My sister Mariel and I share the same birthday month – April. In fact, our birthdays are both in the very same week! We like to celebrate our birthdays together, but I live here in Woodinville and she lives in San Diego. Last year we flew to Las Vegas to celebrate our birthdays together; this year she did me the honor of flying up to stay with me a week after our birthdays and check out Woodinville and its tasting rooms!
Jen and I hadn’t been to Matthews Winery together yet, and I thought this would be the perfect introduction to Mariel for her first Woodinville wine tasting experience. We met Barbara, the tasting room manager, and were so grateful for her hospitality, kindness, and the wine knowledge she shared with us during our tasting.
This was the current tasting lineup on the day we visited. We didn’t have time to try Tenor’s wines, unfortunately.
My sister is still learning to appreciate wine, and wasn’t quite ready to try reds yet. So Barbara poured the whites for her instead.
Mariel purposely wore this gorgeous floral dress to evoke Spring. She’s a makeup artist, as I am sure you can tell from her stunning makeup and perfectly applied lipstick!
When we walked in, Mariel was so impressed by the beautiful tasting room setup.
There are comfy nooks you can take up residence in during your tasting. Love the little plants on every table, they lend the tasting room such a fresh clean feeling.
On Fridays, when Matthews hosts wine tasting and live music, some of the tables are pushed back to make room for dancing.
We love how sunny and light the tasting room is!
This is a very popular place, so we were glad to be able to go on a weekday to get photographs without disturbing other patrons.
You can learn about the vineyards Matthews Winery sources from on their About page.
We began our tasting with the 2016 Sauvignon Blanc. Jen was saving herself for the reds, so I happily took over for her and joined Mariel in enjoying this flowery, citrusy refreshing wine.
We forgot to warn Mariel that when we are tasting on behalf of our Woodinville Wine Blog, we should be really somber and serious!
Our next pour was the 2016 Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, which we could taste but not buy – it was sold out. We’ll just have to wait for the 2017 to come out!
My sister and I NEVER gossip when we get together, as you can tell!
We leisurely sipped our wines, comfortable here and in no hurry to dash off to our next tasting room appointment.
Barbara began our red wine portion of the tasting with the 2015 Claret. I’d heard so many good things about it from other local wine lovers on social media, so I was excited to try it.
This sign refers to the 2013 Claret. Congratulations!
Jen finally got out from behind the camera and joined me in tasting the claret!
Next Jen and I enjoyed tasting the 2013 Merlot. It was really rich and luscious with plum and raspberry notes. I knew I had to buy a bottle for home. I’ve selfishly kept it back at parties, saving it for myself for a special occasion!
Jen and I enjoyed the Merlot so much, Mariel consented to try it. I think she surprised herself – she liked it!
We needed to convince this lucky San Diegan girl that we do have sunshine here in Seattle sometimes, so we ventured out to the patio to soak up some rays.
We took our glasses with us, enjoying tasting in the sun. I love meeting other people at tasting rooms, but it was also nice to have the patio to ourselves for a bit on this weekday!
Matthews has made plenty of thoughtful accomodations for their customers who might find it chilly outside – there’s a tent and plenty of space heaters on the patio.
After tasting the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, I loved it so much I had to purchase a bottle for my home wine library too.
I love Bordeaux style blends. This one blended Cabernet Sauvignon with Cabernet Franc and a hint of Merlot.
Your Woodinville Wine Blog team (Carrie on the left, Jen on the right) wants to thank Barbara and everyone at Matthews Winery for showing us such a nice time and being kind and welcoming to my wine novice sister!
Matthews Winery is located at 16116 140th Pl NE, Woodinville, WA 98072.
Visit their Events page to find out about Corks and Canvas events, live music on Friday nights, Women and Wisdom events on Wednesdays, and so many more!
-Carrie
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