Northwest Cellars

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I needed wine as a gift for friends of WineTrails Northwest but with a small budget, I couldn’t spring for a couple cases of Château Lafite Rothschild but still wanted a quality wine. I also thought it would be good that the bottle sport a WineTrails Northwest label – one can never have too much branding. But unfortunately all the private label wine that I have had tasted like someone’s leftover bath wash (not that I have really tasted such a thing but can only imagine). That’s when I heard from a friend about Kirkland’s Northwest Cellars – a winery that offers affordable wine and that you can personalize with a custom label.

Finding Northwest Cellars in Kirkland was a bit of a challenge tucked behind a strip mall but fortunately, the sandwich boards steered me to the right place. There I met the former software CEO turned winery owner Bob Delf. Unassuming and friendly to boot Bob made me feel welcomed. The small tasting room (which includes a variety of wine related gifties) opened into an adjacent production area with plates of bite-size treats to enjoy with wine.

And enjoy the wine I did at least from a review of my notes later with an exclamation point accenting the word “delish” for their affordable white blend wine dubbed Adagio – very light yellow, slight oakiness, crisp and loads of grapefruit and lemon notes. At $18 a bottle a perfect antidote for skewered shrimp and dipping sauce. The showstopper for me however was Bob’s red blend wine labeled Intrigue possessing a cabernet sauvignon backbone. (Note: for those traveling to or residing in eastern Washington, downtown Spokane’s Nectar Tasting room features Northwest Cellars wines in addition to Anelare Winery, Hard Row to Hoe, Skylite Cellars and Terra Blanca.)

Whether you’re looking for a corporate gift or need a custom-label for a public event, Northwest Cellars will use your design or will custom design a label for you. For a one-time set up fee of $85 your label is ready to use for multiple orders. I ended up with several cases of their Yakima Valley merlot at a wallet-friendly price point of $17 complete with the WineTrails Northwest logo adorning the bottle. Now I had the perfect way to say thanks to friends and family – quality wine at an affordable price.