On a recent Sunday, I went wine tasting in Woodinville with my friend Angie. We decided to explore Artisan Hill’s tasting rooms. I’d never been to Aspenwood Cellars, and haven’t seen their wine on local store shelves, so this was our first stop. I was super curious!
A friendly sign welcomed us to the tasting room. “When you’re here, you’re family.”
We met winemaker and owner Jim Petty, and were lucky to have the tasting room to ourselves for an hour to learn about Jim’s wines and get to know him. He’d never heard of my blog, but was gracious and we appreciate the time he took with us! Always fel privileged to be able to meet the winemaker in person, and it’s wonderful to see so much passion about wine, vineyards, and Washington State’s fabulous wines.
Here is the current tasting lineup, wearing the award medals the wines have won!
The tasting room is dog friendly (yay!) Several tables are available for small groups of wine tasters.
Jim explained that the name Aspenwood Cellars comes from the neighborhood in Woodinville he lives in. It’s his home shown on the front of the Aspenwood Cellars wine bottle labels.
Jim says he does red wines best, so there are no white wines on his tasting menu. He explained that he buys grapes from hot locations – he likes the earlier harvest, and the much lower chance of mildew or mold spoiling the grapes.
Our tasting began with the 2011 Elegance red blend. (Note that since we’ve visited, the lineup has changed a bit and the tasting now begins with the 2012 Elegance red blend).
Our second wine we tasted was the 2014 Merlot, made from grapes grown at Dineen Vineyards and Red Willow Vineyard. I’m a big fan of Merlot, and immediately determined to take a bottle of this luscious wine home with me.
Next, Jim poured us the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon. We were immediately struck by how amazing it smelled right away. I also purchased a bottle of this to put away for a special dinner sometime in the future.
The Cabernet Sauvignon won a silver medal at the NorthWest Wine Summit.
Our next pour was the 2013 Syrah, a silver medal winner at the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition. I’ve been tasting a lot of Syrahs lately, and this is definitely one of my recent favorites.
The Elegance Red Blend won a bronze at the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition as well.
By the way, my friend Angie is a professional organizer and owns Angie’s Organizing Solutions in Redmond. If you’re looking for organizing services for your home, office or business, I highly recommend her.
Our final tasting pour was the 2014 Meritage red blend. It was very impressive, and I bought a bottle of this to take home as well. I am limited on storage space at my home, so I usually try to only buy one or two bottles at a tasting room. This wine was so good, I had to break my rule and take home three bottles!
Here’s info on Aspenwood Cellars’ Summer Sale. Great deal!
Aspenwood Cellars is located at 18642 142nd Ave NE, Woodinville, WA. The tasting room is open Saturdays and Sundays, noon through 5pm. Be sure to stop in if you enjoy red blends, Syrahs, Merlots and Cabernet Sauvignons grown in excellent Washington State vineyards!
-Carrie
RESOURCES:
Aspenwood Cellars Woodinville Tasting Room on Yelp
