Patterson Cellars

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It seems as though John Patterson has been making wine longer than his youthful looks reveal. As a young cellar rat, John helped his dad Jack Patterson at crush during the early 80s. They began making wine on a commercial basis in 2000 initially in Monroe and eventually moving to Woodinville’s Warehouse District in 2007. It was at that time that John’s spouse, Stephanie Patterson, joined the team focusing on the marketing side of the business and working the tasting room. This coincided with clarity around their brand and a name change from winery’s original name of Washington Wine Company to Patterson Cellars.

As a winemaker, John has fine-tuned his craft through numerous vintages. However, he’s not one to rest on his laurels working with the same vineyard cranking out the same wine year after year. Witness the fact that he’s a graduate of South Seattle Community College’s distinguished Northwest Wine Academy focusing on wine production while learning from celebrated winemaker/instructor Peter Bos. His years of experience and willingness to try new winemaking styles result in a tasty portfolio of wines including single varietal wines, red and white blends, non-vintage wines and late harvest desserts. Even his white blend wine dubbed Forbidden White includes an unusual Puget Sound grown grape called siegerrebe blended with chardonnay and viognier from Columbia Valley.

Thinking outside the proverbial barrel, the Pattersons demonstrate a deep understanding that half the battle of a successful winery is making good wine. The other half involves the business side of the enterprise aka cash flow. In this regard, the spacious Woodinville location rents for private events where guests have plenty of room to mingle in the barrel room. They released a second label called Woodslake (named for the road where they resided in Monroe) producing, among other wines, a wine called Due Anni (meaning “two years” in Italian) comprised of 2008 and 2009 vintages. At $15 a bottle, it’s a steal. In addition, this is a custom crush facility where John lends his winemaking talents (and equipment) to the production of other labels.

But having gushed over Patterson’s attributes I must admit that the one thing that stands out in my mind is this constant refrain I hear from visitors to their Woodinville winery; namely, “We had the most fun at Patterson Cellars.” Hey, the smell of success often includes a strong dose of fun.