{"id":8106,"date":"2014-09-30T09:00:25","date_gmt":"2014-09-30T17:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wandertours.com\/?p=8106"},"modified":"2016-02-23T09:15:01","modified_gmt":"2016-02-23T17:15:01","slug":"wineries-of-washington-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wandertours.com\/wineries-of-washington-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Wineries of Washington State"},"content":{"rendered":"

I love reading about studies that\u00a0show that drinking wine in moderation can be beneficial to your health<\/strong><\/em>. I do love a good glass of wine and feel particularly virtuous when it\u2019s a local vintage and hasn\u2019t been shipped halfway around the world. We have heaps of wineries here in British Columbia (producing some mighty fine wine), but I\u2019m not sure we can compete in volume with our neighbor to the south, Washington State.<\/p>\n

\"Washington<\/strong><\/p>\n

The state is the second-largest producer of premium wines<\/strong><\/em> in the United States (after California). The warmth of the summer sun combined with cool evenings creates the perfect growing environment for grapes. With over 800 wineries<\/strong><\/em> located in 13 specific wine regions of the state, you\u2019ll find over 40 different varietals. It doesn\u2019t matter whether your preference is red or white, you\u2019re sure to find something to imbibe. That\u2019s why it\u2019s a no-brainer that we add a wine-tasting or two onto our Seattle Culinary tour<\/a>. We\u2019ll be driving to Woodinville<\/strong><\/em>, the wine-producing area closest to Seattle. A mere 20 miles outside the city and we\u2019re there.<\/p>\n

Here are a few of our faves (although we won\u2019t necessarily visit them all).<\/p>\n

Brian Carter Cellars<\/strong>
\nBrian has twice been named Winemaker of the Year<\/strong><\/em> by Washington magazine. Located in the heart of Woodinville wine country, his winery is the first in Washington State to produce a selection of European-style blended wines. You\u2019ll enjoy a wine-tasting in the cozy little yellow tasting-room or out on their patio if the weather permits.<\/p>\n

\"Wine\"<\/p>\n

Columbia Winery<\/strong>
\nA short distance from Brian Carter Cellars is the Columbia Winery. In business for over 50 years, this winery was the first in the state to produce Pinot Gris, Syrah and Cabernet Franc. Here you\u2019ll enjoy a selection of red and white wines which\u00a0are only available in their tasting room.<\/p>\n

Chateau Ste. Michelle<\/strong>
\nAs indicated by this winery\u2019s name, at this winery you\u2019ll find a French-style chateau<\/strong><\/em>, built on the estate of a former Seattle lumber baron. The winery dates back to the Repeal of Prohibition and is one of only a few wineries in the world with two state-of-the-art wineries, one for the production of white wine and one for red.<\/p>\n

The Chateau also has a beautiful outdoor amphitheater<\/strong><\/em> where you can attend concerts throughout the months of June through September. Check out the concert schedule and you\u2019ll find artists ranging from the Gipsy Kings to the Goo Goo Dolls to Crosby, Stills and Nash. It\u2019s kind of nice way to spend a lovely summer evening.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re traveling to Washington on your own or decide to come out a day or two early before our tour<\/a>, here\u2019s a guide<\/a> to help you sip your way along the wine trails of Washington. Enjoy!<\/p>\n

Embrace life,<\/p>\n

Pat<\/em><\/h2>\n

To stay up-to-date on all things WanderTours, follow us on Facebook<\/a> and subscribe to our blog<\/a> via email or RSS.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington state is the second-largest producer of premium wines in the United States (after California).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8141,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[339],"tags":[640,473,467,637],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wandertours.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8106"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wandertours.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wandertours.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wandertours.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wandertours.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wandertours.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8106\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wandertours.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8141"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wandertours.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wandertours.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wandertours.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}