POOL PARTY

Women who Wine with their Husbands! Please come to a casual pool party/bbq at K. Syrah's house on Saturday, July 25th@ 5pm. We will throw something on the barbie, you can bring a bottle of vino and a side dish (or one of your wonderful appetizers or desserts). Come for a swim and stay until 10 :>) See ya'all then!
RSVP, please.
Gayle

Recipe for cinnamon fruit dip

1 cup vanilla yogurt
1 cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons Honey
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Combine and refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight.

Sleeping Dog

Dan and I made a little trip out to Sleeping Dog this weekend "Spring Barrel Tasting". Check out the side bar for a new blog I found via Larry, I Drink Your Wine. Scroll down to April 20th, where his winery is featured. We had a good time and a great visit with Larry. I ended up liking his Syrahs. Which as you all know are not mine and Merlot Jo's favorites :) So I am wondering if Jo liked his 2002? Not the tang on the front of the tongue thing and fruit forward. So funny he knew exactly what I was talking about. There must be a real wine term for that??? Dan and I both liked the 2005 it is hard sometimes to find a wine that suits us both :) Dan and I both agreed with Gayle, Tail Wagger was a yummy red blend.

I would love to hear about anybody else Spring Barrel tasting jaunts??? We finally did get into Maison Blue, and had a great tasting at Wine'O clock and some great tapas. Might be a thought for May's luncheon spot?

March Tasting

We had 11 W.W.W today. It was a beautiful, sunny, 80 degree day. Perfect for our drive around the countryside. All the fruit trees were in bloom and very fragrant.

Our first stop was to Canon De Sol. Victor was a charming host and I have to say that I loved every wine that he made. Did you feel the same way? The girls learned a lot from him.Our second stop was in Benton City at Sleeping Dog Winery. When we finally found it, Larry was there patiently waiting for us. We enjoyed learning about his wine making techniques as well. I finally found a rose' that I liked. The Malbec Rose- tasted like cherries and cranberries. The Tail Wagger Cab blend was YUMMY.....

Lastly, up to Tapteil. We were starving by then, so we broke out our feast and devoured it. We have such great chefs in our group. Our new member, Vicky, brought Chocolate Covered Strawberries. She's welcome back anytime! We had Chinese Chicken Salad, Tortilla Roll ups, Phylo Cups with Gorgonzola and nuts, Fruit Kabobs with a cinnamon roll flavored dip (I want that recipe). There were cheeses, hummus, dolmas, meats, veggies, and crumb cake.



Then we got down to business tasting the wine. Thanks Jane for the fun time and to Argus for the Twinkie gift. We all enjoyed the Argus wine, Cabs, and of course- the best Syrah in the world! (I'm a little biased).

A big thanks to our drivers: Mary Ann, Pat, and Karen. We couldn't have done it without you.

Please post your photos here, too.

May 11 is our next trip. Please help me remember where it is we're going?
June 1 is Tulip Lane in Richland.
July is our BBQ, poolside, with hubby's. Here are some dates to consider: 24, 25 or 31?????????

K. Syrah

Spring Fling

Spring is here and it's time we get out of the house and have some fun!

 

The Women Who Wine will be meeting on Monday, April 20th at Gayle's house at 9:30 a.m. Bring your Starbucks and an appetizer to share as we are heading out Cottonwood Canyon for our first tasting at Canon De Sol. Then on over through the cherry orchards to Benton City and Sleeping Dog Winery. Next stop is the top of Red Mountain to our picnic site, Tapteil Winery. There will be Italian Olive oils and Balsamic Vinegars to taste there, too.

We will definitely be back to Gayle's house by 3pm.

Bring a friend and carpool with us! Please have a full tank of gas if you are willing to drive. We pitch in with the cost.

 

Please RSVP to me by Sunday, April 19 for a head count.

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.