This week I attempted to take a poll on Instagram to find out what people wanted to read about on the blog. I was and am still unsure of what interests people. Do people prefer to read about wine pairings, wine recommendations, or anecdotes about my wine adventures? Translation: what I am having for dinner, what I have in the wine fridge, or cute things my dogs did this week. To no avail, I did not receive the amount feedback for which I was hoping.
I did get one response and I suppose it provided some clarity on what people would like to read, considering it prompted this post. The topic proposed was "dogs drinking wine." Unfortunately, I have fiercely sober dogs and I struggled to relate. It is a personal choice they have made and they make sure not to pass judgement anyone who regularly partakes in the grape juice goodness.
While they do not participate in the joys of wine, they do enjoy a good tasting room and have standards for the experience. The primary requirement is a good concrete floor to keep their bellies cool. Walking from tasting room, to tasting room can really take it out of pups that are used to sleeping all day.
The secondary requirement is the promise of free oyster crackers. They don't need their own bowl or even whole-individual crackers, they are content cleaning the crumbs that have fallen on the floor. In all honesty they don't even need to be oyster crackers - really any cracker will do.
And finally, they want to feel welcome. From a simple hello to a belly rub, they just want to know it is OK that they are present for the experience. They don't ask for much and they don't really move once we settle into a spot for the tasting.
With the idea in mind of dogs drinking wine and Chance and Neil's professional consultation, we have developed a list of go to dog friendly wineries from Seattle to Leavenworth. We have given anecdotal experience on our favorite tasting rooms as well as links to more dog friendly locations in these areas.
Chance and Neil's favorite Wineries
Seattle:
Mercer Estates Tasting Room - This place is Chance's favorite. Not only do they have a great outdoor seating area, they also have a great interior complete with concrete floors.
The staff / patrons were so nice to the pups, they encouraged the dogs to roam about the room. After Chance went behind the counter to find treats, he found himself a spot on the couch.
The photo on the right shows him by himself. In reality, there was a group of people finishing their tasting on the comfy couch when one man went to the bathroom. Allowing Chance enough time/room to be the diva he is and invite himself to sit with the cozy strangers.
Jet City - This is an amazing tasting room with so many great wines, you may find yourself being there for hours.
When we visited it was pretty early in the day and few people were in the tasting room. Blake and I were distracted with the amazing wine, but in our peripheral vision we were tracking our furry black blobs.
Moments later we noticed only one blob remained on the cool floor. Chance naturally slipped away and did a tasting of his own. He got drunk on some toilet water after he let himself into the bathroom. Chance gives no shits.#YOLO
Admittedly, these are the only two tasting rooms we have experienced as a family in Seattle. But, man are they awesome! I attempted to google more dog friendly tasting rooms in Seattle, but it kept routing me to Woodinville. That area deserves an entire section alone. See below!
Woodinville Wineries:
JM Cellars - This is one of the coolest tasting room / estates in Woodinville. They have a large property and are very dog friendly. The tasting here works in a fluid movement, you start in one area and move through the space as you complete each tasting. This was odd for the pups because they don't like to move. Eventually, we had to slide them across the floor to keep them moving with us. Otherwise, they would still be there...
Brian Carter - They love their dogs! They take Polaroid photos of their four legged guests and put them on their dog wall. I mean come on, I die! The tasting room is in a cute little house and boy did they make it feel like home. They by far had the best welcome.
Leavenworth Wineries:
Plain Cellars - This is where we start when we are in Leavenworth. There is an amazing tasting room lady that always remembers us and is happy to have the boys cooling off on their concrete floor. She is so inviting and up for sharing town tasting tips. We end up unintentionally spending a lot of time here, but that is the mark of a good sales woman.
Basel Cellars - This is one of our favorites in Leavenworth, Walla Walla and in Woodinville - all of which are dog friendly! We fell in love with their wine in Leavenworth when Chance and Neil made good friends with a Great Pyranese. They love their over-sized fellas.
I have to say, Leavenworth is our favorite place to go wine tasting. It is so dog and people friendly you cannot go wrong. If you have not gone, grab your pups and go to the magical town where wine dreams are made.
I realize this post is not so much about the wine, it is more about the experience. That is what is important to us. Besides, who doesn't want dogs coming into their place of work?!
We love to take our fellas everywhere with us, I mean you wouldn't leave your kids at home for the weekend, right?! We would love to hear about more dog friendly wine tasting areas, comment below or send me a message!