Woodinville Winos

For the Memorial Day weekend, Joe, Steph, Erin and I headed to Woodinville for some afternoon wine tasting. We only made it to three - my favorite was Patterson Cellars - before we had to call it quits to get some food in our bellies. So we switched it up and headed to Redhook Brewery for lunch on their patio. It was one of the nicest days in a long time, so it was nice to soak up the sun for a bit. 

Considering how close Woodinville is, I really don't know why we don't do this more often. I mean, yes, it makes you want to take a nap by 4pm, but I think we all deserve that on occasion, don't ya think?

P.S. Remember that one time we ran from Ballard to Redhook? Yeah, that was rough. Driving for wine trumps running for Redhook, hands down.

The End of The E.N.D.

A wine bar that offers complimentary champagne when seated? Has over 100 bottles of wine to choose from? Delicious, delicious small plates? Laid-back, casual atmosphere? Yep, that's my kind of place. And thanks to Stephanie, I was able to experience The E.N.D. Wine Bar before it closes at the end of the month! I wish I had discovered this gem sooner because it was a complete delight.

We went to cheers to the new home and catch up on everything under the sun. You can't really go wrong with celebrating and girl talk, huh?

Stephanie, thanks again for a fabulous evening! You can bet your bottom dollar there will be many wine nights on our deck this summer :)

P.S. Stephanie gives the full rundown of their seemingly simple, yet brilliant concept. 

Purple Smiles

When we were home for my Mom's 60th a few weekends ago, we took a nice, leisurely stroll through downtown Fairhaven before dinner. It didn't take us long to make it to Purple Smiles, a cute local wine shop we have visited before. They were tasting Pinot Noirs from Washington and Oregon - and I have to say, the PNW knows how to make wine. They were all delicious!

P.S. Do you like the plaid twins?
P.P.S. I promise we don't spend every waking moment drinking wine.

Wine Not?

With only a few short weeks before my Living Social coupon expired, Joe and I headed up to Woodinville for a wine tasting at Robert Ramsay Cellars. The deal included a full flight of tasting for two, chocolate and cheese pairings, and a bottle of wine - all for $18! Pretty sweet deal for a fun, kick-back date if you ask me.

We also strolled into Page Cellars for a quick tasting. If it hadn't been closing time for most of the tasting rooms, I think we would have tried a few more. I knew there were a lot of wineries in this neck of the woods, but I had no idea there were over 50! And that many of them operate within walking distance of one another. Anyone thinking what I'm thinking? FIELD TRIP! Who's in?

P.S. Wine Not? will still be the name of my future wine shop.
P.P.S. Do you think wine tasting in Woodinville counts as a new region for 30 before Thirty list?

Wine & Cheese, Please

One item on my summer to-do list is to throw a wine and cheese tasting party. Well, this Friday I was able to give that line item a big, ol' check mark! I had the ladies over to do some blind wine tasting, as well as eat delectable treats, including cheese & crackers, grapes, walnuts, dried cherries, olives, salted Italian chocolates and thanks to Baker Erin, some tasty almond-roca-like-goodness.

Ever since I worked in a wine shop years ago, I've wanted to throw this kind of bash. I don't know what took me so long, but I can't wait to do it again! We all brought a bottle of cabernet sauvignon, between $10-$20, but I also threw in a $3 bottle to see how it'd fair. Then I hid the bottles and we got down to business, deciding whether or not the wines were earthy or fruity or dry or tannic. Often times we'd pick up on the same characteristics, which made us feel like we kind of knew what we were doing (even if we didn't)! I also taught them the 6 s's of wine tasting: see, swirl, smell, sip, savour and spit. (But we didn't spit because that's just plain nonsense.)

Now for the party details. I made labels for the wine glasses because it was inevitable that we'd mix up wine glasses throughout the night without them.

Some of the treats, including water to rinse our glass between tastings. (Oh yes, we're so sophisticated :))

I provided a list of possible cheeses and everyone signed up for a different kind, so the cheese platter was perfectly varied - from hard pecorino to ultra-soft triple cream to the favorite of the evening, the drunken goat. Not your typical goat cheese, but very delicious!

An intermission from the food shots. This is when Autumn was trying to "savour" by kind of bubbling the wine to get the full flavor. Yeah, it makes you feel really silly. And you can't help but laugh.

Erin's scrumptious almond roca treat. (Yes, Mom, it's the same recipe you use.)

Concealed wines waiting to be judged.

This is how they ranked, best on the left - which was actually Autumn's wedding wine! The $3 bottle got 5th place. And mine got last! Oops. The wine shop lady must have led me astray!

And the ladies of the evening, right after Erin let out our infamous "there's-no-way-you-can't-laugh-after-hearing-this-crazy-laugh" laugh. Let's just say you'd never think that sound could actually come out of such a sweet face, but let me assure you, it can.

Next time I think we'll taste whites. Chardonnays, perhaps? Or maybe even choose-your-own-white? At any rate, I'm sure it will be equally as fun. Thanks for coming over, ladies! Can't wait for the next wine night!

TG(iPhone)F

When I saw this series of pictures, they made me laugh. I remember trying so hard to take a good picture of us with the beautiful, landscaping views of vineyards in Sonoma wine country.

The wind and sun had other plans.

After NUMEROUS attempts of trying to get one that 1) didn't have my hair all up in my face 2) didn't have sun flares and 3) didn't make one of us look ridiculous, we settled for one where I just sort of had hair in my face.

But now I think I like the series of pictures best because it takes me back to that moment. That moment of being on vacation in warm, sunny California with one of my best friends.

[Clicking heels like Dorothy to go back in time.]

Drinkin' the grape juice

A little of Napa and a lot of Sonoma, we tasted our way through California's wine country. As expected, we sported the semi-permanent purple teeth for part of the trip.

As you may have picked up (here, here or here), I like me some wine. Red. White. Verde. I like it all. And I think this trip has made Joe that much more interested in wine too! He loved the whole experience. I mean, how could you not? Jumping from winery to winery to taste really good wines and having the people tell you all about the whole wine-making process, from growing to fermenting to aging. (The geeks in us really liked learning about the whole process.)

Now a sampling of our pictures from the wineries.

Windy at Artessa Winery

Growing grapes at Mauritson Winery

Pelligrini Family Vineyards

(Had it not been for that piece of dry grass, this picture would have been awesome!)

The gazing ball at Ferrari Carano again.

The vineyard at Ferrari Carano

(Note: they don't allow picnics)

Madonna Estate - organic wines!

Road Trip: Wineries

My road trip previews have fallen by the wayside, but I had to squeeze at least one more out. Because it's a biggie.

Wine tasting in Sonoma Valley.
Yum.
I'm going to have a perma-purple mouth.
But it's worth every sip.

Since I have one Sonoma wine tasting experience under my belt, there are a couple places I know I'd like to return to.

First, Peterson Winery. Not only is it the coolest name ever, their zinfandel rocks my world.

Second, Ledson Winery. Mostly because it's just a really, really awesome castle. My mom, grandma and I made sure to get our picture in front of it.

I'd also like to go back to Ferrari-Carano because they had beautiful gardens to just wander through. That's where we took this little gem.

Maybe we'll schmooze with a winemaker and get invited to do some barrel tasting? Here's to wishful thinking.

[all pictures courtesy of my dad]

Road Trip: Sonoma Wine Country

It's no surprise that I love wine. So where better to stop than California wine country? Even better, where better to stay then an adorable, romantic little cottage, smack dab in the middle of wine country?

I think I'm most excited about this leg of our trip. We found the place on Homeaway and immediately emailed them. Lucky for us, it was open on the days we needed it. Score!

At the cottage, they have a cheese and fruit platter waiting for your arrival AND ingredients to make homemade waffles the next morning in the full-size kitchen. Since road trips generally mean you eat out a lot, we're going to take full advantage of the kitchen and make some tasty grub. Obviously pairing it with wonderful local wines.

We also have a hot tub time machine! Err, hot tub.

Next up, wineries!

cottage pics via

Note: I can't pull pics from their site, so the last two are pictures from another unit via Homeaway, but you get the whole vibe.

On a whim.

A small group of us from the office - Christina, Kathryn, Olita and I - decided to hit up Purple's half price wine night. Conveniently, on our way there, we passed a familiar pedestrian: Katie! We texted her our plans and she made a U-turn and headed our direction!

The evening was filled with good food, great wine (a Malbec and Grenache) and even better company. I'd say it was the perfect way to start a week.