Visiting Washington Wine Country is made easy as you take Amtrak. Sample Washington wines in Seattle and Vancouver, WA tasting rooms.
Amtrak Cascades has five roundtrip trains daily from Seattle to Vancouver, WA, and is a great way to enjoy Washington Wine Country! Do you start in Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle or along the Columbia River waterfront in Vancouver, WA? Another question is, do you do this in one day or two days? We live in the Greater Seattle area, so we started the wine tasting in Seattle, although we were tempted to take the early train to Vancouver. Also, relaxing and making this a two-day trip is a great choice. Read on for some of the excellent wineries we discovered as we explored Washington wine country via Amtrak.
Enjoying the Seattle waterfront views from the Amtrak Cascades. Photo courtesy of WSDOT/Amtrak Cascades.
Seattle Tasting #1
Browne Family Vineyards was the first stop, and since we were wine tasting, we thought it was okay to start at 11 in the morning. This tasting room is less than a five-minute walk from the train station. Browne Family Vineyards is family-owned, and its wine production is out of Walla Walla, Washington. They have five tasting rooms in the state (Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Bellevue, and Walla Walla).
Sample the Spymaster Series to unlock the secrets of these unique Cabernet Sauvignon. Five in the Spy Series, all 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the estate vineyard, and all have unique qualities. Photo by Greg Mazzola
Browne Family Vineyards has its own estate vineyard and procures grapes from other vineyards in Eastern Washington. We had four tastings, and our favorite white was the chardonnay, which is 96% chardonnay and 4% viognier. This has light fruit notes and a bright crispness. The malbec was the favorite of all the reds and whites tasted! The welcoming, soft, earthly nose and solid structure would be perfect with a juicy steak.
Browne Family Vineyard in Walla Walla, WA. Photo courtesy of Browne Family Vineyard
Seattle Tasting #2
Foundry Vineyards, conveniently located across the street from Browne, was next. Their vineyards and wine production are also in Walla Walla. The first tasting was a big hit for me, Orange Cuvee, which the tasting room manager suggested as a great breakfast wine. This was so light and refreshing and is part of their Pét Project. These are sparkling wines made in the Ancestral Method, often called pétillant-naturel (naturally sparkling) or pét-nat for short, or pét project. We also enjoyed the Vin Gris Rosé, which was easy to drink with light fruit notes. My favorite red was the syrah, a 100% varietal that has a nice kick to it with a fruit-forward flavor.
Excellent sparkling wines made in pétillant naturel style or “pet nat”. Photo courtesy Brooke Fitts
Foundry’s wines are USDA organic certified, which requires growing and sourcing grapes farmed without chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, or fungicides, with minimal intervention in winemaking in the cellar.Â
Seattle Tasting #3
The last stop was Locus Wines, which is another short walk. The two principals are Rich Burton, the winemaker, and Ton Yazici, who heads up the culinary side. Be sure to check out some of Ton’s culinary delights from his home country of Turkey. They have a full kitchen service; if you get here on the weekend, they offer brunch.
We tasted both white and red wines at Locus Wines. As with most tastings, we started with the white wines.
I liked the semillon (100%) sourced from the Rattlesnake Hills American Vinicultural Area (AVA), part of the Yakima Valley AVA. Semillon has light lemon notes and would be great with grilled fish or just for sipping on the patio.
Moving onto the red wines, my favorite was also Ton’s favorite, 2016 Locus Red, which is 71% syrah and 19% mourevedre. This has an excellent structure and is undoubtedly a bold red but not overdone. Food pairings include steak, ribs, or Ton’s turkey and lamb meatballs. Ton told us their wines, and some other local wines, can be tasted at The Tasting Room, located at Pike Place Market—a 20-minute walk or five-minute rideshare.
Great patio seating and plenty of indoor seating. Photo courtesy of Locus Wines
It was 5:15, and our train left at 6 pm, but we were not in a rush since our bags were already stowed at the Amtrak King Street Station, only a five-minute walk away. We noticed baseball fans slowly approaching T Mobile Stadium to see the Mariners play. For future reference, wine-tasting rooms are most popular with the Seattle Sounders soccer fans, and that stadium is also close. We were ready for our next leg to Vancouver, WA.
Vancouver, Washington Hotels
Our train arrived in Vancouver a little after 9 pm, so it was time to head to our hotel, Hilton Vancouver Washington. Although just a 15-minute walk from the train station, it was easier and quicker to get a rideshare to the downtown location. For the next day, we were less than a 10-minute walk to the wine tasting rooms along the waterfront.
We recommend the AC Hotel Vancouver Waterfront if you prefer an upscale hotel along the waterfront.
The Vancouver Waterfront includes places to walk with views of the I-5 Bridge and the Grant Street Pier. Photo by Elizabeth R Rose
Food in Vancouver
If you are hungry when you arrive, you’ll find the best BBQ food at The Smokin’ Oak, across the street from the Hilton. Check out these Foodie Finds In Vancouver, Washington for a more comprehensive review of the restaurant scene. Now, you will be all set and nourished for the second segment of Washington Wine Country via Amtrak.
Vancouver, WA Tasting #1
From downtown, we walked a short distance to the waterfront to enjoy the Columbia River Waterfront Renaissance Trail. We started our first tasting of the day at Maryhill Winery Tasting Room & Bistro. We began with the Albariño Reserve, which was undoubtedly our favorite white. The small seafood bites and charcuterie plate went well with the light lemon meringue and mellow notes.
Moving onto reds, we enjoyed the malbec, which we thought was our favorite red until we had the 2020 Winemakers Red, which won a gold medal in a 2022 competition. The winemaker is Richard Batchelor, who has received the Winemaker of the Year three times in international competitions. Maryhill owners Craig and Vicki Leuthold are proud of Richard’s accomplishments.
Maryhill’s main tasting room and wine production are in Goldendale, Washington, in the Columbia Gorge. They also have tasting rooms in Woodinville and Spokane.
Vancouver waterfront and great patio beside the Columbia River. Photo courtesy of Maryhill Winery
Vancouver Tasting #2
Barnard Griffin Winery’s head winemaker, Rob Griffin, has been making wine in Washington since 1977. We met him many years ago at his main facility in Richland, Washington. Now, Barnard Griffin Winery has tasting rooms in Vancouver and Woodinville. Megan Hughes, Rob’s daughter, is now a winemaker working alongside Rob. Megan’s main area is white wines, and she hit a home run with the semillon. Golden in color and taste, we liked the minerality and light fruit notes. For the reds, I enjoyed all three: grenache, cabernet sauvignon, and syrah. I liked them all, but we were asked to pick our favorite, and my wife nominated the syrah.
When we were about to leave, the tasting room manager noticed how much we liked the syrah and offered us a taste of the port, which is 100% syrah. WOW! It’s not overly sweet, with light chocolate and cherry notes. Delicious! Brian Carter Cellars is our next stop on the Washington Wine Country via Amtrak tour.
Winemakers Megan Hughes and her dad Rob Griffin. Photo courtesy of Barnard Griffin Winery
Vancouver Wine Tasting #3
The last stop was Brian Carter Cellars, coming off the well-deserved honor of being named the 2023 Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year by Great Northwest Wines. Brian Carter’s experience goes back to working in Napa in the 1970s and attending the UC Davis enology program. He eventually worked his way north to Oregon and then Washington. Now, Brian Carter Cellars has tasting rooms in Vancouver along with the main tasting room in Woodinville. Their wines and other local wines can also be tasted at The Tasting Room in Seattle’s Pike Place Market.
Winemaker Brian Carter. Brian Carter Cellars was named 2023 Pacific Northwest Winery of The Year by Great Northwest Wine. Photo courtesy of Brian Carter Cellars
We had Oriana, which in Italian means sunrise. Sunrise was too early, but we enjoyed this delightful white in the afternoon. 50% viognier and 40% roussanne—it was a perfect balance with light melon notes and was crisp and refreshing. For the red wine, we picked two. One was the Corrida, which I liked. The tempranillo (66%) was also great, with a nicely balanced flavor. Their flagship red is Solesce, which has an excellent tannin structure and a Bordeaux blend of cab sauv, merlot, petit verdot, cab franc, and malbec.
Articles Related to Exploring Washington Wine Country
- Washington’s West Side Wine Scene
- Wow Moments While You Wander the Walla Walla Valley
- My Favorite Sips of Walla Walla Washington Wines
- Washington Sparkling Wines
- Savor Washington Wine in Seattle’s Urban Wine Scene
- Red Mountain AVA: Discover the Magic
Concluding Our Exploration of Washington Wine Country via Amtrak
It was 3:45 pm, so we needed to decide which train to take. Take the 4:15 Coast Starlight, or sip some more wine, have dinner on the waterfront, and take the 7:43 pm Amtrak Cascades. We decided to take the 4:15, and since it is a 20-minute walk, we took the four-minute rideshare to the train station. Our trip to visit Washington Wine Country via Amtrak was amazing and we can’t wait for next time!
We invite you to check out more articles on Wander With Wonder to discover more of our favorite Washington wines and other experiences in the Pacific Northwest.
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