February Luncheon

It was a wonderful day to take a drive out to Merlot Joe's for our February luncheon. This time, you guessed it I am sure. We were blind tasting Merlot. If my notes serve me correctly the big winner was an out of state wine Twomey 2005, from Napa Valley, CA. I believe miss Michelle lifted this particular bottle from her husbands stash? Correct me if I am wrong =/ It was delicious! We did find ourselves a little confused at times through out this tasting, some of the ladies snuck in some blends and even a cab or two. But in the end this wonderful wine won out.

Merlot Jo was the perfect hostess and the appetizers and desserts were amazing.

Gayle's yummy molten chocolate cake!

A good time was had by all. Some new gals have joined our club and I would like to introduce you to them.

Starting on the left is Nancy B. She is still in search of a WhINE name. Maybe we can help her out here and give her a few suggestions. She lives smack dab in the middle of wine country and runs a B&B.

The second gal on the left is Muscat Pat, who is also a recent transplant to the region and just so happens to be a lover of good wine and a wonderful cook. You should be posting some recipes here Pat?

Next I believe is Mary, at first time attendee!

Another gal who is fairly new and hasn't chosen her name, or maybe I just didn't catch it is Jody. She was getting such a kick out of her switcheroo with a cab during the Merlot tasting. She is the little cutie in the middle, between Merlot Jo, and Rou.

So next month we are again staying in town for some authentic Italian cuisine, and Italian wine tasting at K Syrah's.

Maybe she can fill us in here on the date and time. All I can remember is that I am bringing the salad !

A Taste OF Tuscany

Bring your favorite Italian appetizer or dessert, and wine (Chianti, Super Tuscan Sangiovese, Pino Gris?) to K. Syrah's at 11 a.m. on March 16.
Ciao Bella's! Perfecto!

Recap on the Past

The Woman Who WhINE have been busy these last few months. Instead of visiting wineries we have opted to stay home during the winter weather and have instead enjoyed two wine tasting luncheons. They have been a great success, and a wonderful learning experience for all.

Our first luncheon in December was hosted by C.C. at her lovely home in Richland WA. Since Carol is a recent transplant from California and is a big chardonnay fan, we decided to do a chardonnay blind tasting. Everyone brought an undisclosed bottle of chardonnay.

Surprise, surprise, we had a three way tie for First Place. We voted using three pennies each to place in front of our favorite wines. As we sipped along and tasted the chardonnay's some of us took notes and then we voted. Quite simple, but oh so revealing especially when cost of our top three contenders was made known.

$22.99

Milbrandt Vineyards

Evergreen Legacy

2006

Washington State

$18.99

Montes Alpha 

2005 

Casablanca Valley,Chile

$6.99

Columbia Crest 

Two Vine Wine

2005

Washington State

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.

Prosser Tour 2 & Pacific Rim

Well ladies sorry it has taken me so long to get this posted. I will put up some pictures. Please feel free to post your own pictures, and commentary. I am looking forward to seeing everyone one for tour 3 next Thursday! Our first stop at Pacific Rim. A large California winery Pacific Rim decided to move a major part of their wine production facilities up to this region to buy, grow and bottle our local grapes. Read their story to find out why, something about our wonderful terra.

Scott Kopf the Lab Manager/Enologist teaches us about his job. He takes us right into his laboratory, hands us some glasses and proceeds to take us around the warehouse tasting little sips of great vats of wine in progress. We tried a Riesling, Chien Blanc, and a wonderful Raspberry Port. The port was just a little experiment they were trying out. One of the great advantages of visiting these local wineries I am finding out is that many of the designer wines never hit the major markets. They can only be purchased directly from the winery. We have his name and he has ours, and when they go to bottle that heavenly stuff, we are on the call list for one of the first cases off the production line. Fun way to start our morning.

We then head off to Processor for some shopping. We visited a local sweet shop called Chukar Cherries. They had everything you could think of to do with cherries and chocolate, and then some. I tasted a cherry chutney, and cherry salsa that were unique and special.

We headed across the street for a stop at Bonnie's Vine and Gift Shop and a tasting. We have tasting rooms around here, like Seattle has coffee shops...they are everywhere.

Today we were after some of the unique and lesser known wineries. So out we headed to find a a small winery called Pontin Del Roza

At Vine Heart we stopped to taste some wine, and had a most excellent picnic on a lovely fall day.

Our last stop at the Cozy Rose Inn.

Just a note on behalf of the Inn. True to their promise I was able to book a room on a Thursday night at the last minute for half price for my husband's birthday treat. We stayed at the house next door on the top floor.We had a lovely breakfast served to us in front of the fireplace the next morning. Jennie, Marks wife turned out to be a kindred soul on many levels. They have a wonderful B&B.

I like this wine!

I opened the bottle of DavenLore Red Tale 2005 that we sipped at Bonnies and it is absolutely devine! We need to find this place in Prosser!

Tour #2 ~Prosser

Hello fellow travelers!
Only 4 more days till we get to Wine our way through the Prosser/ Yakima Valley A.V.A.
Let's meet at my house at 9a.m. Monday the 6th and bring your favorite picnic appetizer to share (so we don't waste any time or wine dollars in a restaurant!). We will be stopping at Chukkar Cherries and Bonnie's Wine & Gifts and of course, a few wineries. We'll be home by 3pm.
Mark your calendars now for Thursday, November 6th for the 3rd trip. Who wants to plan it?
See you soon!
K. Syrah (a woman who wines and not whines)

Our First Jaunt to Wine Country

Our virgin trip.... how very exciting!

A group of women gathered together by our expert tour guide, that's right Ms K. Syrah herself. Our amazing leader who has brought us together to do some meanderings and explorations of the wonderful vineyards and wineries around the Columbia Valley.

Our first jaunt was to a few of the Wineries of the Walla Walla Valley. Forgeron's, Basel Cellars, and a lovely chocolate boutique, The Petits Noirs Boutique was included along the way. We topped the day off with a delicious lunch at a place called Luscious. All in all it made for a most wonderful first outing!

We quickly learned each others wine preferences and have come up with some fun names for ourselves. Introducing K. Syrah otherwise know as Gayle, our leader and as previously stated excellent guide tour. She loves a good spicy Syrah. We found out Michell has been dubbed a "Cupcake" by another winery...so she is now know to us as our Chardonnay Cupcake. Now Makyla made no bones about the fact that she does not prefer a "dancing on the tongue" Syrah, but was definitely into a smooth Merlot...hence her name Merlot Jo . Now I am not sure Ann has established her preference, but she did turn us all on to what I think is our group favorite from this trip, Cabernet Franc from Forgeron's Cellars...as K. Syrah put it "Yummy"! Since I am in love with Alexandria Nicole's Viognier, and love the fruity bouquet that has a hint of sweetness but with a good balance of acidity. (I stole that from their website..lol) I have been named Viognier Vixen.

Well I think we are off to a good start, a fun adventure, a meandering journey for a fun group of

Women Who Wine