Stomani Cellars and Winery

The Pacific Northwest is lousy with little ’boutique’ wineries, which don’t own their own fields, but get grapes wherever they can and try to turn out wines that stand out from the pack of other little ’boutique’ wineries. Many are started by tech folks who made a bundle on stock options, retired young, think they can do anything, and are pursuing the romantic fantasy of making wine, and making money doing it. Most don’t make it, proving the adage ‘To make a small fortune in the wine business, start with a large one’.
But how does a promising little winemaker stand out from the crowd? Selling coupon deals is one way. I tend to have mixed feelings about Groupon/​Living Social/​Amazon Local deals. They seem to fall in two categories: (1) new places trying to get exposure that are pretty good (think Jones BBQ in West Seattle), or (2) places that are in decline and desperate to get people through the door (think Shilla on Denny). So when I saw the deal for wine tasting for 2 + 2 bottles of wine, that looked tempting enough to try. I haven’t figured out which category Stomani Cellars and Winery falls into.
THE ROSES: Nice tasting room, good selection of wines, and an affable, enthusiastic fellow pouring who was very keen about the product.
THE THORNS: I realize that personal preferences play a big role here, and I’m no sommelier, but these wines really weren’t that great. Some had rather off-​putting, chemical bouquets; others that should’ve been more full-​bodied came off as a lot lighter than one would expect, lacking any meaningful depth or complexity. It isn’t exactly encouraging when the fellow pouring describes their Barbera as ‘something to serve after you’ve used up your first-​choice bottle’, or ‘you can reduce it and make a good sauce’. The phrase ‘damning with faint praise’ comes to mind.
NEITHER ROSE NOR THORN: It is fun to listen to the conversations around you, and coming to realize that wine tasting in a social setting is probably mostly a big game of ‘liars poker’, where everyone is trying to sound like a serious oenophile, but you come to realize that 90% of them have no idea what they’re talking about, and wouldn’t know a good wine from a bottle of baby wee-​wee.
THE VERDICT: Stomani Cellars is not Château St. Michele, L’Ecole 41, or the very good (but wildly overrated) Leonetti Cellar. It’s Just Another Face In The Crowd. Nice tasting room with an enthusiastic, unpretentious staff, but the wine itself isn’t much better than Charles Shaw. Your results may vary, and if you can get the $ 40 Groupon, it becomes a pretty low-​risk venture. I wouldn’t go and pay retail, though.

We enjoyed a nice private tasting after purchasing a Groupon deal to this winery ($ 40 for a tasting for two people, and two bottles to take home).
We came here after work on a Friday afternoon and were the only ones in the place. The employee was very friendly and knowledgable about wine and the Pacific Northwest. We got to try six wines (three whites and three reds) and the final red included a piece of dark chocolate which complemented the wine well.
The atmosphere is nice and there’s even a little view of the water. I could see myself heading back and grabbing a glass of wine before walking around the city.
We took home a bottle of Riesling and a red blend to enjoy. We’ll be back for sure!

Held a small private event here. The team were great hosts and my guests had a wonderful time.
The atmosphere is relaxed and fun.
We all got a great education about all the wines on top of a lovely chance for our group to socialize.
I think we’ll all be back.

Great experience, Nathan and Alex were great. They were very informative, informal yet professional. I think if you are wavering on if this is a good use of your time wave no more its a cool sit down & relax spot they earned my first review. If you can get the groupon do, if you can’t just stop in.

Ok… so I have to say… I liked this place… yeah there were only some oyster crackers… it would have been good to have some smoked salmon on ritx crackers with some cream cheese but… the wine was pretty good. I loved… loved loved the Vellutto… it was very subtle… maybe boring to some… but it was very nice to me. My husband liked theaglianico. We had a very nice wine tasting and it was fun to tour the facilities. It’s rustic and a bit retro. Very pleasant. I’d say it’s worth a visit… hmmm. gotta think about getting more of that Velutto… they have parties too!

We had an Amazon Local deal which included tasting, snacks, and two bottles of wine. When we asked after the snacks, we were told they had oyster crackers. It would have been fine if the deal hadn’t mentioned snacks, but it was disappointing. Apart from that it was pretty good. I wouldn’t go back, but it was a pleasant experience.

A friend of mine visited us from san diego and was able to buy a groupon for wine tasting at stomani cellars. My husband and i are currently stationed in oak harbor, wa so we drove 2 hrs south. It was my first time wine tasting and it was a good experience. We tasted 8 different types of wines. Great wine. He was able to answer every question we had as well. It is small but very nice and warm/​home-​y I enjoyed the fact that it was a very private and quiet place. They also have a friendly dog (;

Love their wines, the friendliness of Alex and Judy and really appreciate the awesome private party they hosted for me. If you get the chance to stop by, weekends are the best between 12 – 5. Sign up on their email list for special opportunities to help bottle and get to know more about the wine making process. A true gem of a small business in the South Lake Union area!

Stomani Cellars shares a tasting room space with Falling Rain. The first time I visited, Falling Rain’s winemaker was pouring their lovely wines. This time around, we met one of the Stomani winemakers. We got to taste the Pinot Gris (crisp and dry), Chardonnay (slightly on the sweet side), Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Aglianico (which is a rare Italian grape… I hadn’t heard of it before). It was an exciting potpourri of tastes, but the Aglianico was by far my favorite. So much juicy flavor with a hint of spice. The tasting room is in a great location with a nice view of Lake Union and free and easy parking on either side of the building.

I believe this place is now located on Dexter Ave. I just went there last weekend and had a great experience. The wines were delicious. I especially enjoyed the Dolcetto. I tasted it at room temp but took mine home, slightly chilled it and enjoyed it with grilled steak mmmm mmmm!
I love that they produce Italian style wines with semi-​local Washington grapes. The staff was very friendly and gave us a tour and described all the upgrades that are in the works. Should be beautiful when it is completed. Lots of Seattle charm, repurposing an old Garage into a wine cellar.

I tasted Stomani’s wines at Fine Wine & Cigars on July 23, 2010
1) 2008 Pinot Gris
Very nice
Smells of Summer
Crisp & floral
Perfect Acidity
2) 2007 Sangiovese
Light Ruby Color
Fragrant cherry slightly sweet nose
You’ll smell berries
Just a tad oaky
Soft finish
A good reason to make some Cioppino
3) 2007 Terramoto Red
Surely «big and muscular»
Spicy midpalate
I’d give it a another year in the cellar
Molto bene.