I’ve got a quick business trip to Seattle coming up and wanted to taste a little wine while I’m there. I unfortunately won’t have time to leave downtown, so we’re probably talking 2-3 downtown tastings tops.
I definitely want to visit Sleight of Hand in SoDo Urbanworks, as I loved Trey Busch’s wines from his time at Basel and would love to taste through the SOH lineup. I see there are some other wineries in there but I wasn’t too familiar them (tho I’ve heard good things about Rotie and Waters).
I know there are a lot of Washington wine fans on the board. What other wineries there would you recommend?
Also, any fun dinner spots in the vicinity? Thanks, as always, for the guidance.
What John said on wineries. You could also stop by Full Pull – they always have wines open to taste, and a small little selection of interesting wines for purchase.
For dinner, are you looking for more formal/less formal? Type of cuisine?
There is a great BBQ place not too far from the SoDo tasting area – Jack’s BBQ. Pretty informal but good quality. There are a number of places in Pioneer Square – others here could make recommendations based on more recent experience (I am a bit out of touch with restaurant life here with a two year old at home!).
If you will have a car, you are not too far from the International District. There are tons of good Asian Places – a good standby is Tamarind Tree. Not exactly in the International District but well worth trying is Ba Bar – a Vietnamese place. It is a bit noisy at night though – quite an active bar scene usually. But they have great Pho and noodle dishes. The same owners of BaBar also have Monsoon – which is really excellent, and I always forget about. More variety of food than BaBar, but still Vietnamese – and I think probably less noisy. For both BaBar and Monsoon you will need to take a Lyft or drive – though not too far. They are both about a 10-15 minute drive depending on traffic.
But others should weigh in on Asian places near downtown.
If you’re looking for Asian food in Seattle and also would like some good wine, I would point you to Wild Ginger. It’s food is really decent and all that but the wine list steals the show.
Thanks as always for the great guidance, both here and via PM. This community never disappoints.
I am informed that most of the UrbanWorks spots are closed Wednesdays, which is my window for tasting. Any other good reccos on what might be open. Looks like Efeste and Charles Smith’s Jet City spot are. Anything else I should consider?
Rotie and SOH are closed Wednesdays, unfortunately. Really bummed about that but, yes, Charles Smith seems like a great option. Have enjoyed many of his wines over the years but his “portfolio” keeps expanding so lots will be new.
Hmmm, for Wednesday. You could try to drive out to Woodinville – it is less than an hour away, depending on traffic. But a bit of a haul. You could also go to Black Bottle – which is a wine bar in Madrona, not too far from downtown. Purple, which is downtown, also has lots of good WA wines. But in terms of tasting rooms I think you will have to go to Woodinville if you really want that – and even there some of them may not be opened except on the weekends.
This is a complete shift – but when I lived in South Africa in 1996, all of the wineries out in the wine country were open during the week, and on Saturdays from 9 to 1. Nothing past 1 pm on Saturday, and nothing on Sunday. I thought that was such a missed opportunity business wise (though of course based upon a style of living that no longer exists – or is more rare). Here it is the opposite. A recognition that most have time on the weekends but not during the week. But of course this disadvantages people like you who are here briefly during the week.
If you want Asian food, Buddha Ruksa is in West Seattle, outside of the others lined out, Wild Ginger is always good, great wine list, and Tamarind Tree is good also as suggested.
If you make it to Charles Smith there are quite a few good restaurants in the Georgetown neighborhood a few blocks away. I have been to Via Tribunali and Fonda La Catrina. Not high end dining but both were very good. There are many other restaurants in the neighborhood that are highly rated as well.
Only had time for one tasting yesterday, so we went over to Charles Smith’s Jet City setup and were not disappointed. Such a cool lineup. His syrahs remain top notch (particularly the MCK and the Rockgarden) and we really liked some of the SIXTO Chardonnnays, particularly the “Uncovered,” a cuvee of the single-vineyard offerings. Nice value, too, as you get to taste any eight wines of your choosing for $20, and that’s refunded with a two-bottle purchase.
Another rec from here, Wild Ginger, was an outstanding dinner choice,
Glad you enjoyed your quick trip, Jeremy. I always appreciate it when a poster asking for recommendations comes back and closes the loop with a recap. So, thanks!
Only had time for one tasting yesterday, so we went over to Charles Smith’s Jet City setup and were not disappointed. Such a cool lineup. His syrahs remain top notch (particularly the MCK and the Rockgarden) and we really liked some of the SIXTO Chardonnnays, particularly the “Uncovered,” a cuvee of the single-vineyard offerings. Nice value, too, as you get to taste any eight wines of your choosing for $20, and that’s refunded with a two-bottle purchase.
Another rec from here, Wild Ginger, was an outstanding dinner choice,
This board never steers me wrong. Thx!][/quote]
For wine value I think the Syrahs from the Rocks are the best deals out there right now! Rockgarden K is awesome!