Upcoming Event: Taste Washington 2019 - March 28th to 31st - Various Locations

The sun is shining here in Washington which means spring is upon us and the nation’s biggest single region food and wine event is quickly approaching! Taste Washington kicks off Thursday March 28th, and is sure to be a fantastic weekend celebrating all things #wawine!

A Can-Do Attitude - Canned Wine is a Highlight at the 2019 Seattle Wine & Food Experience

 I had the pleasure of attending this year’s Seattle Wine & Food Experience (SWFE), in its second year (first for me, I missed it last year!) at Bell Harbor International Conference Center. I was eager to get back to this event, which has always been a favorite of mine. One aspect I had to get the hang of was how spread out it was around the building. The event was split between two floors of the building, and the second floor was split with a walk-way connecting another area that we didn’t even discover until much later into the event! Even though it was a bit confusing, it was kind of an adventure traveling to different areas for a variety of food and beverages!

Upcoming Event: Seattle Wine & Food Experience 2019 - February 21st to 24th - Various Locations

I’m back to writing after a hiatus that brought me the most adorable and happy tiny human just in time to provide details on one of my favorite events of the year! The Seattle Wine & Food Experience (SWFE) is back this year with another event added to its already stellar list of delicious activities. Over the course of four days February 21^st-February 24^th 2019, guests will able to nosh at Comfort, POP! Bubbles & Seafood, The Grand Tasting and the new Sunday Supper.

Sips on the Road: A Fall Visit to Illinois Wine Country

Last fall my husband and I headed east to visit some of his family in Illinois. After a long weekend in Chicago being complete tourists, we headed out of town to see the countryside. As we all know, I LOVE experiencing other wine regions when I travel, so I was quick to do some research on Illinois wine and find a few wineries to try in our travels around northern and central Illinois. The Illinois Wine website has a great history page with a timeline of the (very lengthy) history of Illinois Wine. Fun fact #1: Illinois was one of the largest wine producers in the United States prior to prohibition! Fun fact #2: Illinois had 27 wineries in 2001, which grew to 105 wineries by 2011! It’s always so fun learning about different wine regions around the country.

An Afternoon of Rosé and Grenache Blanc at Taste Washington 2017

We enjoyed the 20^th vintage of Taste Washington last weekend and it delighted attendees with tastes and bites as it always does. I attended Sunday this year and I took the same approach that I have the past few years, and ventured out to try wines from wineries that I had never heard of before. With 225+ in attendance, there were many of them! The winery count in Washington has grown significantly in the past several years and it’s been exciting to try new things from our new up and coming winemakers and wineries.

Seattle Wine & Food Experience, Continued...

Hi Everyone! I am so excited for my first guest post at Sips & the City! The Seattle Food and Wine Experience is probably my favorite event of the year. And while I don’t know much about wine, I do know my food and beer! Here are a few of my favorites from the event that really stood out to me:

Duke’s Seafood & Chowderhouse These guys bring it every year! This year’s sample was a fish taco with: lightly blackened wild Alaska true cod with feta, tequila lime aioli, cabbage, avocado and cucumber pico de gallo. It was incredible!! And who doesn’t love tacos? I’m definitely making a visit to Duke’s soon.

Upcoming Event: Taste Washington 2017 - March 23rd to 26th - Various Locations

As we celebrate March as Taste Washington Wine Month, an annual month-long celebration of Washington State’s award winning wine industry, we get eager with anticipation of what’s coming up soon. Taste Washington, the nation’s largest single-region wine and food event, celebrates its 20^th Anniversary in 2017 with four days of wine, culinary delights, and education. With so much packed into such a short period, it gets difficult to choose what to attend (or just opt for the Connoisseur pass and attend all of the signature events!). But I’m here to give you a little insight into what will be happening for this year’s multi-day event so you can make your choices with ease.

Another Year of Great Experiences at the Seattle Wine & Food Experience Grand Tasting

The 9^th year of the Seattle Wine & Food Experience (SWFE) was a huge success, a three-day weekend extravaganza that wrapped up with the Grand Tasting at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. This year’s Grand Tasting was a blast. In Seattle Magazine’s first year at the helm, we saw a different layout and very diverse offerings in the world of wine, beer, cider and spirits. So many options, so little time… but may I present a few of the stops I made that stood out at this year’s Grand Tasting.

Upcoming Event: 2017 Seattle Wine and Food Experience Weekend - February 24th - 26th, 2017

2017 is off to a great start and what better way to kick off the year than to start talking about this year’s delectable food and wine events that are coming up. The 2017 Seattle Wine and Food Experience (SWFE) has grown this year into a 3-day festival, offering a full spectrum of Seattle’s culinary and craft beverage scene. Founded in 2009, SWFE has exploded into a premier event that is not to be missed. Under Seattle magazine’s new ownership, the footprint of the event is  growing to reach a wider audience and showcase the city through its incredible food and beverage scene. Each event “experience” is vastly different, so you can attend the one that fits your palate, or make a weekend of it and attend all three.

Upcoming Event: 1st Annual Holiday Wine Fest - Nov 12th & 13th, 2016 - Seattle Center Exhibition Hall

The holidays are just about upon us and what better way to celebrate than toasting to the season with some amazing wine?  The 1st Annual Holiday Wine Fest,  a Global Celebration of Wine will be held Saturday and Sunday November 12th and 13th at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall. This all-day Saturday and Sunday event features a world-class line-up of local, regional, national and international wines, ciders, spirits, gourmet cuisine and artisan vendors.  With half the offerings from Washington and the other half international, you’re sure to find a new favorite to share at the Thanksgiving table and the plethora of Christmas parties that are coming up! The event will be held over three sessions, with two on Saturday the 12th and one on Sunday the 13th. You will also have the opportunity to purchase your favorite new wine, cider or spirit at the event and take it home with you!

Festival Tasting Sessions:

Saturday, Nov. 12:  Noon – 4pm ($40 admission)

Saturday, Nov. 12:  5pm – 9pm ($45 admission)
Sunday, Nov. 13:    Noon – 4pm ($40 admission)

For an entire list (and it’s a long one!) of the local and international wineries, cideries, breweries and distilleries pouring at the event, visit the event website. This event benefits City Fruit, which promotes the cultivation of urban fruit in order to nourish people, build community, and protect the climate.

To purchase tickets, click here. Tickets include unlimited wine, cider, beer, and spirits tasting, a tasting glass, culinary samples and artisan shopping. Come celebrate the world of wine November 12th & 13th at the inaugural Holiday Wine Fest!

Rosé is Here to Stay!

It’s go time on summer and with that comes our shift to the “warm weather wines”! I don’t know about you, but I generally don’t touch red wine in the warm summer months since I want something that is refreshing and cold when the temperature outside starts to soar. Rosé has come mainstream lately, as it most certainly should. It took a bit of pushing though, as too many people looked at pink wine and were transported back to the White Zins and cheap blush wines their moms and grandmothers drank for so many years. I am here to tell you that today’s rosé has evolved greatly from those! Rosé is made just like every other wine, but the grape skins are only left in contact with the juice for a short time, rather than throughout fermentation like with a red wine. The longer the skins are left in contact with the juice and depending on the grape used, the darker the color of the rosé, which is why you will see all the colors of the pink rainbow when it comes to rosés (which is one of the reasons I love this type of wine!). Essentially, you can make pretty much any red grape varietal into a rosé. Many wineries even blend different varietals for their final product. The fun that winemakers have been having creating these wines is what makes the Washington rosé scene so amazing! While there are way too many to even try to compile in one post, here are several that I have come across this spring through my tasting adventures locally and in Eastern Washington!

The Delights and New Finds of Taste Washington 2016!

I attended this year’s Taste Washington Grand Taste on Sunday, which was a change from years past when we went for the Saturday tasting. I will say, the lack of crowds on Sunday made it quite the enjoyable experience! It was nice to have the ability to stop and chat with winemakers and actually taste through several wines without feeling rushed to step out of the way for the next person in line. It’s always a challenge to learn a lot about what you’re tasting at busy events like this, but I had a great time this year with the lesser Sunday crowd! As I have in the past few years, I made my focus trying wines from wineries I either had never heard of, or just had not had a chance to try yet. Boy oh boy did this work out in my favor as I found several great Washington wines that I can’t wait to try more of! I always walk into the Grand Taste with my go-to stops mapped out, so that I can make sure to hit the ones I have identified in advance. I took that approach once again this year, and managed to make it to many of the wineries and restaurants I had mapped out!

Upcoming Event: Taste Washington 2016 - March 31st - April 3rd - Various Locations

Taste Washington (Twitter: @TasteWashington), the nation’s largest single region food and wine event, is back in action from March 31^st to April 3^rd, 2016. As always, there are a multitude of events to please your palate, culminating with the Grand Taste on April 2^nd and 3^rd. Here is your one-stop shop for details on each of the various Taste Washington events and activities:

The 2016 Seattle Wine & Food Experience is Another Hit!

If you missed this year’s Seattle Wine & Food Experience (SWFE), you missed out big! This year’s event was a hit, and guests left with extremely full bellies and a list of new wine, beer, cider and spirits favorites. I personally LOVED the food options at this year’s event. The restaurants certainly brought their A-game and the food offerings were simply delightful. I also discovered a new cidery and had the chance to try several offerings of my favorite type of beverage: sparkling wine/champagne! In case you missed my Instagram feed at the event (find me on Instagram: sipsandthecity), here are my favorites and finds from this year’s Seattle Wine & Food Experience.

Upcoming Event: 6th Annual Cabernet Classic - February 6th, 2016 - Porche Bellevue

The “King of Grapes” is on showcase this next Saturday February 6^th, as Seattle Uncorked hosts the 6^th Annual Cabernet Classic! Elegant wines need an elegant location in which to be enjoyed, so this year’s event is being held at the new Porche Bellevue from 6-9pm. The event features 28 of Washington’s most exclusive wineries and will include Cabernets and Cab based blends from current releases and library selections. To top it off, guests will enjoy an easy arrival and departure with complimentary valet parking from Butler Valet.

Wineries pouring at this year’s Cabernet Classic include:

Alleromb

Avennia
Den Hoed

Ambassador Vineyard

Betz Family Winery

Bunnell Family Cellar

Corlis/Tranche

Côte Bonneville

DeLille Cellars

Dunham Cellars

EFESTE’

Fidelitas

Figgins Estate

Five Star Cellars

Hedges Family Estates

J. Bookwalter Winery

L’Ecole No. 41

Mullan Road (Cakebread)

Obelisco Estate

Pepper Bridge Winery

Reininger Winery

Smasne Cellars

Sparkman Cellars

Upchurch Vineyard

Va Piano Vineyards

Walla Walla Vintners

Waters Winery

Woodward Canyon Winery

Tickets are $100 and net proceeds from the event benefit Talk It Up TV and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. More information on the event and tickets are available here.

Upcoming Event: The 2016 Seattle Wine & Food Experience - February 20th & 21st, 2016

Oh it’s a new year in Seattle and you know what that means?! The Seattle Wine & Food Experience (SWFE) is once again almost upon us! That’s right folks, the deliciousness of Jamie Peha’s signature annual event is just around the corner. In true SWFE fashion, this year’s event is bigger and better than ever with more than 200 vendors lining the aisles at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall on Sunday February 21^st from 12-5pm (VIP) and 1-5pm (GA). POP! Bubbles and Seafood also returns for its second year, this time held in the elegant McCaw Hall on Saturday evening February 20^th from 6-9pm.

The Happenings - Upcoming Seattle Area Events!

I’m aliiiiiiveeee! Sorry folks (all 5 of you who read this), this summer was quite the spectacle what with my broken wrist and whatnot. Fun fact: typing is downright horrible when you only have one hand to use… so yeah.. in any event, I am back! And what better foray back into things than a little post on some of the upcoming tasty events happening in the Seattle area (and beyond). We’re going across the alcohol palate tonight, and looking at an upcoming wine, beer and cider event (I will just put them in order of when they are happening)! Without further ado…

The #WhereYouWine Sweepstakes!

We’ve all seen them, the perfectly staged Instagram photos showing your current wine of the moment in front of whatever beautiful background you can find. You do it anyways, so why not win a prize for it?  The “Where You Wine” sweepstakes from Whole Foods aims to do just that:  give away prizes for those who share photos of themselves enjoying wine around the Pacific Northwest on Instagram with the #whereyouwine and #sweepsentry hashtags!

Full details can be found here, but the basic idea is this:

• Follow @WFMSeattle, @WFMchambersbay or @WFMMillPlain on Instagram
• Send a picture, and include the hashtags #whereyouwine and #sweepsentry for an entry. 
• One Entry with the appropriate hashtags is one (1) entry. 
• Limit: one (1) Entry per person, per day, regardless of method of entry. Only entries using the hashtags #whereyouwine and #sweepsentry will be considered valid entries.
• There will be four (4) random drawings held and each Bi-Weekly winner will receive a $20 Whole Foods Market Gift Card.
• One (1) Grand Prize winner will be randomly drawn around 08/01/15, from among all eligible entries received throughout the Promotion. Grand Prize winner will receive a Wine Accessory Gift Basket!

Since it’s a blast giving away things here at Sips & the City, I’m happy to be giving away a $20 gift card to Whole Foods Market that you can use to stock up on wine to showcase in your #WhereYouWine photos so you can possibly win ANOTHER $20 gift card through the sweepstakes! It’s pretty much the best arrangement ever. To enter, just visit Whole Foods Market's Summer Top 10 Wines page and comment on this post with which of the wines listed you’re most interested in trying. Winner drawn at random on 7/6/15 from all entries received and gift certificate will be sent electronically,  GOOD LUCK!

Upcoming Event: 2015 Wine Rocks, a Tasting Event - July 9th, 2015 - Pier 66

Did you hear about the party on the Pier? (see what I did there? I’m a poet and I didn’t even know it..) Wine Rocks, a Tasting Event is back in action on Thursday, July 9th down at Pier 66 on the beautiful Seattle waterfront. This awesome venue has been home of this event for the past few years and offers great views and a perfect space for this ever growing event. I love Wine Rocks because it’s an opportunity for winemakers to showcase their other creative side: music! All but one of the musical acts performing at this year’s event is affiliated in some way with a Washington winery!

Upcoming Event: Rosé Revival & Other Cool Whites - June 18th, 2015 - Ray's Boathouse

Well, the days are longer, the the sun is shining, there's far too many people in "Suns Out, Guns Out" tank tops, and the temperature has reached a level where Seattlites start complaining; it must be summer! And with summer we start discriminating against our wines and long for only whites and rosés. Because come on, who wants to drink room temperature liquid when it's 90 degrees outside? Your troubles are no more! Look no further than Rosé Revival on June 18th at Ray's Boathouse. Held on a beautiful dock that is part of the event space adjacent to the restaurant, you're treated to a beautiful sunset and over a hundred rosé and white wines from 30+ different wineries. In addition to Northwest wineries (the list can be found here) there will also be a table with wines from Italy, France Argentina, Australia, and more. This is the 13th vintage of this great summer event, where attendees get to say no to reds! (Seriously, there are no red wines poured at this event!)

This year's event includes a 5 p.m. early VIP entry ($50/ticket) limited to just 50 people (with the general admission ($35/ticket) starting at 6 p.m.). If you're tired of bumping elbows with other people while trying to get your next taste then try out this option! Also, all advance ticket purchasers (VIP or GA) get a ticket for Wild Salmon Sliders and other snacks from Ray's Boathouse! Like what you're tasting? There will be a wine store onsite so you can take home your favorites!

I attended this event last year and really liked the small intimate nature of it. Sure, the big wine tasting events are fun and offer a huge variety, but the small events give you a chance to learn a little bit more about the wines you're tasting. Less people means a better chance to talk to the winemakers. The view doesn't hurt either, who doesn't like sipping wine while staring out at Puget Sound? So let's hope for a beautiful night like we had last year and get your tickets now for this year's Rosé Revival & Other Cool Whites on June 18th!