Fidelitas Woodinville

Taking a break from the warehouses and ambling around the Hollywood School District, we decided to hit up a place where we’d tasted before, only elsewhere. Huh? Just making sure you’re paying attention; what I meant was, we decided to hit up Fidelitas in Woodinville, even though we’d tasted at their Red Mountain facility before. I’ve mentioned before that, as a former Latin teacher, I’ve got a soft spot for wineries with Latin names, so Fidelitas («Loyalty» in the language of Caesar) was a natural choice when surrounded by lots of good options.
The guiding genius (in the Roman sense) behind Fidelitas is Charlie Hoppes, a much in-​demand and talented wine maker in Washington State whose résumé includes wines for the Château, Goose Ridge and a raft of other Evergreen State wineries. When we tasted at Red Mountain a few years back our experience was overwhelmingly positive; this time around it was a little different, but by no means bad.
First off, the Woodinville tasting room is a great space to taste in, elegant, well lit and kept. The folks pouring were also very friendly and helpful as well as super-​invested in the wine and able to answer all of our questions. So what was the snag? Well, the first two red we tasted (out of four total) were a challenge. We started with the 2012 Ciel du Cheval red, a Merlot driven blend (58%) with the rest filled in by equal parts Cab Sauv and Franc with a little less Petit Verdot. Great body and acid along with a lovely palate of blackberries and vanilla. However, despite the quantity of Merlot, there was some serious tannin going on here. Firm wood tannins, that I experienced as bitterness, ran through the palate and the wine had a slightly hot mouthfeel from the alcohol (15.3% listed). The next pour, the 2012 Estate Cab Sauv, was similar, firm tannins and noticeable alcohol (though now the palate was all about currants, raspberry and leather). On balance, I found that the bitter tannin and alcohol took away from the experience for me.
I braced myself for the third pour, the 2012 Optu, and then everything changed. «Optu» may be screwball Latin but there’s nothing wonky about this wine. Everything about it was elegant. Red fruit, earth and vanilla on the nose; raspberries and currants on the palate. Rich and full-​bodied with a solid dose of acid, the tannins were firm here, too, but also soft and without a hint of bitterness. This is some serious wine that is drinkable now but has the chops to age and really turn into something interesting. The final pour, the 2012 Quintessence Cab Sauv topped the Optu (no mean feat). Both on the nose and palate, the profile of this wine shifted to darker fruit (blackcurrant) with more leather and spice notes coming out. The bouquet from the oak treatment was «darker,» too, with a caramel quality compared to the vanilla of the Optu. Again, another accessible but age-​able wine.
Bottom line: Not a ton of pours compared to other places where you can taste (though there was a solid Semillon included along with the four reds) but the last two reds alone are worth the price of admission. Who knows, maybe you’ll disagree with me about the first two.

The wine is OK. I have had better Red Mountain Reds. Their wine are pretty pricey, $ 50-​$ 100. They tasting room is always busy. I don’t LOVE this place, but I don’t dislike it either. It is a solid option if your already near Purple or tasting at Mark Ryan or Gorman.

$ 10 for a wine tasting with wines that were only average at best. Not that I really know my wines, but I do know that I didn’t particularly care for them. And they were on the pricey side too, not tempting enough to buy even with the wine tasting price.
You can buy wines that are just as enjoyable at Trader Joe’s for a third the price. This is exactly what we ended up doing.

Great find after disaster lunch in Purple café. I was surprised at the reds– nice find. The ladies behind the counter are friendly and helpful. Would recommend trying this tasting room if you like Napa reds.
I do have to say that they should invest in larger water jug as well as multiple «dump a wine» bucket as they ONLY have one (which seems crazy for a large room. At least have smaller ones on the counter where people do their tastings.

Went wine asking over the weekend and decided to try this winery as it was located next to a couple others I had been wanting to try. To start off they have a cute tasting room with a huge wall of bottles which was great! We got to try five wines, all reds most of them with grapes from red mountain so you knew it was going to be good. The tasting fee was $ 10. The wines were delicious, they great flavor depth and color. I loved the champoux red wine and the optu red mountain. All of the wine was amazing!
Kathleen helped us and poured our wine and she was so great! She was cracking jokes and so nice. Our whole group loved her! We will definitely all be back soon!

Fidelitas has a great collection of wines, particularly I love the wines from the Champoux Vineyard and Red Mountain. The reds definitely are great representatives of Washington wines.
The tasting room has some tables with chairs, which is a nice place to relax for a bit and taste wines. I found the tasting room staff to be attentive and helpful with any questions I had.
Fidelitas shares a parking lot with a few other tasting rooms and restaurants, which definitely limits parking during the day. This is the only downside I can say about the tasting room location since parking is not always the easiest. The earlier you go during the day, the easier it will be to park.
Fidelitas is a great winery with superb Washington wines. I highly recommend checking out the tasting room in Woodinville.

Visit this hidden gem! Everyone will head to château St. Michelle but if you like the red mountain wines you will love Fidelitas! Skye was so fun to taste with; I even joined the wine club! Great value wine!

I’m updating after Michelle from the wine club contacted me. I think it shows that they clearly care about their customer service when they look at their reviews online and respond privately to people. She wasn’t concerned about their online image, but rather reaching out to a customer.
I also went in last weekend and had a great time, I was in a bit of a rush and they were quick and great about their service. Everything was running a bit smoother than many of the other times I’ve been there. As always, the wine was great.
I DO certainly recommend people come here, or buy their wines in stores. As I said in my first review the wine is very very good. And hopefully my visit last weekend was a sign of good things coming in the tasting room too.

My fiancé and I came in here 20 minutes until 5pm which is when they were closing. We just wanted to share one tasting and figured there was still plenty of time considering there were quite a few people in here still. Litterally a minute later after walking in, they close there doors, so I think «sweet we just made it.» We go up to the bar to get a glass and they tell us that they are closing, so we have to leave…
We start to walk out and the girl runs after me and gives us a free tasting card for next time. I am a little bummed though that they wouldn’t pour for us considering we had 20 minutes before they actually closed AND we made it in before they shut the door… well I looked at the tasting menu and they had about 5 wines that were between $ 50 – 100 which was shocking to me.
I guess we will come back but BEWARE — Get there 20+ MINS before closing because their closing time should be 4:40pm.

They have made the move from Seattle to Woodinville and it’s great! The room shares some of the same design elements as their spot in Benton City. A great collection of both whites and reds; the 2012 Optu white is very worthy! The reds are vast and tasty, nothing disappoints! The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon from Ciel du Cheval vineyard is perhaps the best around; its good now but will continue to improve over the next few years! Tasting fee is $ 10 and refundable with purchase, free for wine club members. The fee may be different for special events. A definite must when in the area!