On Saturday, I decided to head east to Woodinville Wine Country, where I ended up visiting half a dozen wineries. Overall, I had a really good time discovering new wines, meeting nice folks, and learning more about these wineries. You can expect to see reviews of each winery in the week ahead. In the meantime, here are few quick highlights from my visit.

All wineries were well staffed with knowledgeable folks eager to answer questions and ensure your glass was full. With the notable exception of Novelty Hill-Januik, most of the wineries I visited were housed in industrial or nondescript buildings, with their setting leaving much to be desired. Putting this aside, I was really captivated by some of the experiences at several wineries, where folks shared stories that went beyond the bottle to connect me to their wines.

Speaking of wine, I was really pleased to find a lot of food friendly, balanced wines at most of the wineries I visited. This came as a pleasant surprise, as I expected the usual high alcohol, over extracted reds that seem to characterize a lot of Washington red wines these days. Even better, I was really happy to discover some wineries going beyond the cab, merlot and syrah routine, with some exciting tempranillo and sangiovese being produced.

So, what can you expect me to be writing about in the week ahead?

First off, the amazing new Novelty Hill winery, which is shared with the Januik winery. This combo winery is a standout in terms of architectural design, making its older, more established neighbors appear staid and stale. Next, the way in which Karen at Brian Carter Cellars and Cindy at Covington Cellars went beyond the bottle to share stories connecting me to their winery and wines. Then, the impressive efforts of a newly minted tasting room manager at Chatter Creek Winery, who knew a ton about their wines even she was only in her fourth weekend on the job. Finally, being taken into the barrel room at Matthews Cellars to see "the egg", a concrete fermenter from France.

I am looking forward to sharing these experiences with you in the coming week. Cheers!