On a rainy afternoon earlier this week, Jen and I headed into Woodinville to enjoy a tasting or two. We’ve been trying to make it to Airfield Estates for quite a while – I frequently buy Airfield Estates wine at PCC Markets to serve at my weekend parties. I was glad to finally be able to check this place out!
We loved how the walkway through the tasting room is painted to look like a runway. Clever!
Airfield Estates is a family-owned farm in the Yakima Valley. Their aviation heritage stems from a flight school that used to operate on an airbase built on their property at the beginning of World War II. I come from an aviation-obsessed family, so I enjoyed learning more about the Miller family’s passion for aviation and the history of their estate. I’m impressed that their estate has been in the family for four generations!
This is a photo of the Woodinville tasting room. There’s also an Airfield Estates tasting room in Prosser.
The tasting room manager, Lori, was warm, welcoming and quite knowledgeable about the wines. So glad to have met her!
She caught us up on news and gossip regarding the strip mall this tasting room is located in. Ryan Patrick and Milbrandt Vineyards are opening tasting rooms here soon. Also, we’re very excited about Heritage Restaurant + Bar, which has moved into the old Mazatlan Mexican restaurant space.
We also chatted with a fellow customer, Kurt, who is a former pilot and now treats himself to wine tastings in Woodinville a couple times per week.
The tasting began with Flygirl White, a blend of Viognier and Chardonnay. This might be a nice way to nudge a couple of my Chardonnay-loving friends into trying something a bit more complex and sophisticated.
Next, Lori poured the 2015 Lightning, a white blend made from 75% Rousanne and 25% Marsanne. That was followed by the 2015 Reserve Chardonnay, which we found oaky and creamy. It’s aged in 100% French oak barrels, using 60% new oak in each.
The tasting continued with the red wines. Normally they pour their Mustang wine, but instead today they let us sample Bombshell Red.
Next up was the Reserve Merlot, which shows the airbase on the label. As fans of Cab Francs, we especially liked the 2013 Aviator. It’s made with 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, and 20% Cabernet Franc. (This is the one I most often serve at my parties, and it disappears so quickly, I probably should have bought more than one bottle today!)
We began to explore the rest of the tasting room space. Wine barrel stools are, naturally, used quite often to decorate tasting rooms. I enjoyed looking at the airplane decor overhead, and the vintage style posters on the walls.
Each member of the staff has their own recommended favorite pick from Airfield Estates’ wine list. We were glad to note that Airfield offers a wine by the glass option and a cheese charcuterie plate is available for purchase as well. I like that you can just come in and sit down to enjoy a glass of wine on days when you don’t quite have enough time to indulge in the whole tasting process.
Who can resist shopping for caramels to enjoy along with the wine?
The gift shop area also offers mints, soaps, wine themed lip tint, and Haley’s Corkers.
We didn’t dare sniff the candles, having made New Year’s resolutions not to shop so much!
A few versions of Airfield Estates’ vintage pinup-girl style posters are available for purchase, too. I just love these – retro things really appeal to me!
If you’re shopping for wine, don’t worry, they have plenty available for you to choose from!
I wanted to bring home more than two bottles, but when one hasn’t an unlimited wine budget, one has to bring home just the Bombshell Red and the Aviator!
-Carrie
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