Walla Walla Steak Co, Wine Walk Row, & More
The Schoolhouse District in downtown Woodinville is a great new food and beverage destination. Schoolhouse No. 23, located in a restored schoolhouse built in 1909, is the district's centerpiece. The original red brick and wooden structure is also home to Walla Walla Steak Co. They have retained the exposed brick features and salvaged elements from the original schoolhouse in the interior design, creating a cozy and welcoming atmosphere. Interestingly, their original restaurant in Walla Walla is in a remodeled old train station.
The Schoolhouse District in downtown Woodinville is a newer area with various amenities to enjoy, including multiple wine-tasting rooms, exciting dining options, and seasonal events. Additionally, it is just a short 30-minute drive from Seattle.
Wine Walk Row
Six tasting rooms are included in Wine Walk Row, including some iconic wineries from Eastern Washington and the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Barnard Griffin has Rob Griffin as the head winemaker. Rob has been making excellent wine in Washington since 1977. He came up from California with a degree in hand from UC Davis. His daughter Megan Hughes is currently working with him as a winemaker at their winery in Richland, WA.
Another Eastern Washington winery is L'Ecole No #41 which is based in an old Lowden Schoolhouse. It is very appropriate that they have a tasting room in the Woodinville Schoolhouse District. L'Ecole is the French word for school, and 41 is a reference to Walla Wala School District, which is No. 41. This family-owned winery has roots that go back to 1983. It was the third winery to open in Walla Walla and just the 20th commercial winery in the state of Washington.
Valdemar Estates is another great Walla Walla winery with vineyards in Eastern Washington. Jesús Martínez Bujanda and his sister Ana head up the winery, representing the fifth generation of their family in the winery business. The original family winery is in the famous Rioja area of Spain, where they grew up. They bring a touch of Spain to Woodinville with great wine and Pintxo - their lively tapas, wine, and cocktail bar.
The Wine Walk Row includes another Eastern Washington winery, Mullan Road Cellars. Established in 2012 by Dennis Cakebread – Mullan Road was the result of his search for new winemaking adventures outside of the Napa area. In the tasting room, you can sample both Mullan Road and Cakebread wines.
Montinore Estate, a winery in the Willamette Valley in Oregon, brings a multi-faceted approach to growing grapes. They use the principles of biodynamic farming, which results in one of the smallest carbon footprints of any agricultural practice. And finally, if you are feeling really festive, you can stop in at McQueen Champaign Bar for a flight of champagne, prosecco, or sparkling rose.
Cuisine
Walla Walla Steak Co and sister-company Crossbuck Brewing have Dan Thiessen at the helm as managing partner. He brings over 25 years of culinary experience, including the Pacific Northwest and Switzerland. Along with this culinary experience, Dan is a 5th generation farmer and owns Thiessen Ranch in Walla Walla. Dan and his wife Melissa run the farm and provide both restaurants with beef and other farm products. Along with the Thiessen Ranch Burger on the Crossbuck Brewing Taproom menu, you will find wine from his Wagon Ranch Vineyard.
Ballard Pizza is another restaurant in the Schoolhouse District. The Woodinville location is the newest among their three other Seattle locations. If you go to a Mariners or Seahawks game, you will notice how popular their pizzas are – evidenced by the long line of happy customers waiting for their delicious pies!
Winemakers Dinner
Walla Walla Steak Co. hosts winemakers' dinners from time to time, and we were lucky enough to have an excellent one this summer. We enjoyed the six-course dinner, with each course paired with different wines from the tasting rooms of Wine Walk Row.
The first course was champagne paired with local oysters from Samish Bay. The mignonette sauce, with its delicious vinegary and peppery flavors, certainly enhanced the oysters. Refreshing and light can best describe the next course, which was melon wrapped in burrata cheese and dressed in a lovely elderflower syrup; it was wonderfully paired with Montinore Estate White Pinot Noir. The white pinot has minimal skin contact during fermentation; thus, it is white and not red. It is a bit unusual, but highly recommended!
The next course was Smoked Chicken Roulade wrapped around tangy Roquefort cheese and a sweet blackberry sauce. The Syrah from Valdemar Estate perfectly balanced this complex and tasty dish.
The following courses included King Salmon and New York Strip, each excellently paired with wine from the local tasting rooms. The Chef's Dessert Trio was an excellent finish, along with the port-style wine Rapport from Barnard Griffin Winery. The outstanding dessert wine was elegant and fruit-forward with slight chocolaty notes. It was the perfect conclusion to a delightful dining experience.
Public Events
There are many upcoming events scheduled, some that take place indoors and many that take advantage of the lovely outdoor spaces of the Schoolhouse District. You will also find the YMCA and the YMCA Early Education Center at the Carol Edwards Center. The YMCA offers a wide-ranging list of activities, such as pickleball and basketball courts, indoor and outdoor rock climbing, fitness classes, cooking, art, music, and drama classes, and much more. The Early Education Center provides childcare and learning programs for kids aged 1 to 6, along with before and after-school programs for older children. Incidentally, Carol Edwards is known as the "Mother of Woodinville". She established the local paper in 1976, organized the first All Fool's Day Parade, and founded the Woodinville Community Band. She is often credited with empowering the community to become the vibrant cultural center that it is. She died of ALS in 2007 at the age of 65, just hours after the Carol Edwards Center was named in her honor.
Editorial disclosure: food, and beverages generously provided.
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