Our visit to Col Solare was a highlight of our autumn trip to Red Mountain — not only for the tasting of its excellent namesake blend, but also for the experience at the vineyard and tasting room. Because Col Solare is more than a wine - it’s the epitome of one of [...]
This post is by guest blogger Sara Kahn, Founder of The Cheese Ambassador.
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Whether you are hosting a soiree or a casual get-together this holiday, your mission is to provide your guests with warm hospitality, lively conversation and a delectable spread of food and [...]
Mark your calendars for Dec. 2 at the R.E. Welch Art Gallery in downtown Seattle to show your support for the Good Times Wine Auction and Camp Goodtimes West. Appetizers will be paired with wines from two of our favorite Washington state wineries – William Church and Gilbert [...]
If you love Washington wines and you live in the Seattle area, do yourself a favor and check out Full Pull Wines. This is a unique wine retailer — with good prices on fine Washington wines.
I first wrote about Full Pull Wines in September, and finally had an opportunity to [...]
I just received a publisher’s advance copy of the book Drink This: Wine Made Simple and I can’t wait to read it. Yes, I received a free review copy, but quite frankly, I suspect I would have bought it when it’s released next week.
I deliberately used the word “suspect” because [...]
Wine Spectator just published its Top 100 wines for 2009, and the largest number (ever) of Washington wines made the list. It’s also the first time a Washington wine has been #1 — 2006 Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet.
The Spectator’s list is based on score, value (reflected by release price), availability and [...]
Experience a bottle of wine from William Church Winery and enter to win a great contest! This is one of the easiest contests I’ve ever seen!
First, you get to enjoy a bottle of William Church wine. If you don’t have one, go to the Woodinville winery and buy one – [...]
My good friends at William Church Winery have asked me to be a “special guest” at their Woodinville tasting room on Saturday – I’ll talk about blogs and Twitter, and you can taste the new release of their fabulous Bishop’s Blend, along with delicious appetizers from Preservation Kitchen restaurant. You’ll also find [...]
If you’re anywhere near Woodinville next Saturday (Nov. 14), please stop by William Church Winery to meet me and to taste the new release of their fabulous Bishop’s Blend, along with delicious appetizers from Preservation Kitchen restaurant. You’ll also find holiday gift packs, 20% discounts, and William Church gear for [...]
Whenever we visit Heaven’s Cave Cellars in Prosser, I start singing Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” because the wines are to die for. Yes, I know that sounds cheesy but seriously, Heaven’s Cave 2007 Two Degrees Barbera is the best we have tasted in a long, long time. Besides, the [...]
We try to visit new tasting rooms on every trip to Washington wine country and last month, the Bordeaux blends at Fidelitas were calling my name. Yes, we had tasted and appreciated Charlie Hoppes’ hand-crafted fine wines at numerous events in the Seattle area over the last couple of years. But it [...]
There’s very exciting news today from WineCHATr about a great contest for wine bloggers who are attending the North American Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla in 2010. And I (aka Write for Wine ) am honored to be a contest judge!
So please read and share the information [...]
The wine industry in Canada has changed a lot since I moved from Vancouver in 1997. And life has been so busy in the Washington state wine industry that I haven’t kept as close an eye on my old stomping grounds. That changed recently with the considerable media attention given to the [...]
David LeClaire puts on some awesome wine events in the northwest – we’ve attended too many to count and always have such a good time. That’s why I want to tell you about a few events he has planned for the next few weeks, so you can put them on [...]
We’ve been fans of William Church Winery for a few years now, applauding their wines such as Bishop’s Blend, Malbec, Syrah and more recently 2 Spires. We’ve also cheered for founders Rod and Leslie Balsley, who have a strong belief of the integral role wine plays in the social [...]
Many Washington state wineries have fall events to showcase their wines, and Chateau Ste. Michelle is no exception. From evenings of wine and cheese (or chocolate) to a wild game dinner, almost everyone should find something that suits their fancy.
Evenings of Wine & Cheese:Â Chateau Ste. Michelle’s wines are paired with [...]
If you follow me on Twitter or on Facebook, or if you have a look at the Wine O’Clock tab on this blog, you will see that my motto is “It’s wine o’clock somewhere.”
It’s been my motto for about five or more years. [...]
We recently stopped by Gilbert Cellars in Yakima, where we tasted a pre-release of one of the best Cab Francs we’ve ever experienced in Washington state. We also loved the pre-release of the 2007 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. Both of these excellent wines will be released in mid-October.
The 2007 Cab Franc comes [...]
We always have a wonderful time when we visit Airfield Estates and our recent stop at the Prosser winery was no exception. Winemaker and General Manager Marcus Miller and Amy Sonnichsen, assistant general manager, gave us a tour of the winery, where we saw grapes just harvested and others fermenting.
We [...]
Alexandria Nicole Cellars knows how to party! The winery’s Ring in the Harvest party on Sept. 26 was held at ANC’s Destiny Ridge Vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills, and we enjoyed every second of it, along with about 400 other people.
That’s because ANC knows how to put on a [...]
Be sure to head to Senoj Estates in November for the release of 2007 Primitivo – we had a pre-release bottle last night and wow, we will definitely go back to Woodinville for more. Primitivo is the genetic twin of Zinfindel, and it’s becoming more and more popular in Washington state. And [...]
We tasted many fine Washington wines this past weekend when we visited Yakima, Prosser, Horse Heaven Hills and Red Mountain. It’s impossible to list the best of those wines, but we do want to share our picks for the best of the wines at some of the wineries we visited (in [...]
We’re spending some time at Harvest parties in Horse Heaven Hills and Red Mountain, so the best way to follow our adventures live (or almost live!) is on Twitter ([twitter.com]) or possibly on Facebook ([facebook.com]).
There are few places that are definites during our trip, and I’m sure there will [...]
We decided not to wait for a special occasion to drink DeLille Cellars 2006 D2. Every day is special, eh? And wow, so is this wine.
The name of this wine also has a special meaning for us, because it is named after the “grand route de vin” (principal wine route) [...]
The Write for Wine blog unexpectedly took a holiday over the Labor Day weekend, but we’re back! And it’s all thanks to Louis!
The “holiday” began after we read a CNETÂ article: “Wordpress blogs falling prey to worm … The worm does not affect the current version 2.8.4 and the one [...]
It’s a tough call – Alexandria Nicole Cellars 2006 Block 17 Syrah or Alexandria Nicole Cellars 2005 Estate Syrah? We opened bottles of each wine recently and it’s hard to pick a favorite. Next time, we’ll do a side-by-side tasting!
As a true-blue British Columbian (even though I live in Seattle these days), I am delighted to blog about a perfect summer wine from the Okanagan Valley: Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery 2007 Sauvignon Blanc. Better yet, I discovered this tasty wine through Twitter.
More specifically, our good friends from Vernon, Kate and [...]
If you like Zinfandel, the ZAP festival was the place to be in July. People with a zest for zin braved last month’s heat wave to try Zins from 40 California wineries at the beautiful Arboretum at South Seattle College. (Thankfully the location offered lots of shady trees to [...]
The best news about the first annual Kitsap Wine Festival is that it will be back in 2010 in Bremerton. And it’s an event we recommend that you attend each year.
Located on the waterfront at the beautiful Kitsap Conference Center, Sunday’s wine festival was a celebration of 35 wineries [...]
I don’t often blog about Chateau Ste. Michelle because the Washington winery has such a high profile and is very a well-known brand, and I tend to write about smaller wineries. But we recently pulled out a bottle of their limited release 2005 Syrah Wahluke Slope and I simply [...]
If you love theatre and you enjoy wine, this event is for you! Intiman Theater is currently holding a production of The Year of Magical Thinking, based on the national best-selling book by Joan Didion.
On Sept. 9, you can enjoy a pre-show wine tasting by Maryhill Winery [...]
This summer seems to be the time to add wine to all kinds of events – from the theatre to the symphony. Yes, the symphony!
Seattle Symphony is holding a three-day festival, Sept. 9-11, to kick off its fall schedule. Some fine Northwest wines are being paired with – you [...]
Wine, harborside, with benefits, oh my! It’s hard to believe that the first annual Kitsap Wine Festival is almost here. I first blogged about it more than a month ago, and now it’s just around the corner.
The Kitsap Wine Festival will be held this Sunday, Aug. 23, at Harborside [...]
There’s a party for the animals this weekend – and it involves wine! Bonza Bash Summer 2009 will benefit The Seattle Humane Society, and juice will be flowing from Washington wineries such as Darby, DiStefano, Sparkman Cellars, Barrage Cellars and Bookwalter, in addition to Australian wines, The Black [...]
Goosecross Cellars in Napa Valley has been into social media for a long time. That’s a great thing - all wineries should have a presence on Facebook and Twitter, in my opinion. Even better, Goosecross also has a blog and a podcast, which is awesome.
As a result, I’m inundated [...]
Despite the rain, we had an absolutely fabulous time at the Auction of Washington Wines Picnic. We tasted some stand-out wines, nibbled on delicious food, watched an incredible auction, saw old friends and met new ones. Best of all, benefits went to Uncompensated Care at Seattle Children’s Hospital [...]
We met Col Solare’s resident winemaker, Marcus Notaro, at the Auction of Washington Wines picnic at Chateau Ste. Michelle yesterday, and we had an opportunity to taste their just-released 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon blend. We also met Gracie, who is the friendly manager of the @Col Solare Twitter [...]
If you’re fortunate enough to stop by Smasne Cellars on a day when both winemaker Robert Smasne and viticulturalist Dr. Alan Busaca are in the tasting room, plan on staying awhile. Because this dynamic team will educate you - in a captivating way - while you taste their magnificent [...]
This is a blog post that I’ve been meaning to write for a long time: William Church Winery offers unique wines from wonderful people. Owners Rod and Leslie Balsley live true to their mission, creating limited productions of “wines that are approachable and delicious upon release but will also express [...]
Woodinville’s Warehouse District is holding its fourth Wine Walk on Aug. 20 and this time, each winery is being paired with a restaurant.
What’s Woodinville Warehouse Wineries? Since you asked - it’s more than 30 wineries in Woodinville, Washington, within one minute of each other. A slice of heaven or what?
From 4:00 to [...]
The Auction of Washington Wines, an event that I first blogged about on July 20, is around the corner, and the wine auction catalogue is now available at the auction’s website. A few tickets remain to this event, being touted as “the largest and most prestigious charity auction [...]
As soon as Laura, my boss at the PR agency, sent me a link to an online article about seaweed wine, I immediately wondered if it would pair well with sushi. My second thought was - why would someone want to drink seaweed wine?
I’m not sure what that says about me [...]
Alexandria Nicole Cellars is offering a new twist to its wine club — a VIP Program that provides members with exclusive discounts and benefits at restaurants, lodging and touring busineses in Washington state. And two of our favorites — El Gaucho in downtown Seattle and Salty’s on Alki — are [...]
Airfield Estates 2007 Bombshell Red just keeps picking up speed. We first tasted it last September, when we visited the winery in Prosser. We then had a double flight in March. Apparently, you can cellar the 2007 Bombshell until 2014, but frankly we didn’t want to wait any [...]
Great news — more than 250 wine bloggers will convene in Walla Walla in 2010. Here is the official news release.
SEATTLE (July 24, 2009) – The Washington Wine Commission announced today that the North American Wine Bloggers’ Conference – a new and wildly popular event held by and for wine [...]
In case you missed my blog post Zest for Zin?, this Sunday is when ZAP —  Zinfandel Advocates and Producers — brings its popular summer wine tasting event to the northwest from San Francisco.
More than 40 California wineries will be pouring 100+ Zinfandels, including Cakebread Cellars, Steele Wines, [...]
As regular readers of the Write for Wine blog know, I do not usually republish news releases verbatim. But the release that landed in my inbox today is for a great event and a great cause, so I’m going to make an exception. The event is the Auction [...]
So what if you were too young to attend Woodstock! Hard Row to Hoe Vineyards is holding a wine party that you don’t want to miss on Aug. 15 at on the north shore of Lake Chelan in Madson, Washington. Here are just some of the reasons to go:
Great [...]How can you beat that combo - wine, water and benefits? I am giving you lots of notice - the first annual Kitsap Wine Festival will be held on Sunday, Aug. 23, at Harborside Fountain Park near the ferry landing in Bremerton. The benefits?
Well, it’s a celebration of beneficial wine [...]
Be prepared for Woodinville’s wonderful wines to wow you at Wine Notes Wednesday on July 15. Or as Woodinville Wine Country puts it, “Wine Notes Wednesday will provide you with the perfect opportunity to wine down your Wednesday and to identify wineries that you will want to visit throughout [...]
