Wine and travel go together like...well...wine and lots of other things...food, for instance. Anyway, if there is anything good about NOT living in a major wine-producing reason, it is that you can look forward to visiting one. My lovely wife and I look forward to doing such at least once a year.
This year, we've got two trips planned to "wine country"...so far. I should preface by saying that another passion of wine - besides wine, of course - is running. Luckily, there are lots of opportunities to scratch both itches on one trip. So maybe it helps me justify all of the - ahem - consumption that occurs on these trips, but I like planning wine trips around races. If nothing else, training for a race helps keep me occupied as I count the days until setting foot on a wine mecca.
Our first trip this year will be to one of Washington's wine countries - Woodinville. I am running the Seattle Rock-n-Roll Marathon, and we are parlaying that into a longer trip, which will include a full day in Woodinville. If you aren't familiar with this wine destination, fret not. Woodinville is a quaint suburban town about 30 minutes outside of Seattle. They grow very few grapes there, but a few decades back several wineries (led by Chateau Ste. Michelle) made the wise decision to locate tasting rooms (and in many cases actually winemaking facilities) in the area. Since, many more wine producers have followed suit and the result is a convenient, daytripper's wine country where wines can be sampled from known and unknown producers making some really great wines.
We visited Woodinville a few years back while on a business trip to Seattle and really enjoyed it. We discovered some wines and wineries that we are still very fond of, and look forward to visiting them (and some new ones) soon. Some of our favorites that we will be revisiting include DiStefano, Januik, Novelty Hill, Silver Lake, Chateau Ste. Michelle, and Columbia.
Seattle is an awesome food city, too, so you can spend a day tasting and bring a few bottles back to accompany a great dinner at one of their highly-acclaimed restaurants.
Our second wine trip will be to a region I have been wanting to visit for quite some time: Oregon's Willamette Valley. I will be running in the Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon over Labor Day weekend, and we will again take a few more days to explore the Pinot-centric bounty of the surrounding lands. Not having gone before, I am scouting wineries, restaurants, hotels and the like. No matter what, I plan on sampling a lot of Pinot Noir, and I am also growing fond of Oregon's whites, namely Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Chardonnay. There are so many great producers and, I'm sure, many more that I have not heard of. I can't wait to discover some new wineries (and undoubtedly join a new wine club or two).
If anyone has any recommendations for Willamette Valley destinations, please send them my way. If you are interested in learning more about either of these wine regions and/or races, I have posted some links below.
Cheers!
http://woodinvillewinecountry.com/
http://www.oregonwinecountry.org/
http://destinationraces.com/runoregon/
http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/seattle
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