Northwest Totem Cellars

While I haven’t been to the tasting room, we happened to be out at Village Wines when Totem Cellars was offering tastings. Of the countless wine tasting we’ve done, none have been as enjoyable as tasting with Mike. A great, friendly man whose excitement for wine shines through his entire being. Each wine we tasted was amazing and we had a hard time deciding which wines we wanted to buy the most. We’ll being making a point to fill our wine rack with these gems in the coming months.

This family winery shines above so many others from its secluded Woodinville location, offering such pleasant varieties, including a sweet late-​harvest Viognier. Kate prepares perfect vegan gourmet food, and Mike crafts the crisp, flavorful wine (all finished without animal products). Those lucky enough to find themselves at Northwest Totem Cellars will be impressed by their hospitality and talents.

I thought I had visited every winery/​tasting room in Woodinville, but this was my first visit to Northwest Totem Cellars. Technically, they’re in the Redmond city limits, but they’re really on the border of Redmond/​Woodinville, at the end of NE 136^th Pl, a windy, uphill driveway. They offer wine tasting on Saturdays from 12:00 — 4:00, and they operate out of the gorgeous house of winemakers/​owners, Mike and Kate Sharadin. The Sharadins are incredibly friendly, enthusiastic about their wines and full of stories. We tasted 5 reds, a syrah/​temparnillo blend, a cab franc/​grenache blend, a cabernet sauvignon, a syrah and a bordeaux blend. All were delightfully flavorful, and I could see any of the 5 reds complementing any type of meal… or a glass by itself would suit me just fine. We ended our experience with a taste of the Late Harvest Viognier, a dessert wine that isn’t overpoweringly sweet like one might expect. It was light and fruity… I overheard comments such as «pear» and «pineapple». We were lucky to come on a day when Kate was offering visitors her homemade pizza, brownies and other snacks. They provided such an inviting atmosphere, it felt as though everyone knew one another. When wine-​tasting in Woodinville, make sure you check out this hidden gem.