A remote island cellar worth the ferry ride
Lummi Island (regional destination) · Bellingham · Fine Dining / Farm-to-Table · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed by the RagingWine Tasting Desk · July 10, 2026
RagingWine reviewed The Willows Inn’s wine list and gave it The Rager — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
You take a ferry to get here, and the wine list makes you feel like that was a reasonable decision. The Willows Inn operates as a full destination experience — tasting menu, inn, and a wine program that clearly has someone with strong opinions behind it. Walking in, the list signals immediately that this place is playing at a different level than anything else on Puget Sound.
The list runs 150 to 300 deep and covers serious ground: Pacific Northwest heavyweights like Leonetti Cellar and Andrew Will sit alongside Burgundy royalty and Northern Rhône anchors. The presence of Sine Qua Non tells you whoever built this list has range and isn't afraid to go California cult when it earns its spot. Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Gris nods to Oregon's roots and gives the PNW section some historical texture. Champagne rounds out the top of the list in what feels like a deliberate fine-dining arc — there are no accidental wines here.
By-the-glass specifics weren't available during our research, and given the tasting-menu format, it's likely the experience skews toward pairings or bottles rather than a deep glass pour program. If you're going, budget for a pairing or a bottle — this is not the spot to peck through two-ounce pours.
Eyrie Vineyards Pinot Gris — Unknown
Eyrie is the godfather of Oregon Pinot Gris and still wildly underpriced relative to its historical significance. On a list full of prestige names, this one likely won't shock your card — and it's a genuinely great wine that fits the hyper-local, Pacific Northwest ethos of the whole meal.
Andrew Will Cabernet Franc
Most people on this island came for Pinot Noir adjacent territory, and Andrew Will's Cab Franc gets overlooked as a result. It's one of Washington's most compelling takes on the grape — tighter and more savory than its Napa counterparts — and most tables will walk right past it.
Domaine de la Romanée-Conti
Yes, it's DRC. Yes, it's extraordinary. But at a destination restaurant already commanding serious dinner prices, you're paying full prestige markup on top of an already expensive evening. Unless someone else is signing the bill, the value math falls apart fast.
Sine Qua Non + Wood-fired seafood course
Sine Qua Non's Rhône-style whites — rich, smoky, and textured — hit differently against anything that's seen fire and salt air. The Willows Inn is built around wood and sea, and SQN's intensity doesn't get lost in that conversation the way a lighter white would.
The Bottom Line
The Willows Inn is as serious about wine as it is about the 14 ingredients it sourced from within a mile of your table. You're paying destination prices across the board, but the list delivers at that level — this is a once-in-a-while splurge that earns it.
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