Mount Baker Vineyards

If you’re on I-​5, it’s a little daunting to see an 11 mile drive to get to the winery, but I would suggest you do it. It’s $ 5 for the tasting if you don’t buy any bottles. We got 3 and so the tasting was comped.
All their wines are decent and some of them are gems. They have a reserve grenache/​syrah blend that is worth more than the $ 28 they sell it for. There’s also a $ 17, 2012 sangiovese that tastes more expensive.
We had a great time with the server John who is heavy handed on his pours. I think we ended up tasting 10 wines although the sign listed 5 on the tasting. We meet the owner as well. I was fascinated with his talk about when he decides to harvest.
If you want to buy a wine, ask to try it first even if it’s not on the tasting, they might open one. Take a tour of the vineyard after and taste one of the grapes if in season.
This was really a hidden gem. We weren’t expecting much because the lack of signage and marketing.

I’ve been wanting to stop at this winery for three or four years now. Recently I needed a therapeutic drive so pointed the tires in the direction of Everson, WA as snow flakes started to fall from the sky.
This is a great time of year to visit Washington wineries. There’s plenty of parking, no rush, no waiting, just a quiet, calm, peaceful experience at the grape farm and lots of time for talking with the owners and/​or people who help run the shop.
What really got me to this winery now was that I had a glass of their Tempranillo (from Yakima grown grapes) at a restaurant in La Conner and really liked it. The winery had 7 bottles left and I said I’d buy them all.
I met the owner Randy Finley. Really personable fellow clearly passionate about his craft, his grapes, and his vineyard.
Though I hadn’t planned on tasting any of his other wines he talked me into it and I was glad for it as I found 5 other items that I really liked. Here’s what I recommend you give a try:
2012 Madeline Angevine /​Estate (white)
2010 Malbec /​Limited Release (red)
2004 Late Harvest Pinot Gris (dessert wine)
2005 Olde Sea Spirit (dessert wine)
Verjus (white, non-​alcoholic)
Mr. Finley suffered an underripe crop of chasselas grapes at the winery’s Whatcom County vineyard that was unfit for making wine. Instead of tossing the lot, he bottled it as Verjus Blanc, a tart, tasty non-​alcoholic grape juice that can be used for deglazing, as a cocktail sour mix or a refreshing apéritif. I haven’t tasted anything else like it. YUMMY.
Liked it so much I’m going to be joining their Wine Club.

We stopped here on our way back from a long rainy drive up to the top of Mt. Baker highway. There were only two others in the tasting room at the time and the proprietor poured the wine for the tasting. He is a very delightful fellow and of course, educated us on every wine we tasted (6 wines). We were new to Washington wines and were surprised by the quality of these. We would have bought one of everything but since we were flying home had to limit our purchase to two bottles: 2009 Limited Release Tempranillo and 2009 Barrel Select Sangiovese. If we are ever back in the area, we will definitely return.

This is definitely one of the best wineries along the Mt. Baker highway area. Having visited this winery twice over the past few months, I have not been disappointed with the quality and finesse of the wines. There’s quite a selection of wines, but typically tastings consist of 3 whites and 3 reds, chosen by the winery workers. Often they will generously offer up some other wines for you to try during your visit, including their dessert and «grape juice» wines (though not my favorites).
I’m especially surprised by the quality of their estate wines. Although most of their grapes are from Yakima, they do produce some estate wines, including Siegerrebe (a delicious German white wine) and Pinot Noir. They have about 6 estate grapes which they pick and choose to produce and pour, depending on how the weather and growing season faired for that particular year. Seeing as how 2012 and 2013 (so far) have been great weather years, the estate wines here should be phenomenal as they are released in the next couple of years.
Although the service here might be a little slow with the occasional weekend rush, the staff is courteous and eager to explain each of the wines in detail.
Definitely a worthy stop after a nice hike or skiing at Mt Baker!

Tiny tasting room, overly warm, and understaffed. We waited 10 minutes to start a tasting, only to be bumped to a side table and ignored until the group left a while later. The folks working were really nice, and the wine wasn’t bad, but the experience left much to be desired.