Tell us about your favorite wine blend to win!

Win tickets to BLEND, a wine event on September 12, featuring wines from 40 different wineries in Washington, Sonoma County and Portugal.  BLEND is an opportunity to taste a wide assortment of wine blends from classic Rhone and Bordeaux blends like DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate Blanc to distinctive proprietorial blends like Otis Kenyon Matchless Red. BLEND is a blend of sensory delights for your pleasure. Sample tasty bites from the Columbia Hospitality group like Salish Sea Salmon Bake prepared by Executive Chef Jay Bartleson, Bell Harbor, and Arrosto Di Maiale (Wild fennel scented pork tenderloin with garlic whipped potatoes and poached figs) prepared by Executive Chef Andrea DiLoreto, Kenwood Inn and Spa. Enjoy the views from the Bell Harbor International Conference Center as you mingle and sip. Feel your heart speed up as they announce the winners to the weekend get-a-ways and the five night stay at The Oitavos hotel in Cascais, Portugal!

Tickets for BLEND are $59 and are available online.

Enter to win tickets to BLEND

I love wine blends. The winemaker that can skillfully blend wines is part artist and part scientist, but wine blends are often mistaken as lower quality wines. BLEND is going to shatter that myth and you can help.

Raise a pint at a Washington Oktoberfest 2010

The official Oktoberfest is a 16-18 day* celebration in Munich, held in late September and early October. What started out as a wedding reception is now celebrated around the world,  honoring beer, food and music. With Yakima Valley being one of the largest producers of hops in the world, Washington state has no shortage of Oktoberfest celebrations from Enumclaw to Spokane. Each of the Oktoberfest’s have their own style from party central to community gathering to Washington beer geek meet up.

Check back often as we update the list of local brewfests.

BLEND: Celebrating wine as a work of art

Wine blends are often misunderstood. Many assume that wine blends are just the left over dregs of wine combined to fill the bottle. It is true that happens some times, but more often blends are so much more than the sum of its parts. Enjoy beautiful wine blends from 40 wineries at BLEND: The World’s Best Wine, Food & Places takes place on September 12, 4-7:30pm at the Bell Harbor Conference Center. Note: this post incorrectly quoted the ticket price earlier. The correct ticket price is $59 for this event.

The great blends are a conversation between the fruit and the wine maker. Think of a conductor of a world class orchestra. All of the players are exquisite in their own right, but it is the conductor that brings those talents together into creating a performance with more depth and nuance than is possible in most solos.   The wine maker evaluates the wines for tannin, acid, aromatics, color, and fruit; then creates a blend for beautiful balance from the different wines available in the cellar.

Simple wine

Wine blend as tapestry

I often think of wine blends as tapestries. Tapestries are woven works of art created with thread. The intricate weaving can add incredible complexity to the image. The wine maker can create that same type of complexity with using different wines and barrels. In wine blending, the wine maker can create a simple, yet elegant wine or they can create something big, bold and exciting.  It is all about what the fruit presents and how the wine maker chooses to highlight it. In his recent Wine 102 class, Yashar Shayan showed participants how as little as 5% of Syrah can add a surprising amount of color and body to a wine.

Alfresco Dining in Broadmoor- Auction of Washington Wines 2010

I had the privilege to work as a “guest Sommelier” of sorts for one of thirteen Auction of Washington Wine Winemaker Dinners, benefitting Uncompensated Care at Seattle Children’s Hospital, on Friday August 20th.  The dinner which I worked featured Rick Small of Woodward Canyon Winery and Norm McKibben of Pepper Bridge Winery and of course,  their wines.  Fittingly paired with two of Washington’s most highly regarded wineries were two of Seattle’s  James Beard award winning Chefs: Tamara Murphy of Elliot Bay Cafe & Terra Plata (formerly of Brasa) and Christine Keff of Flying Fish & On The Fly.

Norm McKibben talking during AWW Wine Maker Dinner

A more fantastic venue could not have been imagined than the lovely Broadmoor home of Brad and Michele Smith, co-chairs of this year’s Auction of Washington Wines, out on the grass overlooking a lush green golf course.  Complete with an enticing and even sexy lounge area, their yard accommodated guests late into the night as they enjoyed the best of what Washington has to offer, all while supporting Children’s Hospital.  During dinner, Rick and Norm even auctioned off a pair of signed magnums of their wine, both going for approximately $500 each, again to benefit Uncompensated Care at Children’s Hospital.

Chefs in the kitchen

The menu

• Hors d’œuvre
  • Steak Tartar, Watermelon & Pork Belly,  Ahi Tuna Poke Cones (by Chris Keff)
• 2nd Course
  • Tomatoes, Burrata, Boquerones, Olive Tapenade  (by Tamara Murphy)
  • Poached Turkey Egg, Reggiano Parmagiano, Truffled Beets (by Tamara Murphy)
    • Woodward Canyon 2009 Estate Sauvignon Blanc
    • Amavi 2009 Semillon
• 3rd Course
  • Columbia River Sturgeon, Potatoes from Rick Small’s Garden, Grilled Sweet Onions (by Chris Keff)
    • Pepper Bridge 2007 “Seven Hills Vineyard” Cabernet Sauvignon
    • Woodward Canyon 2009 Estate Reserve Chardonnay
• 4th Course
  • Squab, Marrow Bone, Sweet Corn Grits, Fig Marmelatta (Tamara Murphy)
    • Woodward Canyon 2006 Walla Walla Estate Red Wine
    • Pepper Bridge 2007 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon
• Dessert
  • Berry Pavlova, Saffron Meringue, Cardamom Ice Cream

Magnums

Follow them on twitter

• @WoodwardCanyon
• @PepperBridge
• @Tamara_Murphy
• @thefishseattle (Flying Fish Restaurant)

Auction of Washington Wine Barrel Picnic 2010

Auction of Washington Wine is a three day celebration and fundraiser that kicks off with the Barrel Auction and Picnic with Wine Makers.

Barrel Auction Emcee, Shayne Bjornholm

This year, 20 wineries donated a barrel of their wine to the auction. Since each barrel is five cases of wine, there isn’t just one winner but five winners. The top 5 bidders for each barrel receive a case of that wine once it is bottled.  The highest bidder receives a barrel top marked with the winery name and signed by the wine maker.

Barrel Auction

The stage area of Chateau Ste Michelle is devoted to the Barrel Auction. Picnic patrons can taste barrel samples and learn about the wines from the wine makers. It is a great opportunity to interact with the wine makers, which is one of the highlights of this fun event. Last year, many of the barrel samples were gone by the time I made my way down to the stage, so I started with barrel tasting first. I still didn’t make it to all of them before they were gone, but that was because I spent as much or more time talking about wine than I did drinking it!