On your visit to the Pacific Northwest, take some time to experience something special and journey to a city on the edge for an elevated wine-tasting encounter.
Bellevue’s curated collection of culinary destinations and inviting wine bars gives visitors and locals the perfect opportunity to have a taste of it all as they explore Downtown Bellevue and the surrounding area.
CÉPAÉ TASTING ROOM
Downtown Bellevue’s Cépaé Tasting Room, a modern, airy, chic wine bar, encourages guests to create their own flights from more than 150 international bottles. If you’re craving something European, Cépaé is the perfect spot to order an exclusive imported French wine, pair it with a truffle tartine from the adjoining L’Experience Paris cafe and French pâtisserie, and bask in the sunlit dining room.
Purple Cafe and Wine Bar
A few short steps down the street brings you to the Purple Cafe and Wine Bar. The decor is similar to what you'd expect if libraries carried bottles instead of books, but the vibe is social and energetic, with a comprehensive wine list and knowledgable staff. Purple offers creative flights of Washington wines as well as other regions, varieties, and styles. Come for the wine, but stay for a meal from the diverse menu of small bites, cheese plates, sandwiches, and seafood and meat entrees.
Cypress Lounge & Wine Bar
For those who prefer to sip wine in the comfort of a living room atmosphere - with the option to enjoy contemporary American fare - head to Cypress Lounge & Wine Bar, located in The Westin Bellevue downtown. Guests can choose from sitting at a glass-enclosed fireside booth or on the casual outdoor patio during warmer weather. You'll quickly notice that quality Washington wine and Pacific Northwest hospitality are the norm when you dine and imbibe at Cypress.
Swiftwater Cellars Restaurant
Exactly a half-mile from Cypress Lounge is Swiftwater Cellars Restaurant on Main Street in Old Bellevue. This wine-focused, mid-century-style American bistro provides guests with a taste of Washington wine country through locally inspired dishes and Swiftwater Cellars wine. (The vineyard, about 80 miles east on I-90, is open to the public daily.) Top dinner recommendation? Zephyr Ridge Chardonnay paired with Columbia River steelhead.
Ascend Prime Steak & Sushi
For an elevated wine experience in Bellevue, rise 31 floors to Ascend Prime Steak & sushi. Gaze out of the stylish bar and lounge's floor-to-ceiling windows at towering Mount Rainier in the distance, or impress your date or clients with a bottle of wine and a seat in the spectacular dining room overlooking Lake Washington and the Seattle skyline. Touting an Asian-inspired menu and wood-fired meats, Ascend rises to the occasion with the welcoming charm that is a signature of Bellevue.
Wine Tasting in Woodinville
Downtown District
The Downtown District is the optimal place to start to finish your wine-tasting journey, with several options for dining, drinking, and shopping. In addition to wine tasting at places like Woodinville Wine Cellars or Avennia's tasting room, you can also grab a pint at Crucible Brewing's taproom while enjoying the small-town charm of downtown Woodinville.
Warehouse District
For an unpretentious tasting experience, drive north to the Warehouse District, where you can find more boutique wineries per square foot than in any other wine region in the world. Wineries and microbreweries sit side-by-side in the district's industrial office-park neighborhoods of Artisan Hill and The Junction, making it a one-stop-shop for no-frills wine time.
West Valley District
In the relatively new West Valley District, you'll discover handcrafted wines from Woodhouse Wine Estates, as well as from a few distilleries, such as Seaspirities Distillery, along a half-mile stretch of Redmond-Woodinville Road on the west side of the Sammamish River.
Hollywood District
Enjoy strolling from tasting room to tasting room in the Hollywood District to sample the wines of Dusted Valley, Sparkman Cellars, and Mark Ryan Winery, all located in the same shopping center. Nearby, you'll also find the Bordeaux-style wines of DeLille Cellars and the elegant, wooded, hillside JM Cellars. Expansive properties, such as the iconic Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery and Columbia Winery, offer guests a more traditional tasting experience, with options to host large parties and events.
