Tops from Taste Washington
Tops from Taste Washington
This weekend I had the privilege of attending Taste Washington on behalf of my DrinkNectar.com wine blog. It was an honor to represent the East Side (of WA) and to help the Washington Wine Commission with their first ever WWTV series of events. I have to give MAD PROPS to Yashar Shayan for all his work in orchestrating the technology and herding cats (wine bloggers / writers / nerds/winos). 15 interviews and a few seminars are available at the Taste WA UStream Channel. Scroll down to see the two DrinkNectar exclusives!
For my wife and me, the event consisted of the seminars on Saturday, six hours of tasting on Sunday, and then a topless wino’s gone wild party at Purple Restaurant (okay, everyone’s tops stayed on). I’ll be giving a full write up of the experiences that should come out Wednesday or Thursday, but in the meantime, here is a fun list of my most memorable experiences!
Meeting the Twitterati
I can’t even begin to count the number of “friends” that I met in real life for the first time. Because of Twitter, it was like I already knew everyone I met. The meetings were exuberant and full of hugs! Some notables (my apologies if I forget any) @wawinereport, @clivity @winomagazine @bricksofwine @divatink @shona425 @nwtotemcellars @sojengirl @sojencellars @winefoot @writeforwine @tomcwark @pmabray @deniseslattery @chefmangna @decanterbanter @wabrokers @nicoleevents @tarynmiller @dearcheri @yasharseattle @hardrow@winepeeps @czcellars @watastingroom @seattlewinegal and more!
Killer Wine
I’ll go in more detail on Saturday’s seminar tastings where I got to taste amazing wine from Gramercy Cellars, Cote Bonneville, and Col Solare in the full wrap up. During the grand tasting Sunday, there were probably over 1000 wines to taste. We probably tasted (and spit) close to 75 different wines. During tastings like this there are several good wines, but here are the five that stick in my mind!
K Vintners – Motor City Kitty; 2007 Syrah ($30)
Pepperbridge – Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 ($55)
Nodland Cellars – Private Blend 2005 ($35)
Betz Family Winery– Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 ($65)
NW Totem Cellars – Late Harvest Viognier 2006 ($28)
Food to Dine For
Picazo 7Seventeen – Chef Mangana was serving an amazing Lamb Chop and the chocolate dessert goodie was heavenly (wish I knew more about what made it so great)
An Affair to Remember
Hotel Max Seattle – Swank, sleek, urban, artsy, and beautiful come to mind when describing the Hotel Max. Factor in the comfy room, city views, and central location – this is a must stop. “Dear Hotel Max, thank you for sleeping with me.”
Legends and Stars
I consider myself lucky to have spent a few hours with Paul Mabray, of VinTank fame and Tom Wark of, well…of Tom Wark fame. Not only do I feel like I got a masters course in marketing and wine business, my head was spinning with ideas on how to conquer the world.
It was also amazing to meet the one and only Barbara Evans. Yep, I met Barb…oh, sorry… Seattle Wine Gal (@seattlewinegal for you Twitteraddicts). She is everything you think she is…over the top, smart, intense, fun, and pretty. Don’t underestimate her, she is always thinking, watching and observing. I learned a ton from the brief moments we had to chat during the TasteWA wrap party. She knows her Social Media stuff. Thanks Barb for the ideas and inspiration!
Wine Gods
My interview with Jarrod of Alexandria Nicole Cellars
My Interview with Jean-Michele of Pepperbridge
Great posting! I can’t wait to add you all to my list of IRL folks at the Wine Bloggers Conference!
Thanks, Melanie! We will definitely meet in June
Way to represent!! Looks like it quite the scene, thanks for the updates for those of us less fortunate and unable to attend.
Tamara – you should have made the trip – only 3 hours, right? Does Oregon do something like this?
Pingback: uberVU - social comments
Man, that looked like a blast, especially what I caught on Ustream. Consider me immensely jealous and very sad that I live on the other flippin side of the country.
Josh – I’ve been to the similar one they have in Spokane but it is half the size. This event was totally amazing. Never seen so much wine and talent in the same place!
You’re awesome! So nice to meet you too… smartass.
And a great time was had by all. It was a pleasure meeting you. Looking forward to introducing you to my wife and spending some more time with you and your lovely wife at the WBC10 and Spokane afterwards. Cheers
Agreed, Eric! It is so tough to get time together in the midst of all the activity, but it was great to put a face to tweets and awesome posts!
Josh, thanks for coming to visit us west-siders for Taste Washington. Look forward to seeing you again soon.
Josh, it was great meeting you – let’s try to spend more time chatting at the bloggers conference. Would be fun to share some ideas.
Margot and Sean – it was such a blast meeting you. There was not enough hours in a day. I hope we can spend way more time together at the bloggers conference or maybe even sooner. If you ever find yourself in Spokane, let’s have dinner and drinks…my treat.
Hey, Josh. Great post. Question re the pic of you and the Seattle Wine Gal: Where is your hand, and why are you smiling bigger than she is? Just kidding – great photo and wonderful article.
wino4ever
Scott – I’ll never tell. Actually, my wife took the picture, so hands were above the waste! LOL
I missed this wrap up the other day. Now I’m super jealous of you, but then again, I’m jealous of you everyday.
j/k Looks like you had a great time and I can’t wait to add you to my list of Twitter friends that I’ve met IRL when I’m in W2 for WBC10.
Ben, it’s going to be EPIC. Dude you have nothing to be jealous of. You’re rocking the wine world with killer writing and well written educational posts and exploring Texas for the rest of us!