20what? 20something? See it to believe it.

Dec 2 2009

People have often told me, “You have the best jobs ever!” and I’d have to say that I absolutely, positively agree.  All of them include wine, great people and more wine. My most recent adventure was to the Fremont Studios in Seattle, Washington where I attended 20something.  This event focuses on the younger wine community, which luckily, I’m a part of.  It’s nice to see people my age enjoying wine, instead of downing gallons of Carlo Rossi or playing ‘slap the bladder’ with bags of Franzia.

The idea of 20something is perfect – lots of wine, phenomenal food, awesome DJ, and wine education all in the cool downtown Fremont community in Seattle, WA.  This was my first big wine event outside of Tri Cities. I was bringing Palatebomb to something other than my local tasting rooms, bars and restaurants.  The flashing lights and line for will-call made me realize I wasn’t in Kansas anymore.  Big city – big event – and I had work to do.  I had done a bit of research beforehand and knew that both my favorite wine (Jones of Washington 2006 Cabernet) and Pikes Brewery would be there, and that I would be more than satisfied with the food selection (Picazo 717, Muckleshoot Casino, Rays Café).

As we walked in and got our glasses and notepad necklaces – a great idea from Seattle magazine – I was ready for action.  First mission – wine! But where? Soon a man appeared from Balboa Winery, with bottle in hand and asked if I would like some wine.  It took a second for me to realize the set up – the winery reps were walking around and pouring, making it a great social event.  I chatted with him a bit, tried the red blend and unfortunately didn’t care for it.  I poured it into Bens glass (he’s so helpful) and went on my way to find the next wine to try.

I decided to try the whites first, while eating, moving on to red wine later.  The next person to come up to me was from Cave B Winery right outside of George, WA. They were pouring a Riesling that met my white criteria.  It had great bright fruit without being extremely sweet, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a nice holiday wine, as a gift or to drink.  With wine in glass, I made my way to the main room to find some grub.

The first thing that caught my eye was Executive Chef Frank Magana of Picazo 717 and his chorizo stuffed prawns, a favorite.  We snagged some prawns, chatted with Frank and his wife, Trish, then continued on the food journey.

I would have never thought to eat at a casino, but after reading the menu online the night before, I was ready to try Muckleshoot Casino’s food. Their burrata mozzarella cheese wrap with hamachi or big eye tuna on a shoyu pipette were phenomenal! I was a little intimidated at first but remembered that I was in a big city and had to eat like a city girl.  So in it went and the sauce in the pipette was quite the experience.  I can’t write about it without it sounding dirty, so you’ve been warned.  The first sensation I had was the slimy, tender feel of the fish, and then the creamy taste of the mozzarella and right as it was about down, you squeeze the pipette and this burst of flavor is shot into your mouth.  It was a bit tangy but so so good! I tried both of the flavors, the big eye tuna and the hamachi, and although I preferred the hamachi, I would have either any day.  Feeling proud of myself for eating so grown up, I went back to what I know and love – wine.

I found a winery/wine I know and love with Jenna from Mercer Estates and got back on track with my white wine adventure.  The 2007 Pinot Gris ($15 a bottle) is full of peach and pear nose and palate – a wine I recommend to anyone.  It went well with the seafood I was having and would also pair nicely with chicken.  This wine would be good to take to the sensory booth in the Geek Lounge.  There was a husband and wife team there; he was a sensory scientist and wine maker and she was pouring the wine.  He had about 20 dixie cups out on the table, each full of a certain object (grapefruit, oak, black pepper, currant, tobacco, etc) and you brought your wine over and smelled the cup, and then smelled the wine.  It really helped me pull out certain flavors, and for people who are new to wine, it would be a great experience.

The only frustrating thing about this event is that half the time I didn’t know what I was drinking.  I could tell red or white, and sometimes the varietal, but people would came up and continually kept my glass full then dash off to fill the next glass.  My notebook necklace was used in the beginning, but then it got darker and louder and it faded out, as did my soberness.

One very smart winery, Northwest Cellars in Kirkland WA, made business cards with the wine description, awards won/points scored, price point and a coupon for a complimentary tasting. The wine was fantastic and the man pouring it talked about the wine like he knew what he was doing – what a relief!

Lucky me, one of the sponsors of 20something was Fiji water, and I snagged bottles throughout the night.  One of the themes of this event was ‘hip2spit’, suggesting people spit some of the wine as to not get too toasted throughout the night.  You generally need spit buckets to be able to spit, and I counted five. At the entire event. And placed in the middle of tables, where people were sitting or standing.  “Excuse me as I spit over your shoulder and try to not spill all over you.”  Although I didn’t spit as much as I probably should have, I had water, food and a sober ride all lined up.  If I hadn’t made prior arrangements, the taxis were lined up for blocks, so I would have had another way to get home safely.

Taxi or no taxi, wine or beer, seafood or elk, I had a blast! For the avid wine lover or for someone just starting out, I would recommend this event.