The Best Wineries in the Pacific Northwest

Oregon and Washington are home to some of the best wineries in the Pacific Northwest. We have micro producers making as little as ~100 bottles of wine to large, globally-recognized wine brands producing 8 million cases a year. And given our region’s strong culture of sustainability and farming, we have a lot of organic and biodynamic wineries too.

My favorite Pacific northwest wineries are the ones that are smaller and focused on giving you a sense of place. They honor the terroir their grapes come from and let you taste the differences the climate imparts on each bottle year to year. I also love a winery that has ambiance. You know what I’m talking about: those rolling vineyard views and plenty of outdoor seating to soak them up.

To help you explore the Pacific Northwest wine regions, I created this list of my absolute favorite wineries. If you love wine just as much as I do, you’re going to want to save this list of the best wineries in the Pacific Northwest. Use it as your bucket list to check off as you explore all the amazing wines this area has to offer.

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Best Wineries in the Pacific Northwest

Oregon and Washington are the second and third largest wine producers in the US behind California. Washington is second with more than 1,000 wineries and 400 vineyards, while Oregon is third with more than 800 wineries and 1,100 vineyards. Together these two Pacific Northwest states have more than 40 recognized American Viticultural Areas (AVAs)!

So as you can see, we like our wine in the upper left of the US! While there are a bunch of AVAs, locals usually refer to the Pacific northwest wine regions based on the town or county with the highest concentration of wineries. I’ve been to them all and wrote thorough winery guides for each. But just like all parents have a favorite child (wait, what?), I too have a list of what I consider the best wineries in the Pacific Northwest.

Here are my top picks! If you are interested in exploring the region more, click through each of my wine region guides to find more of my favorite wineries in the area. I’ll continue to update this as I find more of the best Pacific Northwest wineries and explore nearby wine regions like Idaho and British Columbia.

Overwhelmed by your options? Let me plan you a custom trip.

Puget Sound, Washington wine region

distance from Seattle: 0 minutes – 3 hours | number of wineries: ~20 producing grapes (~300 tasting rooms) | AVAs: Puget Sound

The Puget Sound AVA is the only grape growing region in western Washington. It covers a wide area of land extending from Olympia all the way to the islands off Seattle in the San Juans. This AVA is unique because it’s situated in a milder, more temperate climate than the rest of Washington’s growing regions in the eastern part of the state. Therefore, cooler climate grapes like pinot noir, riesling, and the less common white grapes madeleine angevine or siegerrebe are popular here.

Here are my absolute favorite Pacific Northwest wineries in the Puget Sound AVA.

Lopez Island Vineyards

website | address | best for: niche whites

I tried Lopez Island Vineyards for the first time during a San Juan Island day trip. It’s a super small winery (~1,500 cases per year) on the quietest of the big three San Juan Islands producing seriously good white wines on the oldest vineyard on the islands. It used to be one of the best things to do on Lopez Island, but their tasting room has been closed since the pandemic.

However, you can still buy their wines around the island or schedule curbside pickup directly from them. Their siegerrebe is my absolute favorite. White wines can often be either bland or too sweet, but the 2018 version I tasted was super floral (a flavor profile you don’t often see in wines).

Spoiled Dog Winery

website | address | best for: complex whites

This is one of the best Whidbey Island wineries. The tasting room is a barn with an outdoor patio perfect for soaking in views of their vineyard and the forest surrounding the property. While you can find a fair bit of red wines here, I love the white wines. They’re crisp and interesting without being overly sweet.

Structure Cellars

website | address | best for: structured reds

Structure doesn’t grow its own grapes and it’s inside a warehouse, but this is hands down one of the best Seattle urban wineries. Winemaker Brian was a “vodka guy” his whole life, but when his wife Brandee introduced him to wine, they started making it in their basement. He now makes around 2,500 cases a year of some of the best red wines I’ve tasted.

Bayernmoor Cellars

website | address | best for: Burgundian style reds

Bayernmoor has a pretty estate in Stanwood, about an hour north of Seattle. However, it’s only open for wine club members to visit. Luckily, they also have a tasting room in Woodinville. Why didn’t I put them in the Woodinville wineries section below? Because they’re one of the only wineries there that actually grow their own grapes in the Puget Sound AVA.

They focus primarily on what the Puget Sound is best at: light and delicate red wines. They also offer incredible food pairings alongside the wines that rotate with the seasons (and sometimes include dessert!).

Cloudlift Cellars

website | address | best for: food-friendly reds

Cloudlift Cellars was one of the first urban wineries in Seattle I ever visited, and I immediately became a wine club member. Winemaker and owner Tom Stangeland focuses on making dry, food-friendly wines and sources all grapes from the Columbia Valley.

Woodinville, Washington wine region

distance from Seattle: 30 minutes | number of wineries: ~130 | AVAs: Puget Sound

Woodinville is the most popular wine tasting area near Seattle. It’s separated into 4 official districts: Downtown, Hollywood, Warehouse, and West Valley. There are also two emerging areas called The Schoolhouse District, located downtown, and Artisan Hill, located near the Warehouse District.

I have a very thorough guide to the best wineries in Woodinville, but here are my absolute favorites, many of which you can visit on a Seattle area wine tour.

Adams Bench

website | address | best for: red wines with serious street cred

Adams Bench is a no-fuss winery owned by a sweet older couple. They used to pour wine right from their dreamy English garden-like property. However, the city made them shut down and they now have a small tasting room tucked among the Downtown tasting rooms in Wine Alley.

Despite losing their great ambiance, they’re worth seeking out because they produce some of the most high quality red wines I’ve had in the area. The price tags are a bit higher as a result, but this is a winery you must try if you’re a serious red wine lover.

Long Shadows

website | address | best for: pricier wines from some of the best winemakers in the world

A lot of people go to the 8-million-case-per-year producing Chateau Ste. Michelle when they visit Woodinville, but insiders know you can avoid the crowds and get seriously good wine from the same owners at Long Shadows. This winery is unique because the Chateau St. Michelle CEO created a business that actually highlights winemakers from around the world. His team works with these award-winning winemakers to see how they’d produce wine using Pacific northwest grapes.

The result is incredible. You’ll get to try a lot of different styles of wine side by side from winemakers you’d likely never get to taste from otherwise. I also love how geeky the Long Shadows staff are. Every time I go they take me on an adventure of the wine stats in a really un-snooty way.

DeLille Cellars

website | address | best for: top shelf reds

DeLille is another bigger Pacific Northwest winery, producing about 30,000 cases a year. But it’s making some of the best red wines I’ve tried. The winemaker took me behind the scenes once for a barrel tasting and, honestly, even the ones that “weren’t ready” were mind blowing.

Try the D2 Estate Red if you’re able to! It’s big and beautiful, just the way I like my reds.

Latta Wines

website | address | best for: medium-bodied reds

Latta Wines used to be based in SODO, but winemaker and owner Andrew Latta made the move to Woodinville a few years back and has been making himself known for his Rhone-style reds. They’re medium on the acid and the alcohol, making them remarkably food-friendly and approachable. The tasting room is sleek meets warehouse, which is surprisingly fitting for the wines.

Kevin White Winery

website | address | best for: low-acid reds

Kevin White Winery is inspired by the owner’s many trips to Europe, as evident from the Parisian style of the tasting room. With marble tables, blue walls, and a sleek, clean look, the wines are perfectly aligned. Kevin focuses primarily on Rhone varietals using grapes sourced from cool climates and higher elevations in the Yakima Valley.

Yakima Valley, Washington wine region

distance from Seattle: 2.5 hours | number of wineries: ~150 | AVAs: multiple

A ton of grapes the best wineries in the Pacific Northwest use come from one of the Yakima area AVAs. In fact, this 70-mile wine region has more than 17,000 acres of vineyards producing more than half of Washington State’s wine grapes!

The warm climate provides the optimal growing conditions for producing grapes used in intense wines, such as cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah, and similar. So if you’re a big fan of these kinds of wines, you’ll love visiting Yakima Valley wineries.

Frichette Winery

website | address | best for: full-bodied reds

Shae Frichette is one of the only Black-owned wineries in Washington state, and she’s making my favorite wine out of the Yakima Valley. She focuses on Bordeaux-style wines, which means she blends wine made predominantly of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, and merlot grape varietals common in the Bordeaux region of France.

All of her grapes are sourced from the Red Mountain AVA, which she turns into about 2,000 cases of yummy wine per year.

Paradisos del Sol Winery

website | address | best for: organic reds

Paradisos del Sol is one of my favorite wineries in the Yakima Valley. They’re a family-owned winery that only uses grapes grown on their organic, pesticide-free vineyard, Vineyard del Sol. Owner and winemaker Paul has been making wine since the 80s and believes wine should represent the land it comes from, be affordable, be food-friendly, and of course, be delicious. Their wines range from 100% sangiovese to unique blends of tempranillo, zinfandel, and lemberger.

Note, the wine tasting room is in his house and is quirky as hell with animals running all over. Don’t be alarmed!

Lake Chelan, Washington wine region

distance from Seattle: 4 hours | number of wineries: ~40 | AVAs: Lake Chelan

Lake Chelan is my favorite region for Washington wines. It’s nestled around one of the deepest lakes in the US, which makes for picturesque views at most of the area’s wineries. It’s a great place to visit in the winter and has some awesome restaurants.

But what I love most about Chelan is how much of an agricultural town it is. The region is famous for its apples and fruit farms, so it was natural for farmers to turn those farms into vineyards.

The result is a bunch of small, family-owned wineries creating beautiful wines in small batches with no pretentiousness. I have a whole guide to the best Lake Chelan wineries, but below are my absolute favorites.

Hard Row to Hoe

website | address | best for: quirky backstory and tasting room vibe

Hard Row to Hoe produces about 3,000 cases a year and sits up on a hill with picnic tables, ladder golf, and chairs overlooking vineyards. Inside, though, you’ll find a moodier, more dimly lit ambiance not too unlike a brothel.

Why you may ask? Well, the name of their winery comes from a story of how entrepreneurial women created a brothel on a lake that miners would row to for the evening. Your wine tasting attendant will take you through the tail as you sip excellent wines.

Lagriōth Wines

website | address | best for: crisp white wines

Lagriōth Wines is owned and operated by Chad and Jenna, who also manage Chelan Valley Farms, one of my favorite spots for a romantic getaway in the pacific northwest. In addition to a large u-pick apple orchard, pumpkin patch, and flower field, they also grow all of the grapes for their wines. Jenna does the winemaking and produces a variety of wines ranging from crisp whites and young pinots that are surprisingly complex.

While I’m not officially in their wine club, we’ve become friends over the years and they send me boxes regularly. So I can attest to how good their wines are!

Cairdeas Winery

website | address | best for: Rhone reds and whites

Cairdeas comes from the Galic word for friendship or goodwill, which is precisely what you feel when you approach the doors to the tasting room. Owners Charlie and Lacey started Cairdeas in West Seattle before moving to Chelan and opening their tasting room that overlooks their vines. The wines range from structured syrah to GSM blends and aromatic white wines.

Walla Walla, Washington wine region

distance from Seattle: 4 hours | number of wineries: ~130 | AVAs: Walla Walla, including the sub-AVA The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater

Walla Walla Valley is in the southeastern most part of Washington state. It spans both Washington and Oregon and is organized into 6 districts: Downtown, Southside, Westside, Airport, Eastside, and Oregon districts. This is the Washington wine region you go to when you want stunning vineyards and tasting rooms, as they have some of the most beautiful ones in the state.

You can get a sense of space and view some of my favorites on my map of Walla Walla wineries.

Gramercy Cellars

website | address | best for: Bordeaux-style reds

Gramercy makes award-winning wines with minimal intervention. It was started by Master Sommelier, Greg Harrington, who moved to Seattle from NYC after tasting some Washington state wines. His winemaker and co-owner, Brandon, uses mostly organic grapes, minimalist winemaking techniques (little new oak, no additives, etc.), and prolonged time in barrels to make around 8,000 cases a year of beautiful wines that age well.

The tasting room is a bit off the beaten path in a warehouse-y type part of town. But inside it’s got a vintage vibe with antique rugs, leather couches, and cool white subway tiles.

Woodward Canyon

website | address | best for: award-winning wines

Check any top Washington wineries list and chances are you’ll find Woodward Canyon on it. It’s owned by husband and wife duo, Rick and Darcey, who built a vineyard on a canyon that’s been in the family for multiple generations. It’s actually the second oldest winery in Walla Walla and the couple was instrumental in getting Walla Walla designated as an official AVA in the 80s.

The winery focuses on premium, age-worthy cabernet sauvignons, Bordeaux-style blends, merlots, and chardonnays. This is one of the best wineries in the Pacific Northwest to visit for ambiance. The tasting room is in a small white cottage with an English-style garden in the back. You’ll also find a sweet cafe overlooking the garden perfect for lunch during a day of wine tasting.

KINHAVEN Winery

website | address | best for: winery with a view

Going to KINHAVEN was one of the best things I did in Walla Walla the last time I visited. The tasting room is modern and thoughtfully designed, which makes sense considering the owner is a former wedding planner. The wines are equally as refined, with a proper mix of bold, estate grown reds and a few whites sourced from the Gorge.

Pro tip: They also have a tasting room in Woodinville!

Alton Wines

website | address | best for: lighter-bodied reds

Walla Walla is best known for its bold, tannic red wines, so when I can find a winery that’s a bit more nuanced in their varietals, I’m all for it. Alton Wines is owned by a husband and wife duo who prides themselves on making high acid, low alcohol, minimally-oaked wines. The tasting room is also gorgeous, which definitely makes the wine taste even better.

Devona

website | address | best for: diverse varietals

Owner John Abbott first started his winemaking journey in Ohio before moving across the country to open California’s famous Canoe Ridge Vineyard. After relocating to Walla Walla, he was the first winemaker at Abeja before eventually moving on to start his and his wife’s passion project, Devona. With love for both Washington and Oregon varietals, John’s making robust reds sourced from Walla Walla as well as more nuanced pinot noir sourced from the Gorge.

Grosgrain

website | address | best for: unusual and reasonably-priced varietals

Grosgrain, pronounced “grow grain” is one of the few wineries experimenting with niche varietals like carignan, lemberger, and grenache blanc. These are a far stretch from what you normally find in the valley, yet they’re made with the same precision and attention to detail as their more robust reds.

The Walls

website | address | best for: winery with killer food

The Walls is owned by the same people behind Passatempo Taverna, one of the best restaurants in Walla Walla. This means they’re also one of the best wineries with food, so definitely stop here if you know you’re going to need grub before tasting at more wineries. Owner Mike Martin has two brands you can sample here, The Walls and PÁŠXA (pronounced “pasha”), which sources grapes exclusively from the illustrious Rocks region.

Columbia Gorge, Washington and Oregon wine region

distance from Seattle: 3.5 hours | number of wineries: ~50 | AVAs: Columbia Gorge

I love visiting the Columbia River Gorge, and one of the big reasons for that is because of the wine scene. The Gorge Wine AVA feels like such a hidden gem. Hardly anyone talks about it, yet it stretches 40 miles along the Columbia River cutting between the Washington and Oregon border.

You’ll find vineyards at both sea level and mountain altitudes. This, mixed with the varied climate, means you’ll find more than 50 different grape varietals ranging from heavier reds to lighter whites. Here are some Columbia Gorge wineries you have to try.

Idiot’s Grace

website | address | best for: biodynamic wines

Idiot’s Grace is a true farm. You’ll see cherry orchards upon entering the vineyard, and you’ll continue looking at them while you sip organic wines from the modern tasting room with wall-to-wall windows. You’ll also probably see the farm dog and cat taunting each other at your feet.

I love the laid back atmosphere here and incredible cab franc. They’ll also often have a spread of little nibbles sitting out for you to try. If it’s in season, you can even do u-pick on their farm.

Le Doubblé Troubblé Wine Co.

website | address | best for: seriously good pinot noirs

This tiny tasting room in White Salmon is owned by too ski-loving buddies. They decided to pack up from Portland so they could be closer to the Mt. Hood skiing areas, funding their adventure by making wines. You’ll likely see them pouring you tastes of their incredible pinot noir lineup.

Savage Grace

website | address | best for: old world style wines

Savage Grace makes one of the best Washington wines I’ve ever had. Their cabernet franc is exceptional, though honestly, I’ve never had a bad wine from them. They source grapes from around the state, as well as from their regenerative vineyard. They focus on old world, low alcohol, balanced, and terroir driven wines, meaning they’re best enjoyed young and pair wonderfully with food.

Pro tip: They also have a wine tasting room in Woodinville!

Hiyu Wine Farm

website | address | best for: organic wines

Hiyu Wine Farm is one of the best wineries in the Pacific Northwest, and that’s a hill I’ll die on. It’s both a winery and a working farm, and they specialize in low intervention wines made with terroir in mind, and everything is paired with their exceptional food menu. Their wines are on the pricier side for this area, but you get what you pay for and I’ve never had a wine from here that didn’t leave me dumbfounded.

Hawkins Cellars

website | address | best for: both big and delicate reds

Hawkins Cellars is a small winery located on Underwood Mountain overlooking Mt. Hood and the greater Columbia Gorge. The grapes they source locally are turned into refreshing, nuanced wines, like pinot noir, chardonnay, and rosé. Meanwhile, they also source from the larger Columbia Valley to produce bigger, bolder reds like syrah and mouvedre.

Willamette Valley, Oregon wine region

distance from Seattle: 3.5 hours | number of wineries: ~600 | AVAs: multiple

The Willamette Valley is my favorite wine country in the Pacific Northwest. It’s home to 2/3 of Oregon’s wineries and offers so many more things to do in Oregon wine country besides drink wine.

It spans from about 35 minutes south of Portland all the way down to the Eugene, OR wineries. You’ll find both wineries and tasting rooms dotting the area, some standalone and others inside retail locations like 5th Street Public Market in Eugene.

The area is split into 6 sub AVAs and is known for producing predominantly pinot noir. But you’ll also find a ton of pinot gris, chardonnay, and some gewürtztraminer, among other varietals. It was actually in Willamette Valley where I learned I actually like chardonnay, since they tend to make crisp, non-oaked varietals very different than the traditionally buttery and oaky version popular in California.

I have a whole list and map of the best Willamette Valley wineries, but here are the best ones you absolutely can’t miss.

Carlton Winemakers Studio

website | address | best for: multiple micro producers under one roof

I love this winery in Willamette Valley because it’s like you’re visiting multiple wineries at once. That’s because this is a custom crush facility, meaning super tiny winemakers use their warehouse to make wine so they don’t have to invest in the expensive equipment. You’ll find a ton of wines made by both up-and-coming winemakers as well as side projects of super popular, award-winning winemakers in Oregon.

J.L. Kiff Vineyard

website | address | best for: beautiful red wines produced by the cutest couple

I am obsessed with Joel and Laurie Kiff. They are the sweet couple behind J.L. Kiff Vineyards who do everything in house. You’ll see Joel farming the grapes with their kids or maybe singing a song on his guitar while Laurie pours. They’re also the closest vineyard to McMinnville. So it’s a great change of scenery from the warehouse and downtown-style tasting rooms of the nearby town.

Brittan Vineyards

website | address | best for: structured reds

Brittan is in an unassuming warehouse strip located in McMinnville. But it’s owned by Robert Brittan, an OG winemaker with 45 years of experience growing grapes and making wine in both Napa Valley and now Oregon. His focus is on pinot noirs, and this is an awesome spot to wine taste and get some side-by-side comparisons. The staff will take you through the different tasting notes, explaining how the terroir or weather in a specific year changes the same wine style year to year.

The Eyrie Vineyards

website | address | best for: award-winning wines

The Eyrie Vineyards is one of those other spots you’ll often see on lists of the best wineries in the Pacific Northwest. That’s because its founder, David Lett, is an OG winemaker in the Willamette Valley. He purchased vineyards back in 1965 on Dundee Hills. And planted the first pinot noir, chardonnay, and “New World” pinot gris grapes in the valley. While they now own 5 vineyards in Dundee Hills, their tasting room is near Brittan in downtown McMinnville.

Winderlea

website | address | best for: cool climate pinot noir

Winderlea produces exceptional pinot noir, including the Meredith Michell Pinot Noir, which is one of my favorite Oregon wines. Owners Bill and Donna make a range of pinots, though they tend to be on the lighter and more fruity side due to the location of their cooler climate estate. I love them so much that I’m a part of their wine club!

Antiquum Farm

website | address | best for: sustainable wines

Whenever a friend says they need fun things to do in Eugene, OR, I always send them to Antiquum Farm. They’re one of the most sustainable wineries I’ve discovered. Rather than use organic fertilizers, they just don’t use any at all. They practice biodynamic farming protocols and rotate their farm animals around the property to control pests.

While some low intervention wines excuse a certain “funkiness,” I don’t taste that in Antiquum’s wines. Instead, they’re sophisticated, lush, and vary heavily depending on where in the vineyard they’re sourcing from.

More must-try Pacific Northwest wines

While the above lists out my favorite wineries to visit, there are so many good bottles of wine to try from Pacific Northwest wineries. Some come from the wineries in this list, but others are from other wineries…some that don’t even have tasting rooms! For those, pick up a bottle at the best Seattle wine shops for those days that call for a glass or three on the couch.

• Best Washington state wines
• All the Black-owned wineries in the PNW
• Best Oregon wines
• Best Wineries on Bainbridge Island
• Wineries to Visit on Whidbey Island
• Leavenworth Wine Tasting Rooms

Find a place to stay near Pacific Northwest wineries

If you’re ready to start drinking your way through the best wineries in the Pacific Northwest, book one of these places for your winery tour!

• Best Washington Wine Country Hotels
• Unique Hotels in Washington
• Glamping in Oregon Wine Country
• Cool Places to Stay in Seattle
• Boutique Hotels in Eugene, OR