Winemakers' Picks for Best Wine Lists in Seattle

Last weekend's Taste Washington was a veritable who's who of vintners and chefs in this town, with bites and sips to delight. Wine glass-toting ticket holders had the luxury of pairing up snacks from local restaurants with a huge selection of wines, ciders, and beers.

Eater cruised the aisles of the boozy fest and caught up with some of its best winemakers to chat about which restaurants are dishing up the best food, with the best wine lists to boot. Didn't make Taste WA? You can try some of their wines at several of the restaurants area winemakers prefer. (Coincidence? We think not.)

Phil Cline, Naches Heights Vineyard: Purple's beet salad has the acid and earthiness to pair well with our wines, especially the Riesling. They do a great job of promoting eating whole foods, which is something I'm really passionate about. Salmon Safe, organically grown…those are the things I care about. Cafe Flora is one of the restaurants that follows those types of guidelines. Andaluca is really great, Ray's, too — basically anywhere that Wayne Johnson has cheffed. 10 Mercer is great after the theater.

Brian and Maria McCormick, Memaloose Wines: So many! Aragona has a really well-curated list and the food is incredible. I'm not really familiar with drinking sherry, but they brought us some to try with their Spanish flavors. The Walrus and the Carpenter is an experiential pleasure spot. The cocktails, wines…they even have a "drinking caramel" they gave us to finish the meal. Monsoon, where almost everything is perfect with wine. We love the lean, European whites with the catfish claypot or drunken chicken.

Carol Parsons, Red Sky Winery: Daniel's Broiler has been very supportive and has had our wines on the menu in the past. My perfect pairing is the 2009 Serendipity red Bordeaux blend with their filet mignon.

Bill Saltzstein, Cinq Cellars: I have to give props to Salty's, because they have our wine. They were one of the first to take a chance on a relatively new wine. Also, Palace Kitchen and all the Tom Douglas restaurants always have great selections to pair with the food. Local 360 has a great local list and really good food.

George White, W.T. Vintners: RN74 currently has our 2011 Syrah on their list, which we very much appreciate. Their happy hour is awesome, the best in the city maybe. And their risotto is great if we're not eating during the early hours. Really, everything their chef is putting out is awesome and goes so well with the wines.