Austin Chase - Graham WA - Wine Tasting

The local Austin Chase Coffee bar near me started doing weekly wine pourings with different vintners every Friday night - it had been a couple of weeks since I last went, so I decided to give it another whirl tonight. I met my friend, Edd Laville there (a local wine legend in his own right) and met the wine rep. Heidi Kinne, from Young's Columbia.

There's a nice guy who I only know by first name, Birk, who owns the place and he's trying his best to differentiate himself from the "competition" out there by doing these weekly wine events.

As you can see from the pic, he was having issues with his "Rabbit" opener. Guys, do yourself a huge favor, avoid these overpriced pieces of crap - folks get them from being duped of their ease, but quite frankly, there's nothing better than the old trusty waiters corkscrew:

Tonight, Heidi brought quite a number of wines with her from a winery called Michael David out of California, you most likely know them by their "7 Deadly Zins" wine. It was all very fruit-forward, typical grocery store wines, nothing special tonight with the wine, but it was worth meeting "the folks" for, nonetheless.

*A little side note here, if you "get it" that wine glasses do make a significant difference in how wine tastes, make sure you always B.Y.O.G. - bring your own glass.

Wash. grape and wine industry worth $3 billion to state

By Associated Press
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - The good news keeps coming for Washington's grape growers and winemakers: a new study released Thursday shows the industry contributed $3 billion to the state economy in 2006 and employs nearly 19,000 people.

Industry leaders say the report confirms the state's wine industry is having a tremendous impact on the economy, leading to increasing visibility for Washington's wines and sparking efforts to tout Washington as a tourism destination.

"One of the important messages is the fact that we need to routinely measure ourselves and stand up and be counted," said Vicky Scharlau, executive director of the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers. "Without this kind of proof of our economic impact to the state, it's difficult to continue growing."

Washington's wine industry has exploded in the past two decades, from fewer than 20 wineries in 1981 to more than 500 today. The state is the nation's second-leading producer of premium wine, after California, with 350 wine-grape growers and 31,000 vineyard acres.

Read the Rest at: http://www.komotv.com/news/local/15421516.html

"The Dirt" On Washington Wines

Cedar Plank Salmon w/ Fire-roasted Pepper-Saffron Suace

We ended up getting some fresh Wild-Caught Coho Salmon from Alaska at one of our local stores.

Cedar Plank Salmon served on top of Jasmine-mint Rice with Fire-roasted Red Pepper Saffron Sauce – I put some lightly-grilled Garlic bread on the side which made for great a great “mop” of the sauce.

I realize that fresh mint isn’t a typical ingredient associated with Salmon but it really helped bring a nice freshness to the flavor of the entire dish – it almost acted like a palette cleanser as well.

Washinton Leases 404 Acres on Red Mountain

State agrees to lease 404 acres on Red Mountain for wine complex

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BENTON CITY, Wash. -- State officials have agreed to lease 404 acres of state land in southcentral Washington to a wine grower and two partners from Gig Harbor for a winery complex.

The state Department of Natural Resources previously leased about 140 acres to four wineries on Red Mountain, a 4,040-acre federally recognized grape-growing region known for red wines.

The lease to Vintage Partners announced Monday is for a vineyard and winemaking complex where about a dozen small wineries will share crushing facilities while maintaining independent barrel and tasting rooms, said Duane W. Unland, regional business development manager for the state agency.

The 55-year lease, which was set to be signed Tuesday in Olympia, is worth about $500,000 a year for the state school trust fund.

The three principals in Vintage Partners are Dick Shaw, whose vineyards on the Wahluke Slope in Mattawa produce grapes under contract to Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and other producers, Doug Long of Gig Harbor, and Paul Kaltinick, a certified public accountant in Gig Harbor and former chief financial officer for J.C. Penney.

Project costs, including construction of a two-story Italian-style piazza covering 75,000 square feet with guest rooms on the second floor, will run about $50 million, Long told the Tri-City Herald.