06/13/06 (Tuesday) - Down (wine) & Disco at Stevens Winery
 The concept of having a fun, nontraditional wine event is finally starting to catch on. The most recent experience was a Disco Barrel Party at Stevens Winery in Woodinville. Anyone that has been to one of Stevens’ release parties, or even just visited the winery for a Saturday afternoon tasting, knows that things are done a little differently around there. It’s never the stand around snoozer that seems to be the unfortunate standard of wine industry events. Instead Tim Stevens, owner and winemaker, and his wife Paige always seem to have something unique going on. Those that went to last Saturday’s Disco Party were able to see a whole new side of the Washington wine industry…Hoodinville Style! This retro bash included big hair, polyester pants, crazy shades, and of course the obligatory shiny disco balls!
Stevens was pouring his 2004 reds from the barrel just before they go into the bottle. Hopefully there was still some wine left to go into the bottle for the rest of you who didn’t make it to the party to enjoy! With barrel samples in hand, guests were entertained with disco tunes from the 70’s & early 80’s as well as a big screen presentation of Saturday Night Fever. A fine selection of gourmet food was also available including a variety of classic favorites like grilled cheese, macaroni, Chex mix and some psychedelic looking cupcakes. I personally felt that the grilled cheese was quite the pairing to Stevens' upcoming Reserve Cabernet. -MP
06/09/06 (Friday) - Try a Winemaker's Dinner on for Size
If you’ve never been to a winemaker’s dinner before then now’s a great time to try one on for size. These organized wine dinners are a fun way to try out new restaurants and experience exciting new  wines/wineries. Often times these dinners are focused around one winery in particular, but they can also include several different wineries focused around a particular varietal or region. Each wine is individually paired with different courses, which can range anywhere from three up to seven, in order to match the nuances found in each food and wine pairing. Besides the fantastic food and wine, winemaker dinners also provide a great opportunity to meet other wine enthusiasts, because unless you come in a large group you’ll probably end up sitting with a bunch of people you don’t know.
Sometimes winemaker dinners can be a little pricy, ranging between $75 and $125, which often keeps the average wine drinker at home. But when you think about it, after going out and ordering drinks, appetizers, entrées and dessert your bill will become rather high on its own. And at a winemaker dinner you will get all of this plus some insight and education into some great wine. It also gives you the chance to find out some magical wine secrets as you mingle with the winemaker.
Recently I had the privilege of attending a wine dinner at the Waterfront Seafood Grill. The dinner, orchestrated by general manager Chris Sparkman, focused on the wines of Ciel du Cheval on Red Mountain. The wineries present included Mark Ryan, McCrea, Andrew Will and Cadence – definitely some of the best producers in the state. The food and wine were fantastic, with the Grilled New York Strip paired with Mark Ryan’s Deadhorse and Cadence’s Ciel Du Cheval blend, coming out as my top pick for the evening’s courses. If you get the opportunity I highly suggest attending one of Waterfront’s upcoming winemaker dinners. For more information visit www.waterfrontpier70.com. I’m sure we’ll see you there! -MP
06/07/06 (Wednesday) - Experiencing the Washington Wine Highway
Last weekend was the first ever Washington Wine Highway event, put on by the Woodinville Chamber of Commerce and held on the grounds of Chateau Ste. Michelle. The goal for this event was very intriguing – bring the Washington wine industry to the people of western Washington. Given that only 12% of the wine produced in Washington State is consumed by its residence, and that the majority of them live west of the cascades, this premise made a lot of sense. We definitely need to help further expose Washington as a world class wine destination, and producer of premium wines, and what better place than in our own backyard?
 The resulting event was designed to follow the route, or “highway”, between Woodinville and Walla Walla, also featuring the culinary and wine regions of Yakima and Columbia Valley. Located throughout the grounds of Chateau Ste. Michelle, four tented pavilions were setup to highlight wineries, restaurants, artisans and hospitality/tourism information within each of these four areas. Starting outside, near the CSM tasting room, people would navigate along the “Washington Wine Highway”, utilizing the posted road signs, as they headed west to east experiencing each region. Also, on hand was live music, crafts and a scary mime that didn’t mime anything but instead did a great job freaking people out!
Overall the event was pretty well put together, ending up in a relatively successful Washington wine experience, which is very positive for this first time event. The two trouble areas, which will hopefully be changed for next year, were the structure for the wine sales and the time of year the event was held. While you can’t predict the weather you should be able to predict that late spring in Seattle is a risky time to have any outdoor event. The rain however didn’t stop people from having a good time. But what did stop people from taking that good time home, in the form of purchased wine, was the hassle created by the way wine sales were setup.
In order to purchase wine, visitors would fill out their purchase form as they sampled throughout the afternoon, and then drop it back off at Columbia Winery on their way out. But, instead of allowing them to pick-up their wines right there visitors were shuttled back to their cars, located at the UW Bothel Campus, and then expected to drive back to the event and pick-up their wine in the industrial park directly behind Columbia Winery. Who wants to leave an event to then return again in order to get their wine? This was definitely the blaring downside to the event, which I’m sure resulted in dismal wine sales…to the annoyance of the wineries involved. Hopefully for next year they will see the error of their ways and create a more fluid purchasing option. -MP
<back
to top>
|
)
)
)
)
