Upcoming Events

Check out these events coming up!

Seriously Sangiovese @ Whidbey Island Winery

12/8/12  11am-5pm

5237 Langley Rd., Langley WA 98260  360-221-2040

$5

Sampling their current release, rate older vintages from the cellar, and releasing their 2008 Reserve Sangiovese!

(Will be serving light hors d'ouevres)

http://www.whidbeyislandwinery.com/index.php/events 

Cheese Cellar presents an Evening of Music, Wine & Cheese @ The Cheese Cellar

12/8/12  6pm-9pm

100 4th Ave. N. #150, Seattle WA 98109   206-404-2743

$20

An evening of music, cheese, and wine.  Performing: Kate Borkowski, BRAD, and Keith Lowe.

http://www.thecheesecellar.com/default.aspx

A World of Bubbles-Exploring Sparklers From Around The World @ Madroona Wine Merchants

12/8/12  2pm-4:30pm

1127 34th Ave., Seattle WA 98122  206-860-1017

http://madronawinemerchants.com/blog/

Holiday Sweater & Karaoke Party @ William Church Winery

12/14/12   5pm-8pm

14455 Woodinville-Redmond Rd., Woodinville WA 98075  425-482-2510

$10 for entrance and 1st glass of wine FREE

Who doesn't like a holiday sweater party?! Not to mention karaoke..Nothing like a little booze and karaoke on a Saturday night!  

http://wcwkaraoke.eventbrite.com/

Housewives & Wine?

We all have our vices-coffee, shopping, cigarettes, wine...And some of us even have The Real Housewives of ____ (Beverly Hills, OC, New York, Atlanta...take your pick!). 

Thanks to Bethenny Frankel and Ramona Singer our vices have been mixed up into a few delicious bottles!

Bethenny Frankel may be well known for her SkinnyGirl Margaritas and other signature cocktails, however she recently started producing wines all 100 calories a glass.  Some of the SkinnyGirl options include the "California Red Blend", "California White Blend", and the "California Rose Blend".  

http://www.skinnygirlcocktails.com/the-cocktails/the-wine-collection

                      

If you watch The Real Housewives you know that Ramona Singer loves her Pinot-she loves it so much she launched her own line cleverly named "Ramona Pinot Grigio".  Ramona's Pinot can be purchased through Wine Buyer http://www.thewinebuyer.com/sku51803.html .

So have yourself a Real Housewife-Themed party!  Get yourself some SkinnyGirl Wine, some Ramona Pinot Grigio, your girlfriends, and turn on that show your husband can't stand!

http://opiciwines.com/Ramona/

http://bethenny.com/

http://www.bravotv.com/

Wineglasses

Wine can be drunk from just about anything-a mug, water glass, a jar..or even the bottle.  But choosing the right vessel to enjoy your wine from can greatly effect the taste and aroma of a wine.  

It's pretty simple really-the larger the class the more room the wine will have to develop its flavors.  It is a good idea to buy glasses that are used for both white and red wines.  However, if you choose to pair your wine with its "proper" glass there are a few things you should know...

There are 4 main types of wine glasses-red, white, sparkling, and dessert.  

Red wine glasses tend to be larger.  They have a larger and rounder bowl allowing the wine's aromas and tastes to develop.  Because red wines are more complex, the more room..the better.

White wine glasses tend to be taller and less round than a red wine glass-white wine glasses are shaped more like a "U".  This shape is supposed to help the wine stay cooler.  The shape of the opening also effects how it is poured into your mouth-affecting where on your tongue the wine hits which impacts the taste. 

Sparkling wine glasses AKA champagne flutes, are tall and narrow.  This helps to preserve the delicious bubbles and retain taste.  

Dessert wine glasses are much smaller than the other wine glasses.  This is in part because we generally drink less dessert wine.  This is also because the size/shape will direct the wine towards the back of your tongue where the wine will not taste as sweet.  

There are also glasses with stems or stemless glasses.  Having a glass with the stem will help keep greasy fingerprints off of the bowl of the glass.  Holding a glass by the stem also helps preserve the temperature of the wine as your fingers won't warm it up. However, stemless glasses may be perfect for those of us who may be a little more clumsy as they are harder to knock over.  They may also be great for those friends we have over who like to enjoy a bit too much wine...

Wine Facts

All About The Color!

As wines ages their color changes. Red wines lose their color and white wines gain color. 

To analyze the color of a wine, hold the your glass at an angle against a white background.  

Upcoming Wine Events

A Few Events Coming Up In Our Area!

One of the great things about living in Washington is there seems to always been a wine event going on someplace, some time.  

Here are a few upcoming events I've scoped out!

September 6th-Bubbles & Oysters-Enoteca

For $15 per person enjoyed a perfectly paired glass of Treveri sparkling wine and 6 market-fresh oysters on the half shell.  (This event is each Thursday!)

http://www.urbanenoteca.com/events-1/calendar/146/

*4130 1st Ave. S.

Seattle, WA 98134

September 9th-Barbera Release Party-Open Road Wine Co.

Releasing their 2011 Barbera red wine.  Offering complimentary tastings of Barbera and 10% off of all Open Road wines all day!  

http://www.openroadwine.com/index.php

*The Mercantile Wine & Goods

23732 Bothell-Everett Hwy, Suit B

Bothell WA 98021

September 15th-Jazz & Juice-NW Cellars Winery & Tasting Room

Fun-filled event with music, wine, and your pet benefiting Homeward Pet.  There will also be treats for pets from Pupcakes..So bring your pet!

The cost is $20.  Details to sign up aren't out, so give them a call-425-825-9463

http://www.northwestcellars.com/winery/index.php?view=details&id=208:juice-and-jazz

*Northwest Cellars Winery & Tasting Room

11909 124th Avenue NE

Kirkland, WA 98034

September 16th-Chocolate & Wine: The 2 Basic Food Groups-NW Cellars Winery & Tasting Room

For $25 per person, you get 6 wines paired with 6 hand-made chocolates from Brugge Chocolates from Redmond.  You will also get a box of the 6 chocolates and a $15 credit to purchase wine.  

http://www.northwestcellars.com/winery/index.php?view=details&id=207:wine-and-chocolate-the-2-basic-food-groups

*Northwest Cellars Winery & Tasting Room

11909 124th Avenue NE

Kirkland, WA 98034

Wine Tasting Demystified

Red & White Wine Tasting Guides:

Wine Tasting Demystified

Lets face it, many of us are pretty good at having a glass of wine-even great at it! But how many of us know how to describe the wine that we're drinking, tasting, and smelling?  

Talking about wine, describing wine, and even buying wine can be pretty intimidating.  I came across a great website that helps amateur wine drinkers feel like a bit more of an expert.  The site even offers a few fantastic guides that you can take along with you to a tasting, so you can taste like a pro!  The guides give you ideas as to what you may be smelling, tasting, and seeing in your wine.  

White Wine tasting sheet:  http://www.mywinesmarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/White-Wine-Tasting-Sheets.pdf

Red Wine tasting sheet:  http://www.mywinesmarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Red-Wine-Tasting-Sheets.pdf

My Wine Smarts: http://www.mywinesmarts.com/

Enjoy!

Wine Events This Weekend

Need Something To Do This Long Weekend?

There are tons of great events happening all weekend long.  Here are a few I've scoped out!

  Rain City Wines French wine tasting -http://raincitywinesbothell.blogspot.com/

*Bothell

Woodinville Warehouse open each weekend-http://www.woodwarewine.com/id5.html 

*Woodinville

Wine World Warehouse & Spirits-Sangria Saturday & Sip and Smell the Rose--http://wineworldspirits.com/wine-tastings/  

*Seattle

Otis Kenyon white wine release party-http://www.otiskenyonwine.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73&Itemid=57

*Woodinville

Chateau Ste. Michelle-Woodinville-Summer Concert Diana Krall with special guest Denzal Sinclaire (Saturday)

http://www.ste-michelle.com/events

*Woodinville

Chateau Ste Michelle-Art Jazz and Wine at the Chateau!-Woodinville-http://www.ste-michelle.com/events

(Sunday)

*Woodinville

Forbidden Rose̕

Not-So-Forbidden Rose

Patterson Cellars Forbidden Rose 2011

What a fantastic way to kick off this Labor Day weekend!  Just popped a bottle of Patterson's "Forbidden Rose" after I recently visited their Hollywood Hill tasting room in Woodinville.  If you're a rose fan this is a must try!

This rose is 37% Tempranillo, 26% Syrrah, 23% Sangiovese, 5.5% Cabernet Franc, 3% Barbera, 3% Grenache, 2.5% Merlot.  It's fairly dry, but has a sweet finish.  

The afternoon started by grabbing some lunch at Station Pizzeria-can't drink on an empty stomach! I had the "Boss Lady"-grilled chicken breast, gorgonzola cheese, basil, fresh veggies and serrano-DELISH.

After lunch, I headed to Patterson's tasting room next door and was greeted by their very friendly staff.  I was told that I could have taken my pizza to go and had my meal while tasting their wines..What a great idea! 

The tasting fee was $8 which was reimbursed after purchasing a bottle. 

I tasted about 6 different wines.  Of my two favorite were the Forbidden White and Forbidden Rose.  Both very reasonably priced-the white at $18 and the rose at $13.

On the back of each bottle is a tag that is good for free tastings for up to 4 people!  

http://www.pattersoncellars.com/index.html

http://www.thestationpizzeria.com/