Editor’s note: Since this article was published, Den Hoed Winery has closed their South Seattle tasting room. For information on the winery, please visit their website at www.denhoedwines.com.
“Our annual Wallula Koning Club event offers live music, dancing, great wood fire, grilled food and endless wine with charter buses to and from the hotel,” says general manager Traci McFarlane, sharing about Den Hoed winery’s exclusive and exciting wine club party. The event takes place on a private viewing deck, nestled on a hillside of lush, tiered vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA with breathtaking views of the Columbia River. This same vineyard scenery occupies large portions of the interior walls at the new Seattle tasting room, set inside the SoDo Urban Works building just two miles south of downtown. The imagery is a constant reminder of the vital connection between the land and the growers required to produce such ultra-premium wines.
Winegrowers Bill and Andy Den Hoed spend extensive time in the vineyard year round and have developed it into one of the premier sites in the state. “From planting to harvesting and everything in-between, this is where their passion lies,” Traci says. “There is not one part of the nearly 1,000 planted acres that they have not touched, and don’t know like the back of their hand.” Bill and Andy pay homage to their parents, Marie and Andreas Den Hoed, who migrated from Holland and taught them that hard work, sacrifice and high standards pay off.
Ever since the first vintage in 2004, the Den Hoed’s have employed acclaimed winemakers Gilles Nicault (also winemaker for Long Shadows) and Rob Newsom (also of Boudreaux Cellars) to each craft one of their two signature red wines: Marie’s View and Andreas.
The wines are transcendent in nature, yet speak volumes—elegant, distinctive and age worthy. At the Seattle tasting room you may be pleasantly rewarded when/if a server opens an aged library wine such as the 2004 vintage, alongside a corresponding 2011 vintage, so you can discover the difference for yourself.
Visit: $20 tasting fee (six wines), refundable with purchase; SoDo Urban Works building, 3861 First Ave S, Seattle; open Fri 3-6pm, Sat 12-6pm, www.denhoedwines.com
2 Recent Releases
Den Hoed 2012 Andreas Cabernet Sauvignon, $80
Editor’s Choice – Extraordinary (95-100 pts.)
Ultra creamy and rich, this Cabernet is an oasis for the senses, with enchanting aromas leading to stunningly pure flavors of blackberry and cassis, underscored by expressive layers of tobacco, crushed pebble, capsicum and spice notes. Impeccably structured and balanced with unwavering focus on the long finish. We give this wine our top rating, reserved only for truly extraordinary wines of the highest caliber.
Den Hoed 2011 Marie’s View Red Blend, $80
Editor’s Choice – Outstanding (91-94 pts.)
High toned and polished, this lush red wine starts with attractive aromatics of dusky red fruit and violet. Generous on the mouth, muscular tannins glide through a vibrant beam of red currant, raspberry, cherry and pomegranate notes that meld together with violet, cocoa and warm spice. Exceptionally structured, the distinctive flavors pulsate through the near-endless finish. A real beauty.