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.

Duck, Duck, Chicken! Jones of Washington – Tri-Cities Wine Festival 09

Nov 17 2009

As I walked into a room full of over 100 wineries and several food vendors, I thought at first I should pinch myself.  All the food I want, all the wine I want, and my tickets was paid for by the Palatebomb Gods?  Hell, yes!

I had a few realizations as I walked in the door.  1: There was no way I would even try half of the wineries there, let alone a quarter of them.  2: I was in trouble. Big trouble.  3: I absolutely and positively love my job, the industry, the people in it and that I am part of such a great community in the Tri Cities.

I first went to wineries based on recommendations, and if I had tasted a wine before, I steered clear of their booth – this event was about discovering new wines from the beautiful northwest and I didn’t want to throw myself under the barrel by sticking to what I knew.   Also, if the label was attractive, I was stopping in.

I started off my evening with Abacela, alphabetically the top of the list, and was pretty impressed.  They are an Oregon winery, and I chose to drink their Malbec.  This wine is full of dark fruit and the nose just intrigued me to the point of no return.  I brought the glass up to my mouth and as soon as you could say “Cheers!” my first sip was down the hatch.  I was glad he had a heavy hand, because one ounce of this wine was not quite enough.  After I finished the wine, I found myself giving the thumbs up sign, something I do fairly often.  You can buy this wine online (http://www.abacela.com/) for $25 plus the cost of shipping and handling.

One of the next wines I had was from Barrister Winery located in Spokane, WA.  This winery was founded in a garage by Greg Lipsker and Michael White.  They are attorneys by day, winemakers by weekend, and what started out as a hobby has become a well known and well respected winery.  I had the pleasure of trying their wine several months ago, (I know, I broke my rule about not trying wines I already had), but this wine is so good! I couldn’t be there and not have just one teensy tiny taste of Rough Justice; their red blend consisting of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cab franc and syrah.  It has a complex nose, full of dark jammy fruit.  I got a huge aroma of raspberry and cherry and the mouth was just what I expected; nice tannins with a long finish.  They will be in Kennewick in early December for a wine tasting event at Zinful Panini Grill & Wine Bar (509.586.6100) and I know I’ll be there!

My favorite wine of the night was a big shocker.  It wasn’t a syrah, or red blend – my current favorites.  This wine caught my attention with its label, which is a hand-drawn chicken and tractor on a muted green and yellow label.  Jones of Washington has some standout wines, was my wine pick of the night, and the booth I sent everyone to.  They had two cabernet sauvignons that were out of this world, insta-tweet worthy.  Winemaker Victor Palencia poured both of them for me; the sexy cab and the bold cab.  The sexy cab is their 2006 Estate Cabernet and, wow, does it live up to its name.  It is so smooth and has this sensuality to it that is decadent.  The shocker, it sells for only 16.99! You can find it in local Yokes Stores, or on the Jones of Washington Website.  Their bold cabernet, Jacks Reserve, was my favorite of the night.  It is exactly what the winemaker called it, bold! It was full of dark fruit, and the tannins were enough to let me know they were there but nothing that knocked me on my ass.

As the night came to an end, and my wonderful boyfriend picked up Dan and me, I gave one last look into the room I had been so excited by and realized it wasn’t simply the wine or the food that gave so much excitement.  It was the fact that they all came together for the love of wine and competition (two of my favorite things!).  Tri City Wine Festival 2010, I look forward to your arrival.

“Saw 387″ or “The Morning After”

Nov 11 2009

I woke up fully dressed and in a dark room I didn’t recognize.  I couldn’t find a door.  My first impression was that I had woken up on the set of the next edition of the Saw series.  After sighing at the realization that this meant there would be yet another Saw movie– terror set in as I looked for any indication of the crazy clown dude.  Relief came when portraits tipped me off to whose house I was in, and then I remembered why I was there. Nevertheless, the issue at hand was still that I had a full bladder in a doorless room.  I considered the bowl that had been placed by the futon– and was probably meant for other bodily fluids– but I pressed on until I found the door.  Further anxiety ensued when I realized that I had no idea what was on the other side of that door.  I didn’t remember coming through it the first time.  For all I knew, crazy clown dude– I’m sure he has a name, but I won’t dignify Saw with a bit of research– could be on the other side.

Long story short, I weighed the possible consequences of going through, and of not going through the door and I chose to open it.  That went smoothly; I found the bathroom and, soon, my way home.  However, the ache I still had in my head was only surpassed in magnitude by the suck in the Seahawks when they allowed 17 unanswered points to the Detroit Lions later that day.

And this is why I think that next year, the Tri-Cities Wine Festival should put a warning in bold print on their program for the public tasting after listing the 387 wines on pour that you should not, under any circumstance, try them all.

So maybe I’m exaggerating (me? never!), but I do think I got Palatebomb’s money’s worth on Saturday night at the Three Rivers Convention Center.  At first I was a bit overwhelmed by the sight of nearly a hundred wineries pouring in one room, but it didn’t take long to embrace it with my Palatebomb chums.

Seeing all sorts of wineries I had never heard of, and not knowing where to start, I just followed Claire and tasted what she tasted, usually reacting with a yea or nay.  She reacted by breaking my glass.  We tried wines from interesting places like San Juan Island and wines with interesting main ingredients like mead wine, made from honey.

Although my reviews of the wines were so succinct and monotonous that they brought Claire to laughter several times, I apparently have a nose for judging them– or at least a nose for finding the best in show.  While waiting in line to taste from its much busier neighbor, I lost patience, and said that we should taste Upland Winery’s instead.  Minutes later, Upland’s 2007 Malbec was announced as Best in Show for the event.  Congratulations to Upland.  I think this calls for a trip to Sunnyside (and not much does).

As I watched swarms move to the spot in front of Upland where we had just vacated, I realized this meant all the wines had been judged.  So someone, no, someones, had actually tasted all 387 wines.  Now, I showed livestock as a kid, so I’m familiar with this show and be judged format.  But I would hate to be a livestock judge who wanders upon a wine festival and thinks about his or her job in comparison to that of a wine judge.  The former gets to stare at pig butts on a hot summer day, for that entire summer day, only to get dirty looks from the parents of all the kids who didn’t win.  Their dinner consists of a funnel cake, a deep-fried Snickers and some much-too-sweet lemonade.  The judges at the wine festival?  Apparently they get to taste 387 wines, probably in some hotel suite, because I never saw them.  And they probably got to chase all the wine with the delicious hors d’oeuvres provided by such restaurants as Picazo 7Seventeen and Anthony’s.  I guess they taste blindly, without knowledge of the winery that entered each wine.  So the only dirty look on this night was not directed at the judges, but at me, and came from a high school friend who made it just before looking away quickly and pretending not to see me.  Nice to see you too.

Kudos to the Tri-Cities Wine Society on their biggest wine festival yet.  I thoroughly enjoyed myself and everyone I talked to seemed to as well.  I just have one suggestion to make it better next year.  I would recommend inviting a certain wine judge I know.  I’ll give you his contact details later, but for now I’ll give you a hint as to his name.  It starts with a “D” and ends with an “an Ophardt”.  I can’t really tell you why he would make the festival better, but I have a feeling he would eagerly accept any offer.  If nothing else, just let him know how it’s possible to try 387 wines without dying.  He would sure love to try it.