Bainbridge Island - Bloedel Reserve, Wine Tasting, and Lunch
Once on the island, we were going to check out the Bloedel Reserve, do a little wine tasting, and find somewhere to eat lunch/dinner. Shane had called to get reservations for the tour at Bloedel while we were waiting for the ferry to arrive only to be told they were completely full for their last tour! What?!? Shane is amazing...the man has skills! LOL. He sweet talked the lady on the phone into letting us join their last tour of the day by explaining we were coming all the way there, friend in town, research for a TB meet up, etc! WOW! I am so glad she made room for us as this ended up being such a beautiful place!
Bloedel Reserve
The entire property is comprised of almost 150 acres, with about 84 devoted to second growth forest.
The tour is pretty much self-guided and you can go at your own pace - expected to take two hours to complete but we finished it in about 1 1/2 hours stopping along the way to take photos of everything and anything I could! :-) It's hard to put into words how beautiful it was and I can imagine later in the season as things are beginning to bloom and change color, it's even more breathtaking.
Bainbridge Island Vineyards and Winery
Of course, if there's a winery close by......had to check it out! What I didn't realize...this was Shane's first time wine tasting. HA HA. We got inside and it was pretty packed. Like a good wino, I was waiting patiently for a few people to finish up and we'd be in the next group up. It was pretty small and as it was crowded, I prefered to wait for the bar to open up versus standing 3 rows back! LOL. They had some very interesting collectibles for sale which kept me rather amused for the 5-10 minutes for everyone to finish up. Shane was somewhat perplexed why people didn't just get wine and go elsewhere rather than talk to the people (the owner and winemaker was actually the one pouring).
Next we were headed off for food.......and to take the ferry back in hopes of catching a gorgeous Seattle sunset!
The Harbour Public House
Someone recommended we try this place for lunch/dinner as it's right on the water and supposedly good food. We definitely hit the right time as we had a 5-10 minute wait for an outside table and what a gorgeous view! We were able to look back into downtown Seattle and see the skyline while enjoying a somewhat rare warm and sunny afternoon! I tried a local Washington Amber Ale which was really good and although a pub, had some interesting choices on the menu.
All in all, it was a great day on Bainbridge Island and I definitely am looking forward to hopefully going back on my next trip up to Washington! :-)
We were lucky and got the last tour of the day on what was one of the most gorgeous days in Seattle! If you like hiking, nature walks, or photography, this is definitely a great way to spend a couple hours. The grounds were absolutely breathtaking (see accompanying blog entry for more photos).
They offer self-guided tours for $10 pp which take approximately 2 hours to complete. They are only open 10am-4pm on Wednesday - Sunday and the last reservation is at 2pm. Make sure to schedule ahead of time as they only allow a small number of people at each time slot to ensure everyone has the best experience possible.
They have a good selection of local beers and wines so I opted to try the Hood Canal Agate Pass Amber Ale from Poulsbo, WA which was awesome. Didn't quite realize I was going to go Greek when I ordered it otherwise I probably would've stuck with wine since we just finished tasting at the Bainbridge Island Vineyards. HA HA.
I had seriously been craving Greek salad ($9.95) and they had one on the menu that sounded yummy. I ordered that with hummus ($7.95) as an appetizer and both were excellent. I've figured out that nothing can compare to the salads while I was in Greece last year but this was probably the best one I've had since I've been back!
Shane had the spicy crab and artichoke dip ($8.95) to start and the fish and chips ($11.95) entree - both were recommended as must tries. I assume they were both good as Shane gobbled them up! HA HA. I tried a bite of the crab and artichoke dip which was rather tasty.
This was definitely a cool spot for lunch/dinner and was pretty crowded when we left. They have open mic night so my guess is it's a pretty popular spot with the locals.
Their wines were pretty good, even though I am not a huge fan of white wines in general (did try their drier ones which were nice). They have one dry red - a Pinot Noir which was not bad either.
What they did have was raspberry wine, which was beyond fantastic! OMG! The wine has no grape juice or water added and it truly tastes just like fresh raspberries. Only 131 cases produced and they have a strawberry one being released later this year that I am dying to try!
Their wines are available in some local shops and restaurants and they are willing to ship - but do not take credit cards for shipped orders. You must send a check or money order.
Note: their tasting room is only open on the weekends (Fri - Sun 11am to 5pm) and they do have a tour on Sundays at 2pm! Tasting is $3 for 4 tastes.
