasting room/cottage in Woodinville is a lovely white clapboard house with a marquee filled with soft lights and oak tables.
10. Treveri
If you like sparkling wine, then Treveri Cellars should be top of your wine-tasting list for Washington State. They are Washington State’s premier dedicated sparkling wine house. Their winemaker is German and sparkling wine was his mother’s favorite drink.
Treveri makes their sparkling using the traditional method. Their sparkling wines are all 100% single grape, apart from the sparkling rose, a mix of Syrah and Chardonnay. I thought all of their sparkling wines were excellent, but I particularly enjoyed the sparkling Syrah, a unique and tasty wine.
The best thing to order at Treveri is a sparkling flight. They are excellent value at just $10. One of the tasting options is a Mimosa flight, which I haven’t seen before. The Mimosa flight includes orange-mango, strawberry-pineapple, guava-passionfruit and raspberry-lemonade rose. Plus they have a great cocktail list.
11. Rider Cellars
This boutique winery is located in Selah, and its specialty is playing with grapes that are unusual for the area. Kristin and Colby Rider bought a vineyard in 2016 only a few minutes from the town of Selah that was already growing Pinot Blanc and an Austrian grape called Zweigelt. They decided to focus on these grapes and start experimenting.
Today pinot blanc is the best-selling white wine in the range. Rider Cellars also uses the pet nat method to make their sparkling wine with pinot blanc. This old French method bottles the wine before primary fermentation is finished. When it comes to reds, they are best known for their syrah and, of course, the unique Zweigelt.
The tasting room in Selah is cosy and full of character. It is located on the town’s main street and quite easy to find.
12. Wilridge
Wilridge has a spectacular location on the uplands of the Cowiche Conservancy trail system. The views of the vineyards seem to go for miles and visitors are welcome to hike along one of the many trails. Or hike the three-mile Cowiche Conservancy Trail and finish up at Wilridge.
The winery follows organic and biodynamic growing practices for its large range of grapes. They have one of the larger ranges of white wine in the Yakima Valley, including a very nice Chardonnay. However, they are best known for their red Bordeaux-style blend. I was also a big fan of their Syrah. They also make vodka, brandy and even grappa.
The tasting room is surrounded by a wonderful wrap-around porch with loads of seating. I would aim to get to Wilridge for mid-afternoon to allow for sitting and relaxing on the porch and watching the sun drop.
13. Two Mountains
This family-owned winery planted its first grapes in 2000, but previous generations had been farming on their Yakima Valley land since 1951. All of their fruit comes from their own 300 acres of vineyards. They have a very fruit-forward style with minimal interference.
They grow fruit specifically for their best-selling rose, which comes in a cute four-pack. Their other top seller is a Bordeaux-style red blend that is great value at $15 a bottle. I also tried their riesling, which was high in minerality and had a lot of flavor.
Tastings can be booked on the Two Mountains Winery website, or you can pop in and try your luck. They don’t have a kitchen, but they sell pre-packaged snacks or are happy for you to bring your own.
14. J. Bookwalter
Jerry Bookwalter started making wine in the Tri-Cities area in 1983. Today his son is the head winemaker at the vineyard. Their wines are all named within a literary theme. They are perhaps best known for their quintessential Washington State cabernet sauvignon, the Protagonist. I was also very impressed by their Volume 9 cabernet.
If you’re after a great value red wine checkout Subplot 40, which is only $20 a bottle. Bookwalter has been making this wine for 40 years. In terms of whites, I really enjoyed the Double Plot Chardonnay.
Bookwalter has a beautiful new tasting room in Richland with a very cool wine glass sculpture out front. I also loved their state of Washington-shaped wine racks. The tasting room has seating inside and out, and in addition to tasting flights, wine is sold by the bottle and by the glass.
In addition to the Richland tasting room, Bookwalter has a great restaurant called Fiction and a tasting room in Woodinville. Plus, there are two other wineries within walking distance of the Richland tasting room if you want to make a day of wine tasting.
15. Goose Ridge
Goose Ridge is the largest contiguous estate vineyard in Washington State, with over 2,000 acres of grapes. They have five brands of wine and also make some excellent cider (try the blood orange). It would be quite difficult to visit Goose Ridge’s comfortable tasting room and not find anything you liked.
Goose Ridge’s flagship wine is the red blend Vireo. They also have a first flight red blend which is very tasty and a good merlot. In addition to wine flights, they also offer cider and vodka tastings plus a small bites menu.
The outdoor tasting area is filled with pagodas and big soft couches. It feels more like a boutique hotel poolside setup than a winery. It is a lovely place to sit and taste wine.
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Amanda O’Brien is the creator and editor of The Boutique Adventurer. She has visited 80 countries and is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers as well as the IFTWTA. She is passionate about wine had has just completed Level 3 of the WSET. Born in Australia, she lives in London.