We've covered which district to pick, whether you need a reservation and what a Saturday actually costs. What's left is the question people actually text the group chat.
What do we do?
So this isn't a ranked list — it's three days we'd run ourselves. One for first-timers who came to see why Woodinville exists in the first place. One for a couple who want the day to feel like a date rather than a tour. One for six friends who need to park once and not get turned away at the door. Named stops, the fee you'll pay, whether to book, and why the order is what it is.
The Simple Version
Steal one of these, and don't mash them together.
- First-timers: Hollywood neighbors. Chateau Ste. Michelle, DeLille, Sparkman. Two of those share a building. Book DeLille.
- A couple: Hollywood pockets, slower. Chateau Lill (Saturday-only), Maryhill for lunch, Damsel to stay. Book Lill.
- A group of six: Warehouse on 144th. Park once. Book Pondera, Prohibition and Category 5. Do not take six people to DeLille.
Three stops each, tips on top, lunch if there's a kitchen in the day. The fee math lives in the cost post — this one is about the clock.
Saturday 1: First-Timers
They came for the picture, so give them the picture. Then stay in one pocket, so the rest of the day isn't a geography lesson conducted from a parking lot.
11:00 — Chateau Ste. Michelle. Doors open at 11 and you want to be there for it, because the grounds are the reason you came and they're best before the lawn fills up. The château, the lawn, the thing people mean when they say they did Woodinville. It's $30 a head, no waiver, reservations recommended — pay it without arguing, and buy a bottle only if you actually want one.
12:30 — DeLille Cellars. Two minutes by car, nine on foot, and this is the one to book: $30 for five tastes, not refundable. Last seating is 5:30pm, so there's slack in the day — but don't spend it here. Bordeaux-style blends on a rooftop deserve a palate that hasn't already been through four hours, and this is the stop you'd hate to miss.
2:00 — Sparkman Cellars. Suite 102, right next door to DeLille's 101, so a one-minute walk that doesn't involve the car. It opens at 12, which is why it can't lead the day. $25, waived at $50, reservation recommended. There's sparkling in the mix, and it plays in a different register after a seated DeLille flight. If Sparkman is slammed, Gorman is a three-minute drive and takes walk-ins.
The order writes itself: Ste. Michelle and DeLille open at 11, Sparkman doesn't open until 12, and DeLille is the one you're actually holding a reservation for. Because Sparkman is next door to it, you move the car exactly once all day. Park at Ste. Michelle, take your time on the grounds, drive the two minutes to DeLille, and stay put.
For two people doing three full tastings, the fees run $30, $30 and $25 — call it $170 for the pair, plus about $42 in tips at $7 a person. Sparkman's fee may drop if you buy a bottle; the other two won't budge. So figure $180 to $220 before lunch. That's the Hollywood Saturday we already priced, and no, it isn't the cheap one. It's the one that answers "we have never been."
Whatever you do, don't bolt a Warehouse stop onto the end of it. That's the ping-pong day we already told you not to run.
There is a second first-timer Saturday, the mix-on-purpose version: book DeLille at 11, drive the 11 minutes over to 144th, then walk between Pondera and Smasne. That's a good day too. It just isn't this day, so pick one and commit.
Saturday 2: A Couple
This one isn't the château tour. It's the date.
11:00 — Chateau Lill. Saturdays only, April through October, 11 to 4, at $20 per person — and take the early slot, because they close the outdoor areas later in the day for private events. Goats and alpacas share the grounds. Groups larger than six have to call ahead for a picnic table, but even a party of two should book, since space is limited. Then linger. Lill closes at 4 and doesn't exist on a Sunday, which is exactly why it has to go first.
Going outside that April-to-October Saturday window? Lill is closed, so swap in Novelty Hill-Januik — two minutes from Ste. Michelle, $25 waived at $50, open 11 to 4 every day. Book it, and note that it closes at 4 as well, so it still leads.
1:00 — Maryhill at the Hollywood Schoolhouse. One minute by car, ten on foot, $30 waived with a $40 bottle. There's a bistro attached, so treat this as lunch and treat it like a restaurant: walk-ins exist, but book the table. A restored 1912 schoolhouse, actual food, and a place to sit that isn't another bar.
3:15 — Damsel Wine Lounge. Two minutes from Maryhill, nine on foot, opening at 1. The fee is $25, waived at $25, so a single bottle can zero it out if the waiver applies to the table rather than the person. Worth asking. This is a lounge, not a hallway tasting, so plan to stay.
The order is set by the constraints again: Lill is Saturday-only and shuts at 4, Maryhill is the kitchen, and Damsel opens at 1 and runs until 7, so it can be last. You will drive between all three, because Hollywood is pockets rather than a strip. Three short hops, all on purpose — and not one of them a loop back to the Warehouse.
For two people: Lill is $40 and we don't have a waiver on it, Maryhill is $60 in fees or a $40 bottle, and Damsel is $50 or a bottle over $25. Add about $42 in tips and keep lunch separate. If you buy at the two rooms that will waive, the day lands at about $150 to $200, plus whatever you ate.
Split the Damsel flight if you want. But don't ask Lill, or a bistro, to bisect a seated tasting.
Saturday 3: A Group of Six
With six people, everything is a reservation.
DeLille seats four to a table and won't combine two fours; Chateau Lill wants a phone call and a picnic table for anything above six. Rather than fight that, go where six people can stand at a bar — park once on 144th and walk the rest.
12:00 — Pondera. Open 12 to 5, $20 waived at $30, and reservations are recommended rather than optional once you're six deep. Art on the walls, Bordeaux-style reds, and a small room, which is exactly why it fills.
1:30 — Prohibition Cellars. Two to four minutes on foot, open 12 to 5, $25 waived with a $40 bottle. They ask groups of six or more to book so they can actually host you, so do that. Then there's the hidden door into production — the bit your group will still be talking about later.
3:00 — Category 5 Cellars. Two minutes from Prohibition, in the same industrial building as Love That Red under a different suite letter. $15, waived at $25, and it closes at 6, so it's the one that can go last. Book it anyway: six people arriving at 3 without a note is how you wait in a parking lot.
Backups sit in the same cluster, all under four minutes away. Smasne takes walk-ins at $20, waived at $75 — don't chase that waiver with six people. Love That Red also takes walk-ins at $20, waived with a bottle, and it's the obvious substitute if Pondera is full. If you want a food stop, Efeste serves food, though the eight-minute walk makes it a detour rather than a neighbor.
The order follows the closing times: Pondera and Prohibition are done at 5, Category 5 hangs on until 6, so start when they open and work forward. Resist the fourth stop. Six palates, three rooms, one parking spot.
The fees come to $20 + $25 + $15, or $60 a person — $360 for six before anyone tips. Three stops at $5 to $10 each adds another $90 to $180 on top. Waivers only help if you wanted the wine in the first place, and a per-person minimum multiplied by six is a case in an afternoon. Just pay the $15 to $25, buy the bottles you actually want, and leave. Figure $450 to $650 all in, before anyone gets ambitious at checkout.
Sort out one designated driver, or an Uber. Parking, walking the Warehouse and the Hollywood-to-144th drive deserve their own post; for now, the rule is one car, one district.
How to Steal These Days
Three stops. Four if you're two people splitting Warehouse tastings. Not five.
Book the one you'd hate to miss. Walk in to the rest only if you're a pair in the Warehouse. Six people book all three.
Order by the constraint, not the vibe. Saturday-only goes first, earliest open second, latest close last — and seated wine before the wander, so the good stuff hits a clean palate.
Don't mix districts by accident. We already wrote that post, and none of these three days breaks the rule.
Lunch is a stop. If Maryhill is in the day, that's the meal. If you're in the Warehouse, eat before you park, or accept that you'll drink through lunch.
PourPlan Outings will rearrange the floating stops around the one you actually booked, so mark that waypoint and let the walk-ins move.
The PourPlan Take
Woodinville gets easy the moment the Saturday has a job.
First-timers get the estate and never move the car again after DeLille. A couple gets the garden, the schoolhouse and a lounge, driving the three minutes between pockets on purpose. Six friends park once on 144th and walk.
Same zip code, three different days. Steal the one that matches whoever's in the car.
Ready to pick a Saturday? Start with the Hollywood or Warehouse listings, or jump to Best Wineries in Hollywood and Best Wineries in the Warehouse District. Then check the reservation badge on the one stop you'd hate to miss.
Sources & Further Reading
- PourPlan — Woodinville listings, tasting fees, reservation badges, Saturday hours and walk/drive times, current as of September 2026. 106 listed rooms.
- PourPlan — Which Woodinville Wine District Should You Visit? — Why these three days stay in one district.
- PourPlan — How Much Does Woodinville Wine Tasting Cost? — Fees, waivers and couple math.
- PourPlan — Do You Need a Woodinville Tasting Reservation? — Walk-ins, recommended-as-required and groups of six.
- DeLille Cellars — Tasting Room — $30, five tastes, last seating 5:30pm. Reservations recommended, walk-ins as space allows. FAQ: up to four people per table, limited six-tops, larger groups need a private room.
- Chateau Lill — Tasting Room — $20 per person. April through October, Saturdays 11am to 4pm. Book an early slot for the goats. Groups larger than six call for a picnic table.
- Prohibition Cellars — Visit — $25, waived with a $40 bottle. Groups of six or more, please reserve. Saturday hours 12pm to 5pm.
- PourPlan — Drive time DeLille to Smasne is about 11 minutes. Walk time DeLille to Sparkman is 1 minute (same building). Walk time Smasne to Love That Red is 2 minutes. Walk time Pondera to Category 5 is 3 minutes.