Taste
Washington's Grand Tasting
at the
Qwest Event Center
Sunday April 15
2-4 PM VIP tasting $125
4-8 PM General Tasting $85
Governor Gregoire at Taste Washington
The Qwest
Event Center filled with Taste Washington
Taste Washington 2007
Super Bowl of WA Wine
Brushing Elbows
with WA Wine's Elite
by
Jean Yates
April 2007
At Taste Washington (April
14-15) in Seattle, don't be surprised if
you're holding out your glass for a taste
standing next to wine luminaries like Lettie
Teague of Food
& Wine Magazine or Jim
Holmes, owner of famed Ciel
du Cheval Vineyard, or Jon
Bonné, Wine Editor at the SF Chronicle.
You might find yourself discussing the
wine with keynote speaker Marchese
Piero Antinori of the famed Antinori
Winery in Chianti. His family
winery makes Col Solare with
Chateau Ste Michelle. Governor
Gregoire usually makes an appearance.
She's greatly increased the proportion
of Washington wines served at government
events since she took office.
Last year, NFL Hall of
Famer Warren Moon was spotted
among the attendees, and this year, several Seattle
Seahawks players are rumored to be
attending. Ann Noble, a professor
at UC Davis who is known for her
"Flavour Wheel" of wine descriptors
will be attending, along with restauranteur Tom
Douglas, who will host his weekly
radio show live from the Saturday Seminars.
At The Taste, held in
the Qwest Event Center in
downtown Seattle this year, you meet the winemakers
and owners themselves, not tasting room hosts.
At recent Taste Washingtons I've talked with
famed Washington winemakers including Chris
Camadra of Andrew Will,Rick
Small of Woodward Canyon, Marty
Clubb of L'Ecole, wild haired Charles
Smith of K Vintners, Alex
Golitzin of Quilceda Creek, and Gary
Figgins of Leonetti. The restaurants
serving small plates of yummy food include
some big names also- El Gaucho, Elliotts
(a raw oyster bar), Palace Kitchen, Purple,
ten, and Wild Ginger are among the
fifty plus booths of reknowned chefs and their
fine cuisine.
Yes, this is the Superbowl
of Washington Wine events, and it's filled
with wine industry members, reporters, serious
wine collectors, serious foodies, and wine
lovers just out to have fun. The 3500-some
people expected probably consitute a quorum
of Washington Wine biggies - and the people
who love their work.
Choose your Wineries -
Ready Set, Go!
It's impossible to taste
all the wines at the Taste- take a look at the
list Avalon has prepared of the
wineries and the wines they'll be pouring (it's
a pdf, useful for printing
out and planning). There are more than 800
wines to choose from, and over 150 wineries.
Time is limited, and some wineries will run
out of samples quickly, so some pre-taste planning
will be well rewarded.
The Seattle paper is
publishing the Taste Washington Program in
the April 11 paper (Wed) and that's a great
place to get the "map" of the wineries and
restaurants' booths. In lieu of having the
program ahead of time, grab a program when
you first arrive, consult
your friends and relatives, mark your chosen
wineries on the program's "map", and start
down the rows. Try heading to the very back
of the event to start tasting- you'll gain
a few minutes of quiet before the crowd arrives.
Here's some of our ideas
for wineries to seek out:
The Perennial
Best Selling and Best Known Wineries
Dependable, major players in the Washington
Wine World, these wineries have years and years
of excellent ratings and a wide range of price
points: Barnard Griffin, Canoe Ridge, Chateau
Ste Michelle, Col Solare, Gordon Brothers,
Hogue, L'Ecole #41, Northstar, Pepper Bridge,
Quilceda, Seven Hills, Snoqualmie, Walla Walla
Vintners, and Woodward Canyon.
Focus on the
Walla Walla Wineries
Try Abeja, Basel Cellars, Buty, Dunham, Five
Star, Forgeron, Fort Walla Walla, Isenhower,
K Vintners, L'Ecole #41, Long Shadows (not
to be missed!), Nelms Road (second label for
Woodward Canyon), Seven Hills (another must
see), Spring Valley, Va Piano (one of Walla
Walla's most exciting newer vineyard/winery
combos), Walla Walla Vintners, and Woodward
Canyon.
Check out the
Unknown with Lots of Buzz
A bit more chancy than sticking with the well
known wineries, the Taste has quite a number
of wineries with lots of industry buzz that
you probably haven't heard of yet. This year,
try Animale, Baer, Barrister, Boudreaux, Delilah,
Dusted Valley (an Avalon employee favorite),
Fielding Hills (yes yes yes!), Saint Laurent,
Va Piano (excellent!) and Zefina.
Boutiques with
Buzz
Boutique wineries with buzz make collectable,
highly rated wines from tiny facilities, and
the wineries are usually piloted and inspired
by one talented winemaker. Choose the right
wineries to collect and build a stunning cellar.
We suggest checking out Abeja, Betz, Basel
Cellars, Bunnell, Cadence, Feather, Fidelitas,
Fielding Hills, Januik, Long Shadows, Owen
Sullivan, Pedestal, and Va Piano.
Great Food to Pair with
WA Wine
The Taste pairs wineries
with restaurants, and the foods and wines offered
next to each other are usually designed as
complements to each other. The range of foods
this year includes Northwestern, Spanish,
Indian, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, Brewpub,
Seafood, Thai, American Steak House, and
the inimitable Trader Vics.
If you're into dessert, there's a separate
section of the event with dessert wines
and desserts, side by side, more than
anyone could eat.
The Washington
State Beef Commission is sponsoring
a "Beef Bar" similar
to the longstanding tradition of a "Raw
Seafood Bar" that's been at the event
since its founding. The Beef Bar will serve
lots of different dishes, and beef from the Double
R Ranch will be featured in live
cooking demonstrations.
Lots of Entertainment
In the center of the
Taste are four kitchens with simultaneous live
cooking demonstrations and tastings. Watch
top chefs create recipes in front of you and
then taste the results.
If you like taking home
a prize, there's a Ring Toss for prizes and
a Wheel of Wine to spin. The Ring Toss lets
you "ring" bottles of Washington wine. You
get three tosses for $5. Each year, some people
go home with some great bottles of wine. The Wheel
of Wine spin
guarantees a prize. For $5 you get one spin,
and depending on what you land on, get prizes
ranging from Taste of Washington t shirts to
a magnum of Col Solare or
a gift certificate to Palisades Restaurant.
Proceeds of the Ring Toss and Wheel of Wine
benefit Farestart, an organization that rehabilitates
the homeless and gets them into restaurant
careers, and the Washington Wine Educational
Foundation.
Should the bustle get
to be too much, there's a mezzanine above the
action, a calming place to retreat to with
a plate of food and a taste of some great wine.
Those in the know gather up a plateful of food
and a couple of glasses of wine and head up
to relax while overlooking the frenzy below.
There's even a few comfortable couches up there.
Or you can retreat to the dessert bar, with
easy Jazz starting at 5:30-ish.
Although red wine gets
a lot of attention at the Taste, the "White
Out" Wine Bar is worth
serious consideration. Adjacent to the huge Elliott's
Bay "Raw Bar",
the "White Out" allows you to try pairing different
white wines with an awe-inspiring collection
of northwest oysters, shrimp, and other raw
seafood. Nearby there's a book
signing featuring Lettie Teague of Food and
Wine magazine.
How to Get There and Where
to Park
Taste Washington is held
this year at theQwest
Field Event Center, just across
the street from the very easy to see Qwest
Field stadium. Those in the know park under
the raised highway across from the piers. It's
free, and the walk is not long. If you want
an attended lot, driving around the streets
nearby yields lots of smallish private lots,
usually about $12 for the afternoon. There's
an official East Hall Parking Lot that we've
never been able to find, but you may not have
to resort to that. Street parking is actually
not that bad, and the area around the Qwest
Center is interesting to walk through. The
Qwest Center web site is flashy and not very
useful, with an inaccurate map and little about
the actual buildings. Here's what Ticketmaster
says about getting there:
Directions to Taste Washington
at the Qwest Center
From the North and South
of Seattle:
Outside City Limits:
Take Interstate 5 exit marked Safeco Field
(exit 164 from the north and 164B from the
south). Follow the signs to Fourth Avenue South
and turn right. Turn right at the first light
on to South Royal Brougham. Occdidental Street
runs north and south off of South Royal Brougham.
Inside City Limits: From
the north, follow Aurora Avenue southbound
to First Avenue exit ramp (exits from the left
lane). Follow First Avenue southbound to Royal
Brougham Way. Turn right from First Avenue
or left from Fourth Avenue on to South Royal
Brougham.
From the East:
Via Interstate 90: Follow
the signs to Fourth Avenue South and turn right.
Turn right on to South Royal Brougham
Way. Occidental Street runs north and south
off of South Royal Brougham.
Via State Route 520:
Exit on to Interstate 5 southbound. Take exit
164. Follow the signs to Fourth Avenue South
and turn right. Turn right on to South Royal
Brougham Way. Occidental Street runs north
and south off of South Royal Brougham.
