Woodinville wine country

Founded in 1934, a group of investors bought the winery in 1974 and wanted to move the bulk of the sales and marketing operation to the western side of the Cascade Range where the majority of the state's population resides.

The Passport to Woodinville event was held once a year, usually in April, from 2002 to 2014, and provided the public with an opportunity to sample many of the area wineries for a single tasting fee.

Participants received a passport filled with labels and information, a glass, and the opportunity to tour many local wineries, some of which were not regularly open to the public.

[7] Passport was criticized for limiting people to visiting all of the wineries in a single weekend, which often led to public intoxication and an under-appreciation of the subtle differences in wine flavors.

Because it is distributed year-round instead of concentrated in a single weekend, the new Passport to Woodinville has approximately twice as many participating wineries as the old one (around 60 vs 30).

The Saint Nicholas Day Open House is a similar event typically held during the first weekend in December.