Skip to content

DeLille Cellars

18-Jun-2006
 
 
A couple of months ago I received an Email asking me if I wanted to join a wine club the sender was starting.  She went into a little detail about her plan and it sounded great.  Just one problem.  I didn’t know who the person was!  I scoured my brain for someone I’d met in the past who I might have given my email address to, I asked several friends if they knew if I knew the person, but to no avail.  What was odd is that the person works at a company where I used to be employed and where I’m currently doing project management but the email was sent to my personal account – so it wasn’t a case of someone actually choosing the wrong name from the company address book. 
 
For a while I thought about just showing up, thinking I’d recognize the person once I arrived.  But what if I didn’t?!  I was just about to send a return email asking where I knew them from when I received an Email from my friend, David.  At the end he said, "By the way, I hope you don’t mind but another friend is starting a women’s wine club and I immediately thought of you.  I gave her your email address"   Mystery solved!  And it turned out I actually had met her once briefly, at a wine tasting where David had introduced us. 
 
I couldn’t make the first meeting but a couple of weeks ago they had another gathering that I was able to attend.  And our organizer had done a great job of getting us into DeLille Cellars!  Those of you in this area will know that DeLille is one of the premier wineries in Washington.  A few years ago they started a second label called D2 and that wine can now be found in retail shops but their premier wines are extremely limited.  If you have a wine shop that you frequent often, you may be able to get in on their allotment (special notifications and all that) but other than that you’ll be forced to enjoy DeLille only at restaurants. 
 
In addition to, or maybe because of, their limited distribution there are no public tastings at the winery.  You can make reservations in advance for private Friday night tastings but that’s it.  But our organizer met some people, who knew some people… And lo and behold, we found ourselves at the winery on a beautiful, warm Tuesday evening!  What a treat.   
 
I had never been to the DeLille facility before and was amazed with the beauty of it.  Designed to look like a large estate on a slight hill overlooking Woodinville, it is surrounded by gardens and a working farm.  I am so sad that I forgot my camera that night – instead you’ll just see photos of the spoils.  We were seated at a series of outdoor tables overlooking the gardens and the view.
 
As we arrived we were greeted by the Cellar Master who would be our host for the evening.  He made a point of remembering everyone’s name – no small feat as there were about 14 of us that night.  A few people had been assigned to be the "snacks" people and as they arrived they laid out their goods as our host poured glasses of D2 and brought bottles of water. 
 
Although D2 is supposedly their second label, this wine will knock your socks off.  The 2003 is 45% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petite Verdot and 8% Cabernet Franc.  The grapes come from a variety of vineyards in the Columbia Valley – the granddaddy AVA.  Several of the grapes actually come from smaller appellations that are contained within Columbia Valley AVA, such as Red Mountain. 
 
In addition to the D2 we tasted the 2003 Harrison Hill, a single vineyard Bordeaux blend and the 2003 Chaleur Estate which is a 100% Red Mountain Bordeaux blend.  Both of these wines are big and powerful, chewy reds. 
 
We spent a relaxing  2 1/2 hours or so, sipping, snacking, enjoying our surroundings and getting to know each other.  It was really quite a lovely night.  Although going into the evening I didn’t know anyone except the organizer (and you know how indirectly that was!) by the end of the night, I was looking forward to the next gathering and getting to know those in the group even better. 
 
DeLille Cellars
14208 Woodinville-Redmond Rd NE
Redmond
425-489-0544
Advertisement
from → Wine
4 Comments
  1. Unknown permalink
    19-Jun-2006 12:41 pm

    Ahhh, you guys started with the best…Can it be all downhill from here? Make sure to put Mark Ryan on the list. They\’re just up the street from DeLille in the warehouse district.

  2. Culinary permalink
    20-Jun-2006 5:35 am

    Hey!  Good to hear from you again Grrl!
    Yep, I like Mark Ryan, too.  I met him (and his wine) a few years ago when he was still at Matthews – which is another great winery in the area.  So many great options!
     
    ~ B

  3. BH permalink
    20-Jun-2006 9:25 am

    I am JEALOUS.  We drive by there all the time on the way to Molbak\’s and CSM.  I\’d love to check it out.  Great write up.
    -bh

  4. Culinary permalink
    20-Jun-2006 10:52 pm

    Thanks, BH!  I highly recommend it if you ever have the opportunity.  Apparently they also rent the facilty for weddings, parties, etc.  Might be something to keep in mind…
    ~ B

Comments are closed.

%d bloggers like this: