Wine Lovin Women

Tribute After attending this year's Washington Wine and Food Experience there were so many new wines that stuck out and I wanted to share one of them. I am sure there were a whole lot more we didn't get to try however it's not possible to sample all the amazing winery's at this event or all the great food...we tried however did not succeed. Tribute a Red Blend by Browne Family Vineyards, I fell in love with from the start, a very fine nose than a powerful yet subtle balance of ripe flavors that showed many layers, with a memorable long lasting berry finish. Brown Family Vineyards has a tasting room in Walla Walla however if you don't have plans to go to Walla Walla (first you need to put a trip on the calander right now) you can also purchase at QFC and Costco. Cheers!  Denise

Listen up Wine Lovin Women readers,  here is a wine maker to watch and make sure to try...Elsom Cellars. What a joy it was to experience these well made wines with depth of flavor, complexity and character. A wine maker who studied here than spent time in Italy, shows her talent in her wine. 2009 Logan Red Wine Blend 70% Malbec, 21 % Syrah If the color doesn't   tell the full story the nose will, its impeccably rounded with an amazing aroma and background.  The feel is a lush and rich as they come, a master of blending with detail and finishing  highlights. 2009 Isabella Red Wine Blend 33% Double Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Artz Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Gilber Malbec, 11% Double Canyon Petit Verdot Show stopping harmonious layers, it hardly gets more delicious than this.  So soft and velvety you can't resist taking another sip.  Good balance for what amounts to a great wine, this impressively powerful blend. Jody Elsom is a master at making supe

The Fourth Annual Gig Harbor Wine and Food Festival After a year absence from the wine tasting scene, the Gig Harbor Wine and Food Festival made its return this past weekend.  Some of the best local Washington wineries, breweries and restaurants were present to share in the return of this special annual event. Vendors from both sides of the state were well represented and I was pleasantly surprised by the local representation of wineries right here in my own back yard. As before, the complimentary shuttle service was and still is one of the best ways to get to the festival.  Timely shuttles pick up and drop off at several designated spots throughout Gig Harbor so you don’t have to fight for parking at the event site.  They pick you up and drop you off right in front of the event so not much walking is required. I liked the new entry into the event this year.  I thought it was well planned out and organized.  In 2012 there seem to be a bottle neck getting into the event

Throw a wine tasting party…here is how A wine tasting party is great for socializing, discovering new wines and gaining some new favorites thru fun experimentation. This type of party is one of the easiest theme party’s to hold since its focus is on the wine.   Throwing a wine tasting party isn’t drudgery like hosting can sometimes turn out to be, while you are working hard you miss out on your own party, this is pretty much a guarantee good time for everyone. A successful party of any kind comes from the preparation ahead of time so you will first need to decide on a theme. Here are some ideas : Blind taste testing ; cover the bottle with brown bag, wine bags, wrapping paper or colored  tissue.   Vertical tasting ; you taste the same variety of wine from same producer  but different years Theme tasting ; wines can all be white or all red, the same grape such as a Pinot, same region or by price point   Region tasting ; you can have wine from same region which you ha

Bad Day…..Good Bottle We all have those days in which we wished we had never climbed out of bed.  Tuesday was that day for me. By the time I was leaving the office for the day I just wanted to pound my supervisor into the ground and never look back.  But I simply clocked out and got in my car for the long commute home.  It was raining (a northwest normal) and the traffic was crawling at a snail’s pace.  My windshield wipers were hard at work but 10 miles into the commute, my passenger side wiper decided it had enough.  It flung itself onto the hood of my car but thank goodness I was crawling in the slow lane and was able to pull over to the shoulder. I put my emergency flashers on and carefully stepped out of my car and around to the passenger side.  Unbeknown to me, I had parked right by a very large mud puddle and since it was dark outside, proceeded to step into the puddle that swallowed my feet up to my ankles. I quickly groped my way along the hood, retrieved th

Gift of wine A Gift; something given voluntarily to show favor towards someone or honor an occasion……what a nice thought and I wanted to honor gift giving by writing about the gift of wine.   Many times we either give or receive wine as a gift I wanted     to take a moment to honor the thought and the thoughtfulness that goes into selecting.   I know when I am given wine as a gift I feel very honored, I know the thought was put into the selection , maybe it is something the giver has even tried , loved and wanted to share….that is special.   I just wanted to say thank you and encourage all to give the gift of wine and wish you Happy New Year of giving wine in 2014! Cheers, Denise

Box Wine Well I did it, took one for the team, this is for you our readers…. I tried box wine.   I can admit I did not approach this with an open mind, I fully expected   to be horrible.   I will admit I was wrong in a few cases and correct in the rest. Box wine now has given me a whole new meaning to "juice box". Box wine does have its advantages, it’s easy to pack, no glass so if you got camping, back packing or kayaking you don’t have the empty glass bottle to worry about and the packaging is eco-friendly.   The word is that you can keep these after opening for up to 4 weeks….guess I will have to test this theory also   to see if maybe time will improve some of these…doubtful. Cabernet Sauvignon I only have one that I would say was drinkable out of all, which would be Black Box. The rest were thick with tannins and sharp on the palette Black Box , This was the best of the reds I tried, it paired well with the smores when we were camping, if I had to choose a b