As the weather warms up, many acclaimed local wineries open their decks and terraces and begin pouring sips of their latest releases, making spring an ideal time to go wine tasting.
SEATTLE seattleurbanwineries.com
You’ll find more than two-dozen tasting rooms throughout the Emerald City, from small boutique makers bottling highly sought-after vino in their home garages to well-established larger vintners from across the state. Several renowned tasting rooms are clustered together at the SODO Urbanworks complex, including Sleight of Hand (3861 First Ave S), which has a fun, unpretentious space decked out with Jimi Hendrix and Pearl Jam posters and other music memorabilia—it often features a DJ or live performances. At Nine Hats Wines (3861 First Ave S) there’s a front patio where you can pair your favorite wines with gourmet pizza from neighboring Nine Pies (3861 First Ave S). In a warmly inviting tasting room in a historic Pioneer Square building with high brick walls and a tree-shaded sidewalk terrace, Locus Wines (307 Occidental Ave S) offers an enticing selection of tapas, from Turkish meze plates to lamb-and-turkey meatballs.
Georgetown is another hub of Seattle winemaking. Pull up a seat by the patio firepit at Tinte Cellars (5951 Airport Way S), or relax at one of the tables made from old wine barrels at Cascade Cliffs (6006 12th Ave S). Nearby House of Smith Jet City (1136 S Albro Pl) has a handsome timber-paneled tasting room overlooking Boeing Field—watch planes come and go while sampling sublime Syrahs and Rieslings. A few minutes away in South Park, Princess & Bear Wines (309 S Cloverdale St) pours exceptional, reasonably priced, small-batch wines that the owners import from France’s famed Languedoc-Roussillon region. The plant-filled modern industrial tasting room and patio are a delight.
