December Meeting at C.C.'s

We will be meeting in December on the 4th at 10:30am at the lovely home of C.C.'s to enjoy lunch and a blind Chardonnay wine tasting. This way we won't have to cancel due to possible bad weather on an out of town trip.

Carol is serving what I am sure will be a yummy casserole ( that girl can cook), and Gayle is bring a delicious apple tart dessert I am told. So the rest of us can fill in with appetizers.

Don't forget to disguise your bottles of chardonnay $20.00 and under, as this will be a blind tasting. (and let's make sure we coordinate with Carol at Albertsons lol). Maybe we should invite her????

What a Wonderful Day! tour 3

Thank you RousAnn Marie for planning such a wonderful outing for Women Who Wine 3rd trip. You started the day off just right for me with a dbl-t-soy latte at our newest Starbucks at Queensgate. We sat down and had a cup of coffee and Slammed some Tams...(you will have to check out this activity by clicking here for those who are uninitiated) and planned our day.
On a somewhat rainy and overcast day, we headed out to tackle some fine wineries in Prosser. For some reason, it may have been the weather, but we were destined on this outing it seemed to hear the stories of those folks we were about to meet in each and every winery. On the way into town, Ru had already done her homework and we got a call en route and were invited by the owner of the Winemakers Loft, Mike Haddox to have a personal tour and a visit to Michael Florentino Cellars. I must say it was a morning poignantly spend while we toured the facilities and tasted the wine. The wine maker himself shared some of his adventures and personal journey that he has traversed so far in the world of wine making. We had goosebumps and tears, and a deep joy left resonating in our hearts for all things new and ongoing in this man's life. What an amazing tapestry of living going on here. Click here to hear his story! The best part for me was the wonderful story about a new wine he had accidentally made, that has turned out to be his best seller in the tasting room. Named after his precious 1 year old daughter Lulu. The wine is a fine Rose' that started out to be a Riesling, and ended up with a touch of Cab spilled into the vat :) He plans on making this wine and documenting his daughters life yearly with the artwork for the label being made by her own hands. He helped with the very first label which is a depiction of his daughter in the womb.

We then had a quick stop at Apex, and learned all about how this winery was joining up with a big Seattle business, that was gathering small labels together for shared marketing and distribution.

Our third stop turned out to be our longest at MilbrandtVineyards We were cordially invited to have a seat by the fire place and enjoy our bottle of Chardonnay which we purchased there and our picnic lunch. They gladly provided us with some glasses after our tasting. We met the general manager Susan who assured us that they loved for people to stop and relax and enjoy their facility. They hope to build up a reputation of "Starbuck-est"...that folks would feel welcome to visit , hang out and enjoy the ambiance. And enjoy we did. We had a very relaxing lunch telling stories and getting to know one another just a little bit better.

Well it had already been a big day, three wineries and we were running out of time for our last stop...but on a whim we decided once and for all to make a stop at Merlot Jo's favorite winery. We were so very glad we did!

First of all in my humble opinion Alexandria Nicole Cellars is one of the best wineries in town. They hooked me up years ago with my first taste of their lovely Viognier. Hence the name Viognier Vixen. But I have to agree with my good friend Makyla that they also make some mighty fine reds. Everyone bought a bottle of Quarry Butte...a wonderfully smooth red with lots of notes and depth. We were served some grilled focaccia bread with our tasting, and dipped into some local grape seed oil called Apres Vin.

We had another delightful visit with Susan and Therron. Therron caught all our attention when he told us his wife's favorite "Whine" was "I want to go shopping." He left us all with a good giggle and a welcoming feeling, that made us all feel very glad we had made the stop. Since I was the designated driver this time, it would be lovely for the rest of the club to share about what wines you bought and enjoyed ?


We missed you MaKyla and Michelle and please don't forget to save the date for December 4th. We will let Carol Chardonnay fill us in on the details.