Darby English’s journey in winemaking is as complex as the wines he produces each year. After more than two decades of honing his craft, his Winery has rightfully earned its place in conversations regarding the best wines coming out of Washington State.

Darby English & his faithful companion Ash.

Darby’s passion for wine was ignited in his early 20s while he was playing golf for Oregon State University. Like many college students, he was more familiar with beer than wine, typically the more affordable, mass-produced kinds. The turning point came during a dinner at his then girlfriend’s parents’ home. Her mother, an excellent chef, and her father, a serious wine collector, introduced him to the world of fine wine.

In their cellar, he received an impromptu education on wines from California, Bordeaux, and the Rhône Valley. The experience of enjoying a special bottle of wine with a meticulously prepared dinner left an indelible impression on him. “Something just clicked…it was like ‘wow, ok I get this now—a special bottle of wine that tasted so different…I was fascinated by what just happened.”

Darby’s “The Dark Side Syrah” – a favourite Washington Syrah over many years.

While playing golf in Arizona, he also worked in top restaurants with world-class wine lists, giving him the opportunity to taste a wide variety of wines from around the world. He was particularly thrilled when winemakers from his home state of Washington visited. His pride in Washington and his belief in the exceptional quality of its wines made these visits especially exciting and educational.

After finishing his golf career, Darby eagerly returned to the Pacific Northwest, missing the region’s outdoor and active lifestyle. Back in Washington, he took a job in pharmaceutical sales and discovered an exciting and emerging wine scene.

He was eager to enter the wine business but wasn’t sure in what capacity.

Darby, Teresa & Chris.

On a whim, he attended a pop-up release party in Woodinville hosted by rising star winemaker Mark McNeilly of Mark Ryan Winery. Once again, everything clicked for him. “[Mark] was just underground, and he’d have these release parties that were huge blowouts, hundreds of people would show up, and buy all his wines. Mark’s such a great guy; it was just a fun environment that he created, and I thought ‘damn that’s pretty cool, he’s making wine and he’s in a warehouse…so I started making wine in my basement.”

That first year proved challenging in the best way because he learned very quickly his most important lesson: without quality grapes it’s impossible to make great wine. The following year he managed to get his hands on some premium Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon which he describes as a game-changer.

Stillwater Creek Vineyard grapes [stillwatercreekvineyard.com]

“That really helped launch me into realizing I need the best grapes to start with which is more than half the battle…unless you start with really meticulously grown grapes that have complexity already and are really well farmed…you can’t really do much with mediocre grapes.”

Understanding the importance of fruit sourcing and the nuances between different vineyards, Darby is highly discerning about where he obtains his grapes. He sources from some of the most coveted vineyards in the state, including Boushey, Stillwater Creek, Discovery, Dineen, and the Rocks. “This business can kind of get a little monotonous with bringing in the same grapes from the same vineyard which we do different stuff every year, but it’s always exciting when you find new vineyards that are bringing something kind of cool from an area like the Rocks.”

When he established Darby Winery in 2005, he was making 500 cases with a focus on Rhône varieties. Today, he produces 4,000 cases and while the focus remains the same, the progression is constant. “I think you need to find ‘your’ area and what fits your winery vision. It’s relatively easy to get fruit from all over but I think we’ve been doing it long enough for me to realize I like Rhône varieties from particular areas.”

The Rocks District [source: rocksdistrict.com]

Darby’s particularly excited about working with newer sites like The Rocks in Walla Walla, “I’m always looking for some small vineyards that are doing some quirky stuff to build character in the brand,” and with Rocks being solely focused on Rhône varieties it’s seems a perfect fit. “There’s great Cabernet and Merlot in other parts of Walla Walla but The Rocks is kind of focused just on the Rhône. And then more with Josh Lawrence and Stillwater and out of that Royal Slope, I think the Rhône stuff coming out of there is really beautiful as well.”

Woodinville Tasting Room

Part of the evolution of Darby Winery is the customer experience which was recently upgraded thanks to a brand new tasting room in Woodinville’s Hollywood District.

Teresa Jones.

They, along with Sleight of Hand Cellars have taken over the former Long Shadows space and divided it between the two of them.

General Manager Teresa Jones, toured us through the Darby side which has been completely transformed into an ultra-cool tasting bar complete with a library, tasting lounge and larger room for parties and meetings.

They even have their very own speakeasy room they call their “Needledrop Lounge” hidden by a secret door in the bookcase. But be warned, once you enter, you’ll be very hard-pressed to leave as you sift through a stack of vinyl records to play on the record player while cozying up to the fireplace. Easily one of the most unique and fun tasting spaces we’ve come across on our travels.

Inside their ‘Needledrop Lounge’

The whole vibe is one of relaxed, rustic elegance in a well-designed space that is surprisingly large but still feels wonderfully intimate thanks to the various nooks and crannies you can tuck yourself into.

As Darby Winery nears its 20th anniversary, this milestone holds particular significance given the consistently high quality it has maintained over the years. Reaching two decades is momentous for any business, especially in the finicky wine industry, but in this case, it’s a truly well-deserved achievement.

Tasting Notes

2022 Darby Winery Sauvignon Blanc

100% Sauvignon Blanc from the Schmidt Vineyard in the Yakima Valley. Straw yellow in colour, this refreshing white leads with notes of grapefruit and gets support from a steely mineral streak on the finish. The texture is dry and the medium+ acid is well judged. Very Good+ (USD$27)

2022 Darby Winery Le Deuce

2022 Darby Winery Le Deuce

A blend of Viognier and Roussanne, Le Deuce has been a favourite of ours since we first visited the original tasting room shortly after it opened. Melon and some tropical flavours show the warmth of the summers in the Columbia Valley, as does the rounded texture. This is broad across the palate and finishes with some nice apricot notes. Excellent ($USD27)

2021 Darby Winery Darkside Syrah

Another perennial favourite of ours, the 2021 delivers a velvet robe of black fruit flavours. Textured, balanced, smooth and slightly bold, it has the structural components to balance the texture and keep everything in focus.

2021 Darby Winery The Flipside

The body is medium+ and the finish goes on and on. 100% Syrah from Stillwater Creek, Dineen and Discovery Vineyards. Excellent ($USD32 *particularly good value at this price)

2021 Darby Winery The Flipside

A blend of Syrah (58%) ,Mourvèdre and Grenache, this wine has a lovely savoury quality to it. Medium+ tannin and medium+ body, this shows primary notes of black cherry and gets lots of complexity from the subtones of tobacco leaf, meat and some briny notes on the finish. Delicious now but we think the best is yet to come. Excellent ($USD40)

2021 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

2021 Darby Winery Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon

80% Cabernet Sauvignon from Quintessence Vineyard on Red Mountain. Red Mountain produces big structured wines and the challenge for most winemakers is to try to tame those tannins. And this year Darby did it. Dark red in colour we get black cherry and blackberry flavours wrapped in a warm robe rounded texture. The tannin is medium and shows good ripeness, no astringency. Lovely secondary notes of earth, tobacco cedar bough make for a complex wine of great interest. Excellent ($USD58)

Darby Winery

Woodinville Tasting Room

14450 Redmond-Woodinville Rd NE

Woodinville, WA 98072

T: (425) 408-0529

Hours: Sun-Thurs 12pm-7pm / Fri & Sat 12pm-8pm

*Darby also has a tasting room in Seattle, details of which you can find HERE.