Wine Peeps is an independent wine blog dedicated to helping you get the most bang for your buck in wine. We do this through blind tastings of wine from around the world and calculations of 
Hitting the Wine Bars in Seattle: A Good Way to Taste and Learn
By John ~ August 7th, 2009.
Most Wednesday nights for the past two months have been “date night†for LaGayle and me at a local wine bar. We picked a different one each Wednesday and evaluated them in five different categories: first impression, service, wine, food, and value. It was fun; we met some friendly folks, found some good new wines, and plan to continue “date night†indefinitely. I hope some of you will join us in visiting your local wine bars.
Here’s a list of the seven wine bars we visited in order of our overall rating:
- The Local Vine
- Smash Wine Bar and Bistro
- Cellar 46 (Mercer Island)
- Purple (Seattle location)
- Swirl Wine Bar
- Poco Wine Room
- Grape Killers (advertised as a new wine bar, but turned out to be only a one-time event)
Our favorite, The Local Vine, is a place where you can hang out the way you would in a coffee shop while learning about or just enjoying wine. You can linger near a fireplace, or with your laptop using free Wi-Fi, while sipping wine and dining on small plates of food that pair with the wine. They have a good selection of wines by the glass, as well as wine flights, featuring Northwest and California wines along with other wines from around the world. The Local Vine is open seven days a week, with Happy Hour from 4pm-6pm and 10pm-close daily.
In each of the five categories, here’s our favorite wine bar(s):
First Impression
The Local Vine and Purple
Service
Smash, Cellar 46, and Swirl
Wine
The Local Vine (where we found Parejas Rosé) and Smash
Food
Purple (it was the best, but all were surprisingly good)
Value
The Local Vine (especially during happy hour) and Cellar 46. We thought Purple was way too expensive compared to the others.
Obviously, which one you might prefer will depend on what is most important to you. We’ll definitely be going back to The Local Vine, not only because we rated it the highest, but also because the other two Wine Peeps, Kori and Colby, along with their 2 ½ year old daughter could join us, because they have a kid-friendly seating area outside the bar-proper.
We’d love to hear about your favorite wine bars. If you live in Seattle, do our selections jive with yours?
Filed under: Wine Bars
Next Wednesday, try The Tasting Room down in Post Alley. Often times they’ll have a winemaker or two behind the bar pouring their own wines, all of which are Washington. The staff are really knowledgeable and passionate and the casual atmosphere lends well to conversation with strangers up at the bar.
Full disclosure, TTR is a sponsor of Wino, but I was a fan *long* before Jen wanted to work with us. So don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourself. 🙂
Thanks for the tip. I do have it on my list to visit, although I didn’t think they had food?
Try Picnic, located here on Phinney Ridge (Greenwood Ave N). Thursday nights they have wine tastings where they serve cuts of meat and usually some other delicious bites. They also have a menu with soups, salads, and sandwiches you can order from anytime.
And let me know if you decide to go. Kyle and I are just a short walk away!
They do have food, though I’ve only tried the meat & cheese plate: an assortment of Salumi sausage (including the mole) and Beecher’s cheeses. I believe there’s an olive sampler as well. So yeah, “wine bar” food.
Josh, thanks for the additional info on The Tasting Room at Post Alley, and Lia thanks for the scoop on Picnic.
I think I messed up my wine palate at Smash by having the Warm French Donuts. “Life is short, eat dessert first.”
I’m not surprised! That’s good advice, but I rarely find myself eating dessert first.
Try black bottle. One block away from the Local vine. Way better food and cheaper wine!
Benson, Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll have to try it.
there are many wine bars in our area and i always visit them coz i love to drink ~