Upcoming Event: 6th Annual Wine Rocks - July 11th, 2013 - Elliott Hall at Pier 66

One of the most rockin' wine events of the year is back in just a few short weeks. This year's 6th annual Wine Rocks event being held on Thursday July 11th, 2013 at the waterfront Elliott Hall at Pier 66 from 6-10pm. Last year's event was held in the same spot and it was a sunny and warm evening on the waterfront sipping some vino and listening to the jams of some of Washington wine's most musically talented winemakers. This event has grown bigger and bigger every year and has turned into a not to miss outdoor party on the Pier!

Wine not for you? There's a little something for everyone. More than 35 Washington wineries, breweries and distilleries will be pouring the goods at the event. All that sippin' and jamming out make you hungry? A handful of local food trucks, including Jemil’s Big Easy, Lumpia World, Marination Mobile, Monte Cristo and Sweet Wheels, will be serving guests right on the pier.

Throughout the event some musically inclined Washington winemakers and friends will take the stage to share their passion for music. This year’s featured winemakers/musicians include:

• Jamie Brown (Walla Walla Valley Winemaker)
  
• Darren Des Voigne (Des Voigne Cellars)
• Chip McLaughlin (Vinyl Wines)
• Rob Newsom (Boudreaux Cellars)
• Victor Palencia (Jones of Washington)
• Gordy Rawson (Chatter Creek Winery)

Tickets to Wine Rocks are $35 and can be purchased at BrownPaperTickets.com. This year’s Wine Rocks event benefits Food Lifeline, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending hunger in Western Washington.

So get your tickets and get ready to rock out with a glass in your hand in the sunshine on the pier! See you on July 11th!

Sips on the Road: Nani Moon Mead - Kapa'a, Kaua'i, Hawai'i

For the most exotic edition yet of “Sips on the Road”, I visited Nani Moon Mead (@nanimoon) located in Kapa'a on the beautiful island of Kaua'i, Hawai'i during a vacation back in February. Now mead hasn’t always been a go-to for me, the varieties of it that I’ve tried in WA have been too sweet for my taste. Well I will shun it no more! At this visit, I learned a great deal about mead and Nani Moon’s dedication to being a locally sourced operation. Owner and “Queen Bee” Nina Krieger took us through her operation, the meads, and the history of mead during our wonderful visit to the tasting room.

Reverend Nat's Cider conquers Portland looks to Seattle

Wedding bells and “highly quaffable” ciders…not likely something many people would pair together, but with Reverend Nat’s hard cider that’s the point.

Eight years ago Nat started making cider in his basement with the help of a friend’s apple tree which at the time produced as much as they needed for their hobby.  Skip ahead to just two and a half years ago and that hobby has found a new production home, success around Portland, OR and now in 2013 Nat hopes to find success with his passion in Seattle.  Using a handshake to obtain his apples from PNW growers Nat has moved to a 3,500 square foot production facility where he can produce 24,000 cases a year of their dry to off-dry ciders.  Additionally as the cidery name might indicate Nat is an ordained minister and will be able to perform weddings in his new facility.

31 Days of Washington Wine in 140 Characters or Less

To celebrate Washington Wine Month, held each year in March, I thought it might be fun (and educational) to tweet #WAwinefacts each and every day of March. This was a really fun project and I learned so much more about Washington wine in the process. There were a few days I messed up (i.e. posted the one for the 3rd after midnight so it was technically the 4th. But hey, I hadn't gone to bed yet, so it was totally still the 3rd. Also missed the 8th because I was out of town and ended up posting a 2 for 1 on the 9th), but overall I achieved my goal! 31 days of March and 31 different #WAwinefacts! I compiled them all here so you could have a quick educational lesson on how the juice in our fine state has come to be.