Whether you’re a local Seattle resident or a tourist, you might be tempted to come to Woodinville this weekend to spend some time relaxing with wine and good food. There’s rain in the forecast (with possibly a break and a bit of sunshine Sunday afternoon, thankfully!)
Since rain will save us from having to do yard work chores this weekend, and the forecast has cancelled my boyfriend’s hiking plans, I’m coming up with indoor wine tasting opportunities for us to enjoy this weekend. Take a look and see if any of these Woodinville wine activities tempt you!
Friday:
You might like to stop by Airfield Estates in the Hollywood District between the hours of 3 pm and 7 pm for their Sip & Shop pop-up event featuring La Liath Bakery. (Very fitting: La Liath means “grey day” in Irish).
Nearby, you could stop into Heritage Restaurant|Bar for a cocktail (or wine, of course). Their Happy Hour in the bar runs from 3 pm to 6 pm. The restaurant is fabulous and would make a great farm-to-table dinner choice, by the way.
You have several wonderful dinner options in Woodinville. Across the street, Purple Cafe is my personal favorite for a local Woodinville “date night.” You might need reservations on a busy Friday night. In the same strip mall, The Commons Cafe is a more casual choice, also with excellent food.
If you’re in the mood for wood-fired pizza, head across the street to Vivi Pizzeria. You can sit “outside” in their enclosed area comfortably even on a rainy day, and sample wines from Gorman Winery and Patterson Cellars, which share a patio with the pizzeria.
After dinner, pop back into Airfield Estates for their Comedy After Hours event, featuring improv comedy by Once Told Tales. The event runs from 8 pm to 9 pm.
Or you might like to head over to Village Wines for dinner and live music by Kellie Rose. Her performance begins at 6:30 pm.
There’s also live music at neighboring Goose Ridge Woodinville Tasting Room, starting at 3 pm. They have a fireplace! Note that they have cider options if anyone in your party prefers that to wine.
There’s also live music at Obelisco in the Apple Farm Village. Dave Hannon performs beginning at 5 pm in their cozy tasting room.
There’s also live music at Castillo de Feliciana’s “Acoustic Night” up the road a short ways. They don’t have food trucks onsite, so they welcome you to bring outside food. (Tourists: there’s a Haggen grocery store in downtown Woodinville, and a Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Market aren’t too far away in the Totem Lake area in Kirkland).
The live music starts at 6 pm, and you can buy glass pours of Castillo de Feliciana’s delicious Spanish-style Washington wines.
For more ideas for Friday night wine events in Woodinville, visit the Woodinville Wine Country official events page.
Saturday:
I have four breakfast recommendations for you:
The Commons Cafe is vibrant, casual, and has spicy shakshuka on the breakfast menu! They also make great coffee drinks, offer fabulous pastries, and won’t judge you if you order one of their clever cocktails early in the morning. They open at 8 am.
Purple Cafe offers incredibly fun sparkling mimosa flights, great food, and opens at 10 am.
Heritage Restaurant | Bar serves my favorite Eggs Benedict. They don’t open until 11 am.
If you’re really not a breakfast person, you might prefer stopping by Rooster Bakery & Cafe for coffee and pastries instead. If it’s raining as forecast, you won’t be able to enjoy their beautiful outdoor patio, but the indoor space is cozy.
Wineries and tasting rooms don’t generally open until 11 am or noon; so I’d suggest spending a wonderful hour or so browsing Woodinville’s flagship nursery and home decor store, Molbak’s. There’s plenty to see here, and you’ll keep plenty warm in their greenhouses and indoor shopping areas. There’s also a cafe on site if you need to top up your caffeine.
If you still have some time to kill, one of the region’s last remaining Barnes & Noble bookstores is located in Woodinville’s mall on Garden Way.
If you’re ready to start wine tasting, you have almost 120 options to choose from in Woodinville! I will only call out a few recommendations for you with extra-cozy tasting rooms for rainy days – you can visit our archive of past posts here at Woodinville Wine Blog to research other tasting rooms you might want to prioritize.
The Apple Farm Village has several warm and welcoming tasting rooms all in one spot: Lauren Ashton, Otis Kenyon, Torii Mor, Zerba Cellars, Obelisco and Guardian Cellars. It’s a quick umbrella-covered walk over from Vivi Pizzeria/Gorman/Patterson wineries or across from the Hollywood Schoolhouse.
Speaking of the Hollywood Schoolhouse, there’s a welcoming and intimate tasting room on the ground level, Alexandria Nicole Cellars. I’m a club member there, and thoroughly recommend the wine and the experience.
If you feel adventurous, drive a little farther into Woodinville to The Junction, where you’ll find a friendly bunch of tasting rooms to visit: Gard Vintners, Locust Brewing & Cider, Five Star Cellars, Beaumont Cellars, Armstrong Family Winery and Sol Stone Winery.
If you’re really adventurous, venture to the Warehouse District and Artisan Hill for boutique wineries where you’ll likely meet the winemakers in person. Davenport Cellars has small bites, salads and nice food options if you get hungry while visiting nearby tasting rooms.
For a particularly cozy experience, stop by Pondera Winery, which also has an art gallery on site. If I find myself in the warehouse district on Saturday, I’ll likely stop by to visit my friends at Michael Florentino Cellars, Warr-King Wines and Rocky Pond Winery (in no particular order!)
By now you’re probably hungry for a late lunch. If you’re still in the Warehouse District or Artisan Hill, stop by The PicNic Table Cafe for Mediterranean-inspired foods.
If you’re still in The Hollywood District, The Bistro at Hollywood Schoolhouse is one of my favorites – they might have their outdoor fire pit going if it’s not raining hard.
I also really like to warm up and eat the delicious food at The Hollywood Tavern over by Chateau Ste. Michelle. I highly recommend their boozy milkshakes and fried pickles. (After you’re done eating, drop into their neighbor, Woodinville Whiskey Co. for bourbon tastings if you like that sort of thing).
After lunch, head back to your home or hotel if you need a nap, or else I want to tempt you to visit The Woodhouse Wine Estates spacious tasting room. You’ll taste Kennedy Shah wines (my current favorite of theirs being the Reserve Tempranillo).
Jen and I heartily recommend visiting Martedi Winery up the street from Hollywood Tavern and Woodhouse Wine Estates, but it can get busy and crowded. You’ll have a good time at the spacious Novelty Hill Januik and Columbia Winery venues nearby too, should you choose to stop in.
After all that wine tasting, I wouldn’t fault you for wanting to take a break, warm up by a fire and sip a cocktail. For that, you can head over to Willows Lodge’s Fireside Lounge – a great place to mingle with locals who come in the afternoons for a peaceful quiet drink. I want to point out that Fireside Lounge has live music on Friday and Saturday nights, too. I’ll tell you right now, Fireside Lounge is the place I’m most looking forward to going to this weekend.
Most local tasting rooms close at 5 pm or 6 pm on weekends. That leaves you plenty of time to freshen up before dinner. You have so many options to choose from: Purple Cafe, Heritage Restaurant | Bar, The Commons, Vivi Pizzeria, Hollywood Tavern, Barking Frog at Willows Lodge.
I’m likely to have dinner with other locals Saturday at The Woodinville Cut Shop, a retro-inspired roadhouse restaurant with plenty of local wines on the menu, a great cocktail menu, and enough beers to keep my boyfriend happy. Be sure to visit Windy the Clown on your way in. If you’ve eaten dinner elsewhere, it’s also nice to stop by The Cut Shop for an after-dinner drink.
Take a look at all the wine and music event options over at the official Woodinville Wine Country webpage.
Sunday:
Here’s what I like to do on a Sunday morning: Sleep in! But the idea of going to Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Pop-Up Mimosa Bar could get me out of bed, even on a cold rainy morning. The mimosa bar opens at 10 am, and they usually offer some sort of freshly baked biscuits or muffins to purchase as well.
For Sunday brunch, I would head over to Barking Frog at Willows Lodge (either before or after the 10 am mimosa bar at the Chateau). They have incredibly delicious options on the menu, including huckleberry pancakes, beignets, and Challah French toast.
If you still have a little time on Sunday for wine tasting, I’d recommend stopping by the four tasting rooms at The Gateway District in Woodinville: Avennia, Skylite Cellars, Tsillan Cellars, and Tertulia Cellars. (Maybe not all four unless you’re Ubering, riding the Cellar Hopper, or spitting and dumping!)
I’m not much of a football watcher, but there’s a Seahawks game on Sunday at 1 pm. After a weekend of wine tasting, I probably owe it to my boyfriend to take him for beer at Hopheads Taproom. It won’t be busy, it’s dog-friendly, and they don’t have food so they let you bring in food from nearby establishments (Chan’s Chinese food, Pasta Nova, Tipsy Cow, etc). Never fear – they also have some Woodinville wine on tap!
You might also like to watch the game at 20 Corners Brewing. Also, they serve brunch now!
There’s live music at Metier Brewing if you prefer that to football viewing!
Hope you have enjoyed my rainy day wine tasting suggestions for Woodinville! Let me know what you’re planning in the comments below!
-Carrie