By our last full day in Seattle we were ready for a relaxing day. We had already hiked to the top of Hurricane Ridge in Mount Olympic National Park, explored the local Pike Place market and island hopped around the San Juan Islands, all with the sun shining on our backs. We headed to Woodinville, Washington because it was time to taste the nectar of the Pacific Northwest before heading back to the east coast.

Trip Report

• Trip Planning And Delta Flight
• Mountain Day up to Olympic National Park
• Pike Place Market And Space Needle
• San Juan Islands Day Trip
• Winery Day

Chateau Ste Michele

The first winery stop on our trip to Woodinville was to the oldest winery in the state of Washington and holds the title of 2013 Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year, Chateau Ste Michele.

Built on the 1912 estate owned by Seattle lumber baron Frederick Stimson, the winery’s roots date back to the Repeal of Prohibition, when the Pommerelle Wine Company and the National Wine Company were formed. 

We drove past the front entrance and pulled up to the impressive Chateau. The early afternoon was already shaping up to be a good day, and then we arrived at Chateau Ste Michele.

We were instantly welcomed by one of the resident Peacocks who call the winery home.

This one was very comfortable walking right over and saying hi.

We tasted some of the wines from the large wine selection and really had a good time just learning about some of the sweater and unoaked made in the Pacific Northwest.

Columbia Winery

Next up was a visit to the Columbia winery. The wineries in Woodinville are actually pretty close together so it only took a few moments to get from one winery to the other.

Once inside, there is a large tasting circular bar in the center of the room. We decided to share a tasting since it was the last visit of the day and we had a drive back to the city. We prefer this option because we get to taste wines from more wineries and it saves a bit of money too.

Bottom line

Four days in Seattle was plenty of time to explore the area. We don’t get away as much as we’d like, so squeezing in a quick trip between busy business schedules was a perfect use of points and miles.

At the end of our fourth day in sunny Seattle, we put down our tasting notes. It was sweet to talk about our excursions in Seattle over the long weekend, especially since the travel costs were free using points and miles. We had booked Delta coach tickets and upgraded to First Class using Delta’s infamous system wide upgrades. We also rented a car for free with Avis using free weekend certificates from my Avis small business program. Finally, we redeemed Starpoints for a stay at the W Seattle.

Our trip to Seattle may have been short, but the memories from our four sunny days in Seattle will be around for a long time.

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