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 [...]
Read moreAuction of Washington Wine is a three day celebration and fundraiser that kicks off with the Barrel Auction and Picnic with Wine Makers. 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 [...]
Read moreLast month, Vivian and I had the pleasure of attending the third annual Rails to Ales Brewfest in Cle Elum. I have been wanting to check out this brewfest for a couple of years but I have had a difficult time enticing someone to cross the mountains with me to drink beer. After attending Rails [...]
Read moreIt’s been over a month since The 2010 Seattle Wine Awards Grand Tasting took place, and the memory of that fabulous day is still fresh! If you’ve read the posts by Bean and Ed, you know this is an event not to be missed. In my humble opinion, this wine event is exceptional from start [...]
Read moreI considered myself extremely lucky when I received a phone call on Sunday afternoon July 11th asking whether I’d like to cover the Riesling Rendezvous Grand Tasting for Bean. Of course I would! The weather was sunny and in the 70s, perfect for drinking one of the most refreshing wine varietals. The event, hosted by [...]
Read moreWine is often accused of being a stuck up and snobbery affair but the 2010 Woodinville Wine Maker and Brew Master Triathlon shattered that myth. This was a wine event featuring costumes, dunk tanks, floating barrels and one of the tackiest trophies I had ever seen; all to benefit the Mitochondrial Research Guild of Seattle [...]
Read moreKirkland Uncorked summer wine festival launched on a glorious sunny afternoon at downtown Kirkland Marina Park. Featuring Washington wines, local restaurants and a variety of artists, Kirkland Uncorked has two major components. There is the free, all ages Art Promenade and the adult-only Tasting Garden that requires a purchased ticket to enter. The Tasting Garden [...]
Read moreSo why did a bunch of wine bloggers on the WBC or Bust road trip stop for beer at Pike Brewing Company? Most wine makers will tell you that: It takes a lot of beer to make a great wine! Wine makers will tell how they keep a keg stocked during crush, how they like [...]
Read moreBeing a total book geek, moment #27 was realizing I was on the same vineyard bus for the North American Wine Bloggers Conference as Paul Gregutt’s editor, Blake Edgar. The big moment #28 came when I realized he was carrying the galley proof of the second edition of Gregutt’s book of Washington Wines & Wineries: [...]
Read moreThe 2010 North American Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla was a fantastic event, leaving me much to tell. For now, I’ll share some amusing comments from Washington winemakers, wine lovers, and foodies. Hanging on the patio with Becky and Wade Becky Yeaman telling us that she met her husband, Dr. Wade Wolfe of Thurston Wolfe [...]
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