Seriously, what's wrong with folks these days? Who's lame-brain idea was it to pay for a taste of Wine?!?!? Do the old ladies handing out food samples at Costco make you pay for them? No! Why? Because Costco knows there's a good likelihood that you'll purchase that which you sample; assuming you enjoyed it. Same thing applies to wine - I know many folks who'd have no problems at all buying a bottle (or more) of wine from a winery whose wine they actually like! Gasp! What a concept.
Not just that, but what if you think the wine is crap? Why should you have to pay for it? That'd be like a Car Dealer forcing you to pay for a test-drive on a car. While I know it's an outrageous example, it's not too different to the way all too many Wine tasting these days make folks pay up front.
If we ever hope of changing this, then we have got to stop participating in it! Next time you show up to a winery or tasting event where they want to charge you up front for it - just walk away, don't do it!
If enough people start doing this, we can help curb this horrible trend - no thanks to the snobby folks down in Napa.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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