AFAR.com
September 25, 2019

With its dark-as-steel Puget Sound and snowcapped mountains, Washington may not look much like wine country at first. But stay in one of the state’s quintessential wine towns and you’ll quickly discover that some of the country’s best syrahs, merlots, and chardonnays are being produced here.

Woodinville Pours All of Washington’s Wines

With its proximity to Seattle, 30 minutes away, Woodinville is the closest place to get a taste of Washington wine while staying west of the Cascades. While most of the state’s grapes are grown east of the mountains, numerous wineries import them to produce their wines in Woodinville, nestled in the Sammamish River Valley. More than 150 wineries and tasting rooms, representing the state’s wine scene as a whole, make the town well worth a visit. There’s the Chateau St. Michelle winery, where peacocks stroll the property and music acts such as Josh Groban and the Steve Miller Band perform in the summer—plus multiple tasting rooms. Just down the road, in the Hollywood District, more than 50 tasting rooms cluster, including DeLille and Sparkman cellars and Gorman and Guardian wineries. For those more interested in spirits or hops (Washington is the nation’s largest hops producer), there are more than a dozen breweries, distilleries, and cideries to visit, too.

Where to Stay: A short walk from the Hollywood District is the Pacific Northwest–styled, rustic-chic, 84-room Willows Lodge—with stone-trimmed fireplaces and soaring ceilings, a spa, and complimentary loaner bicycles, set on five acres along the Sammamish River…Read the entire article on AFAR