My friend Valerie and I had just spent a lovely hour tasting wines nearby at Pepper Bridge/Amavi. The tasting room hostess there, Chris, insisted we taste next at J. Bookwalter. I’d stopped in before to check out the space but hadn’t had time to taste the wine, so thought this was a perfectly reasonable suggestion!
I have to say, this is a beautifully decorated tasting room. I love the dark, modern feel to it – it’s not gloomy or depressing, just stylish!
We met the delightful tasting room steward, Rochelle, who was super fun to talk to and incredibly knowledgeable about Bookwalter’s wines and wine in general.
It’s been so interesting along our blogging journey to meet so many tasting room professionals who are so passionate about wine.
We took a quick tour around the tasting room before other customers arrived – we’d shown up unannounced and were grateful to Rochelle for being so chill about us running around taking photos. I never want to interrupt other tasting room customers or spoil their time by taking obnoxious amounts of photos!
This giant table is mostly used for J. Bookwalter Winery club members, but could come in handy if you pre-reserve a small group tasting or rent the space for an event. The capacity for private events is 50 people. Bistro at Hollywood Schoolhouse delivers their food to the tasting room upon request.
Here’s a lovely wine gift set you can opt to purchase.
I’m enamored with this cozy seating area. Did I mention this tasting room is dog friendly? (Rochelle said “100% dog friendly!”)
I’d have to really rein in my naughtier dog, Edgar, who might think these couches look as comfy as I do.
J. Bookwalter Winery has the largest magnums of wine I’ve ever seen! They’re displayed proudly.
Rochelle began our tasting with the 2016 Chenin Blanc. It’s definitely one of the better Chenin Blancs I’ve tasted lately, and I settled on purchasing a bottle to bring home. I think I got the last bottle in Woodinville – it’s now marked as Sold Out on the website.
We then moved on to tasting the 2015 Suspense, which is 83% Cabernet Franc, with the rest Merlot. Loved it! I could tell it was going to be difficult to stick within my budget here.
Valerie really enjoyed our next tasting, the 2014 Protagonist, a Cabernet Sauvignon that won double gold at the Seattle Wine Awards and scored 92 points at Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator AND Wine Advocate!
Next we tasted the 2013 Foreshadow Merlot (not shown), a 90 point wine. I ended up bringing a bottle of this with me to Wenatchee to gift to a cousin. She thoroughly enjoyed it and I can’t say there was any left by the end of the evening!
I love the clever book-themed names for the wines – Antagonist, Protagonist, Double Plot, Foreshadow, etc. And the wine clubs here are called the Book Club.
Rochelle told us that the winemaker, Caleb Foster, creates the wines called Volumes and Chapters. Chapters wines come from Connor Lee Vineyards, which is a higher elevation and has hotter temperatures. This produces smoother wines. She said Volume wines have a higher tannin level, and are grown on gravel slopes.
I was happy to wait and relax while Rochelle provided her friendly service to some people who came in to use their Passports to Woodinville Wine Country.
I was delighted to taste the 2012 Chapter 5, another 92 point wine. It’s a blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon, with a bit of Syrah and Malbec as well.
Valerie chose to taste the 2015 Antagonist Syrah, and if I remember correctly this is the one she chose to purchase for home.
Antagonist Syrah is from Elephant Mountain Vineyard in Yakima. Rochelle says “it antagonizes” their Bordeaux centered wines.
I snuck a small sip, and was impressed – I’m still struggling to call Syrah one of my favorite wines. This one could start convincing me.
I wanted to mention that J. Bookwalter Winery tasting room here in Woodinville offers a Happy Hour Monday through Friday 4pm to 6pm and all day Sunday, where they offer 30% off glass pours.
We’re really looking forward to relaxing on J. Bookwalter Winery’s fabulous outdoor patio this summer. They have a fire pit, too (not pictured) and plenty of small tables. I’m really going to prioritize bringing friends here when I get a chance!
-Carrie
RESOURCES:
J. Bookwalter Winery on Facebook
J. Bookwalter Winery on Twitter
J. Bookwalter Winery Woodinville Tasting Studio on Yelp
TableTalk NW’s Interview with J. Bookwalter, on YouTube
