Pike Brewing Chocofest: Valentine Day Foreplay

Pike’s Chocofest, billed as “foreplay before the big day” is a romantic and informative way to discover a wide variety of chocolate treats, local and from around the world. Throughout the Pike Brewery Micro Brewery Museum and Naughty Nellie Room, chocolate stations will feature different chocolate treats, each presented by an expert (usually the chocolate makers themselves). Interspersed between the chocolate stations will be drink stations, staffed with a beverage connoisseur to offer samples and information about the beverages.

Pralines Leonida @Chocofest

The first annual Chocofest was a great success but Pike Brewing has plans to make it even better this year. More chocolate and more beverages, from near and far. This year more than two dozen different chocolates will be sampled along with more than 20 different beers, wines, mead and spirits.

Scuttlebutt celebrates!

Ten years ago, Matt Stromberg started his adventure as head brewer at Scuttlebutt  Brewing Company. Over those ten years, Scuttlebutt has evolved into the ten largest brewery in Washington state.  Matt decided that was something to celebrate.

Matt starting brewing a celebration brew, Mateo Loco, with a target release date of 3/15/10.  He isn’t ready to share the details but he will tease

that this beer is “created with the Northwest Hop Heads in mind”

Cake and Cask

Six weeks felt too far away to begin the celebration and Scuttlebutt doesn’t want to make you wait that long! Celebrate the 10th anniversary with cake and cask beer on Friday. At 3pm on Friday, Scuttlebutt will  tap a special 10 Below cask. It’s the last cask 10 Below keg and the only one aged on oak.  Oak aged beers are usually especially tasty with cake!

Beer Special

Just in time for the Superbowl, stock up on Scuttlebutt beer to celebrate! This Friday and Saturday, 12 packs of Scuttlebutt Amber and IPA will be only $10, when purchased at the pub. Another great reason to stop in to Scuttlebutt this weekend!

WABL members remember to bring your passports!

Scuttlebutt Brewing Company
1524 West Marine View Drive
Everett, WA. 98201

Tasting Room Reader Poll Results

And the winner of our Winery Tasting room poll is… Walter Dacon Winery

Tasting Room Poll Results

1. Walter Dacon Winery
2. Kiona Vineyards and Winery
3. Hard Row to Hoe tied with Icicle Ridge Winery
4. Alexandria Nicole Cellars
5. Benson Vineyards

Here are some of the comments that our readers shared about Walter Dacon Winery tasting room:

Of course the wine is fabulous, the thing is, it feels like home!  Ann & Lloyd have created a beautiful setting, from “Experience the Rhone” to the unique circulation desk tasting bar from the Fremont Library.  And Holly is just terrific with her smile and expert wine knowledge.  I love it!

Great atmosphere and fun staff.  The wine is excellent but you have time to sit, enjoy the surroundings and taste wine instead of feeling rushed.  The prices are great too!

This is one of the friendliest and most comfortable small wineries I have visited.  The wines are always excellent and the staff is knowledgeable and accepting of all

The staff at Walter Dacon is very friendly and knowledgeable.  The wine is superb and they make the experience delicious and fun.  They offer hors’doeuvres and wine

I love the staff at this winery – they’re very knowledgeable and informative. The wines are spectacular and the setting is wonderful.  The  special events held here are always unique and fun. I haven’t made it to one of their “dinners” yet, but it’s a goal for my year.

Kiona

The Williams family has grown Kiona into a world -class vineyard. The tasting room is beautiful and the staff is exceptionally knowledgable/friendly/accommodating. The building is an architectural gem.

Hard Row to Hoe

Very friendly, very knowledgable staff, and the tasting room has a great, eclectic atmosphere.  Every type of person is made to feel comfortable.

Icicle Ridge Winery

They welcome you into their home as honored friends, offer seating with a view, and the family works along side the tasting room staff to make sure all of your questions are answered

Alexandria Nicole Cellars

Cozy furniture, tables and sofas, friendly knowledgable staff, good food, wide variety of wines, classy all the way.  One of my favorite features I’ve never seen anywhere else is the bookcase with current novels and magazines.  I’ve “checked out” several books and dropped them back off when I was done reading.   This doesn’t even get into the behind the door room for club members, but that’s another special feature.

Benson Vineyards

Great wine, great staff, beautiful new building, great views….. just awesome

What is the most important aspect in a winery tasting room?

Two hundred and twenty people responded to our readers poll and 72% of them said that knowledgeable and friendly staff were the most important aspect of the tasting room experience.  Almost all of the comments about Walter Dacon referred to the staff at the winery, as did the comments about other high ranking wineries. If wineries want to make an investment into their tasting room, start with investing in the tasting room staff.

Andaluca Winemaker Dinner Featuring L’Ecole N° 41

Chef Wayne and Winemaker Marty Clubb

On January 22, Andaluca Restaurant and L’Ecole N° 41 partnered together for a Winemaker Dinner that I won’t soon forget. Executive Chef Wayne Johnson prepared a 5-course menu, providing commentary for each preparation. L’Ecole’s Managing Winemaker, Marty Clubb was there to tell the story behind each wine poured.

The partnership between Chef Wayne and Marty pays off by allowing the chef to start with the wine and spend time tasting it before designing the menu. His eyes light up as he explains that he really considers which qualities of the wine will bring out the best of the food and vice versa. This makes perfect sense to me, although, it is not always the way menus are planned. In fact, Chef Wayne admitted that he used to select the food first, then try to figure out which wine to pair with each course.

Win Tickets to Seattle Food and Wine Experience

The Seattle Food and Wine Experience is a unique opportunity to sample local and global wines side by side, paired with gourmet food prepared by some of the best restaurants in the Northwest.  Thousands of wines from ten different countries will be poured at this event which takes place February 28th at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, from 1-5pm. Tickets are only $49 but if you act today, you can win free tickets! The Seattle Food and Wine Experience  will be giving away two pairs of tickets.

One pair of tickets will be randomly drawn from the Seattle Food and Wine Experience Facebook Fans and Twitter Followers. You can enter by:

• Becoming a fan of the Seattle Food and Wine Experience on Facebook
• Following Seattle Food and Wine Experience on Twitter

A second pair of tickets will be randomly drawn from the commentators on the Seattle Food and Wine Experience Blog. You can enter to win by:

• Browse the fantastics food and drink on Seattle Food and Wine Experience web site and comment on their blog about what offering or exhibitor you are most excited about.
• Write up the give away on your own blog and add the link to comments on the Seattle Food and Wine Experience Blog.
• Tweet about the ticket giveaway and post the twitter link to your tweet in the comments on the Seattle Food and Wine Experience Blog
• Post on your Facebook wall about this giveaway and post the facebook link  in the comments on the Seattle Food and Wine Experience Blog

The deadline for entering the FREE ticket giveaway is 8pm PST, January 31st.