For years, travel experts have extoled the virtues of California's Napa Valley, a nexus of wine production and haute cuisine. It's true: Napa's weather and scenery are gorgeous, its food and wine better. Ad Hoc, Celadon and The French Laundry, for three examples, stand as destination restaurants that carry commensurate price tags. Unfortunately, most of us have neither the time nor the money to spend on such sun-dappled excursions. Willamette Valley in Oregon is closer and boasts an excellent restaurant in Thistle, but it's still too far from the beaten path for many Puget Sounders. Let's look northward, instead, to the wine center right in our own backyard.

With only a third the population of Puyallup, it's amazing how much fine entertainment can be savored in Woodinville. Chateau Ste. Michelle produces two million cases of Riesling alone, making it the world's most prolific producer of that varietal, but it also greets a third of a million visitors every year. If Ste. Michelle were the only stop on your tour of Woodinville, you'd be well-served, as its 2016 concert series offers Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Mavis Staples, Lyle Lovett and Don Henley before it's even halfway through. The chateau offers tours and tastings from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, free most often, with no appointment required. Its 2011 Riesling is a steal at $10. Yet Woodinville is one town where simply following the herd denies visitors a richer yet affordable experience.

This brings us to a travel tip that will make your vacation. It's a deal so plainly weighted in the consumer's favor that we feel almost guilty reporting it. Go to ShopWoodinvilleWine.com/shop/passport-to-woodinville/ and spend $75 or less (look for couple and group deals) on a Woodinville Wine Country passport. Each is valid for an entire calendar year. It allows thirsty tourists to walk into each of more than 60 wineries, belly up to the bar, and enjoy a series of wine tastings at no additional cost. That's easier than it sounds, too, as Woodinville concentrates most of its vintners into two compact districts less than three miles apart: the Hollywood district to the south and the warehouse district to the north.

Begin your day in "Hollywood," which is quite a bit cleaner, cheerier, and less drainingly populous than its California namesake. After a great brunch at The Commons (14481 Woodinville-Redmond Rd. NE), we toured the wooded hillside grounds of JM Cellars. Owner John Bigelow tapped a barrel of second-year Cabernet Franc, allowing visitors to taste the development of fruit flavors against the oaken bite of the barrel itself. At Lauren Ashton Cellars, we sampled Kit Singh's bright new rosé, the perfect accompaniment to a summer barbecue. These vintners buy or rent vineyard space in eastern Washington, then truck the juice to Woodinville storefronts for aging and blending.

Woodinville's warehouse district is a sight to behold. Imagine a square mile of mini-storage units - except, instead of furniture and flotsam, each unit contains a wine tasting room. Pondera Winery serves a mean Chardonnay, while its walls bear exceptional art from Howard Mandeville Gallery in Kirkland.

If you're staying overnight, Willows Lodge is romantic and, yes, pricey. You'll find it cheaper to room in nearby Bothell, where many hotels offer shuttles into Woodinville. A local rep theater (16120 Woodinville-Redmond Rd. NE) features Plaza Suite in June. For dinner, we recommend the hearty burgers and sandwiches at Hollywood Tavern (14508 Woodinville-Redmond Rd. NE). After earning all those stamps in your wine passport, however, you may want to forego the lauded whiskey milkshake ... Oh, the hell with it. Uber awaits!