Brian Carter Cellars
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
LOCATION : Woodin Creek District
HOURS (as of May 2023): Wed/Thurs 2-7pm, Fri-Sat 1-8pm, Sun 12-6pm, closed Mon/Tues
TASTING FEE (as of May 2023): $20 (5 pours, mixed flight)
Think all the way back to 2006. Dick Cheney is in the news for accidentally shooting a campaign contributor. Your computer is running Microsoft Office 2003. Pluto has just been reclassified as a dwarf planet. A new microblogging site called “Twitter” is preparing to launch. And somewhere in the Hollywood District of sleepy Woodinville, Washington, the doors of Brian Carter Cellars’ tasting room open for the first time.
Seventeen years later, and history repeats itself as Brian Carter Cellars opens a new Woodinville tasting room in Woodin Creek, at the heart of the city’s burgeoning new wine district. Enter the elegant, warmly furnished space and you might be lucky enough to spot a local legend - Brian Carter himself.
Carter is well-known in the Washington wine circuit, having been living, producing and advocating Washington wine since 1980. His interest in winemaking originated in microbiology, and that early love for science carries through in the long lines of pristinely polished wineglasses hung like test tubes in careful rows along the walls of the new tasting room. Brian Carter Cellars indexes particularly high on European-style blends, making it a high-priority destination for anyone who loves Super Tuscans, BDX, and the like.
What sets the Woodin Creek tasting room apart from its Hollywood predecessor? A fully functioning kitchen and chef, inspired by Carter's philosophy that food and wine are partners. Visitors to the Woodin Creek tasting room can indulge in paired bites such as green garlic polenta cakes, braised short ribs, and strawberry-rhubarb panna cotta, all prepared by Chef Nicholas Ames.
The Woodin Creek tasting room was partially funded through crowdfunding, where donors received $1,200 in gift cards for a $1,000 donation, plus an engraved wine glass kept in the tasting room for their use. This unique funding method not only created a beautiful new tasting room, but also gave supporters the opportunity to reap the rewards of collaboration with an esteemed Washington brand.
At the time of my last visit the tasting opened with the Array Chardonnay— a Burgundian-style offering still tasting delicious at 9 years of age — and proceeded through the brand’s greatest hits, including the Tuttorosso Super Tuscan style blend, the Corrida Rioja-style blend, and the Le Coursier and Solesce Bordeaux-style blends (right and left bank respectively). My group was also treated to the new Abracadabra rosé, a springtime staple with notes of stone fruit and watermelon rind.
With bottles ranging in price from $25-134, Brian Carter Cellars definitely knows its worth. Select bottles from the library (notable vintages set aside to mature to their fruition) are available for purchase by the public, a rare sight in Woodinville. Reservations are strongly recommended and food is not only available but a major draw. Minors are allowed and pets are accommodated on the patio. If you’d like to visit this tasting room steeped in local history, let us know in your pre-tour survey and we will arrange to visit it.
Salut, and enjoy Woodinville!