They always say it’s all about who you know and this came in very handy this past week as I was able to attend a great event. My friend Jen (@jenkmiller) is a member of the Columbia Tower Club and Wine Society (@columbiatower), which is located on the 75th floor of the Columbia Tower, the tallest building in Seattle. The views from here are AMAZING and on a beautiful day I don’t know that there is any place better to get a view of the entire city of Seattle. The CTC’s Wine Society holds monthly wine tastings and this month showcased Washington Wines to celebrate Washington Wine Month. There were 70 wines being poured at the tasting, which featured both wine distributors as well as winemakers in attendance. There were several wineries at this event that I had yet to try and was excited to see such a wide variety of WA wineries featured here.
A big favorite was Guardian Cellars, owned by Jerry Riener. Jerry was pouring at the event and was able to give me all the background about each wine and how the winery came to be. For Jerry the winery is actually a side project, he has a full-time job in law enforcement in the local Seattle area. This is a running theme with his wines, with names such as “Gun Metal” and “The Wanted”. It’s so great to see a story behind each of his wines and the names he uses for them. My personal favorite of the Guardian Wines was his 2009 Angel Sauvignon Blanc, which made me instantly visualize a warm summer day on the porch kicked back with a glass of the wine and some BBQ type snacks. This wine will no doubt go fast. I purchased a bottle of this through the event, but now I’m thinking I need to stock up on this! Jerry mentioned that his release party was the next day for some new wines. His tasting room is located in Woodinville and will remain open this summer only as long as he has wine left! Once this year’s batch is gone, it’s gone, and the tasting room shuts down. I need to get out there quick and taste through the entire line again as it was such a treat to chat with Jerry at this event and learn about his wines.
Another winery that I have always liked, Barnard Griffin, was pouring the brand new 2009 release of their Rose of Sangiovese. I have been a huge fan of their Rose in previous years, and this release was the best one yet. The flavors blended very well and nothing stood out too significantly alone, which is what makes it so enjoyable. This is another one of those wines that makes me wish it was summer already and not still March! I look forward to drinking this one throughout the summer months.
I was also able to meet and briefly chat with the owners of William Church Winery (@wmchurchwinery), which is located in the Woodinville Warehouse District. I have seen them on twitter in the past and it was great to meet the people behind the wines. I was a big fan of their wines poured at this event and will hopefully be visiting the tasting room soon to check out more of their wines.
One of the best things about this event was that all of the wines poured were made available for sale at a cost a little above wholesale. Though we didn’t get to leave the event with our purchases, I am excited to pick up my new bottles when they come in! These tasting events are a huge perk of being a CTC member and Wine Society Member. Definitely something to look into!
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