Page 15 - washington state wine
P. 15

Within  Woodinville  are  two  distinct
       wine tasting areas to experience:  The
       Hollywood Winery District, and the
       Warehouse District just a few miles out
       of town. The Warehouse District sounds
        pretty cool but for the casual wine-tast-
       ing visitor it is somewhat of a letdown.
       Here dozens of small and medium-sized
       wine making operations are spread
       throughout an industrial park - drab
       concrete buildings surrounded by as-
        phalt parking lots like those in any city
       USA.

       Driving around the maze of buildings,
       you wouldn’t know this was a hive of
       enology  except  for  an  occasional  wine
       barrel parked in front of a garage door,
       or a simple sign with hopeful label
       names like Chateau Rollat, Five Star Cel-
       lars  and  Flying  Dreams  Winery.  When
       we visited on a weekday, not much was
       open, but many are open on special days
       and weekends.

       The bulk of the other wine tasting rooms
       in Woodinville are scattered throughout
       the Hollywood area, with most strip
       malls sporting several wine tasting
        rooms and eateries targeted at upscale
       tasters. It must be great to be a commer-
       cial landlord here since I’m sure there’s a
       waiting list for any vacancy.  Many of the
       wine tasting rooms here are large and
       stunningly designed, with wine prices to
       match the rent.

        Large signs plastered on the windows
       and sandwich boards outside of tasting
        rooms tout 90-plus point wines in an at-
       tempt to lure wine enthusiasts looking
       the next big thing. Most are probably
       legit – and most folks don’t ask where
       the scores came from. Wine point scor-
       ing is an iffy affair at best anyway. One
        person’s 90 pointer can be another’s can-
       didate for the spit bucket.
                                            and reds. Cab, merlot, syrah, blends and   Opposite: Columbia winery and tasting room. Top:
       Considering that wines in the tasting   some pinot noir are the most common   Hollywood Vineyard  shopping center, housing
        rooms come from all over the state, it’s   reds found here alongside some very nice   tasting rooms and restaurants. Above: The odd wine
       not surprising to find wide diversity   whites including chardonnay, sauvignon   country of Woodinville where an industrial park has
       in varietals and styles of both whites   blanc, viognier, and pinot gris.   been taken over by winemakers big and small.





                                                                                Wine Dine & Travel Summer/Fall 2015  15
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