This past week I was out in Washington with the family visiting my wife’s sister and the whole extending family. One of the benefits of visiting them is the proximity of Woodinville which houses countless tasting rooms, mostly wineries located in the Walla Walla Valley. My wife and I were last out there four years ago and the number of tasting rooms has doubled if not tripled since then. As I mentioned in a previous post, my father-in-law agreed to be my tasting buddy when we ventured up there on Saturday.

Our first stop was Patit Creek Winery and we arrived there around 11:30 since their website stated they opened at 11:00. The door was locked and despite a parking lot full of cars, there did not appear to be anyone around. I called the tasting room, left a message, and within minutes my call was returned. Brooke, the tasting room manager informed me that the website needed to be changed–they opened at noon now–and today, she was going to be a bit later still, hopefully she would be there by 1:00.

While all this was occurring, Another woman pulled up and headed for the door to the other tasting room in the building, Forgeron Cellars. She asked if we were there to taste and after our assent, we followed her into the room. In her distinct British accent, Lillian took us through several wines in the portfolio. Lillian was delightful as she lead us through the wines, adding a bit of her personal history along the way (she and her husband will be opening a Bed and Breakfast in Northern Idaho soon).  We did not get a chance to taste their flagship wine, the Anvil, but I was particularly fond of the 2009 Forgeron Cabernet Sauvignon which had really nice big fruit up front and a nice tannic finish.  Good right now, but would also benefit from a little time. 89-91 points.

As we were nearing the end of the tasting, we notice that someone had come in next door (they actually share the tiny building) at Patit Creek Cellars. Even though it was barely noon, I decided to poke my head in and see if we could cross another winery off the list without moving the car. We were ‘greeted’ by Brooke, with whom I had spoken earlier. At first, it was rather clear that Brooke was not having the best of days, but to her credit, after she started taking us through the wines, she warmed up quite a bit and we ended up having one of the better tastings of the day. The wines were quite good, particularly at the upper end. Amazingly (at least to me) these wines were all priced at $29, which seemed like a steal. The last wine we tried, the 2010 Patit Creek Roux–Bordeaux Blend had lovely red fruit up front, great balance and a lasting finish. Another wine that is drinking great now, or could be cellared for a while. 90-92 points.

We made the very short drive (about 10 yards) to the DiStefano Winery tasting room where we encountered a loquacious tasting room attendant who seemed to have the entire ‘rap’ down pat. Although I tried repeatedly, it was difficult to get a word in much less ask many questions.  Still, the visit was good, and I ended up buying a couple of bottles: the 2009 DiStefano Meritage ($32.00) had great smokey fruit, but a restrained style and nice tannins on the back end. 90-92 points. My wife had told me that we were having steak that night (we didn’t) so I thought this would be a great choice. The other was the 2008 DiStefano Syrah R ($36.00) which had great black cherries and a touch of mocha followed by a firm grip at the end. I thought grilled pork chops and plopped down the credit card. 91-93 points.

We then moseyed on over to Gorman Winery which I mentioned in a previous post. Without getting too much into it again, really great new world style wines (with prominently displayed big scores from the critics), flashy modern tasting room, indifferent tasting room staff. Still, being on a bit of a Syrah bent, I picked up a bottle of the 2009 Gorman Winery The Pixie ($45). Another 100% Syrah, this one was really big, with huge fruit, but also great structure. What it lacked in finesse, it sure made up for in brute strength. 92-94 points.

Last (since my father-in-law refused to spit, he was not going to stay awake much longer), we went right next door to Patterson Cellars. The place was jumping with several different groups all vying for the attention of the one tasting room attendant, Mark, who was handling the crowd with grace and aplomb. He was pouring several different wines, all of which were very tasty and approachable. I was particularly fond of the 2011 Patterson Cellars Forbidden Rosé ($13) a blend of seven different reds that was reminiscent of the rosés from Tavel. 86-88 points. We ended up purchasing a bottle of the 2011 Patterson Cellars Late Harvest Rousanne ($22 for 375 ml) which included 14% Viognier and had great fruit up front with ample acidity to hold it all together. 90-92 points.

All in all, a pretty good afternoon up in Woodinville, I would have tried to hit a few more, but my partner was fading fast. He vowed that he would be my navigator on the way home, but well, I am sure he had all the best intentions….