| Northwest Wine Fan Experiences "Wine Party! 2010" |
| Talk to the Cellarmasters: Tim & Carolyn Sinniger northwestwinefan@msn.com |
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| What if you threw a party and everyone showed up? Welcome to Wine Party! 2010 As we made our away around the filled to capacity Doug Fir Lounge, vintage rock music by Led Zeppelin and others wafted through the air. Burlesque dancers took to the stage while winemakers poured their very best and mingled with the crowd, adding a party like atmosphere to the evening. In the simplest of terms this was... "Not your Mother's Wine Party" |
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| The Jupiter Hotel 800 East Burnside Portland, OR 97214 503-230-9200 877-800-0004 (Toll Free) www.jupiterhotel.com |
| Attending an event at the Doug Fir Lounge, the Rose Garden, Convention Center, or just hanging out in the Pearl District? Look no further than the Jupiter Hotel for your lodging. This "mid-century, renovated motor-inn-turned-boutique-hotel offers affordable minimalist lodging for creative business nomads and urban explorers alike in their 81 unique guestrooms." Our friend Ryan stayed here this evening and Tasting Panel members Kevin and Wendy stayed during one of their recent outings to Portland. It's kind of a Bohemian experience with folks gathering at the Lounge or out by the fire-pit in the evening. Trendy to say the least...they even feature a late night lodging special of $59 after midnight (no reservations). Pretty Cool! Like we said above...Not your Mother's hotel! Or is it??? |
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| Between the food, vintage rock music, burlesque dancers and Washington winemakers mingling with the crowd, a great time was had by all. |
| That's Carolyn standing in the mosh pit at Wine Party! 2010. We couldn't wait to try all of the fabulous wines and as usual the winemakers couldn't wait to try the beer by Pike Brewing! |
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| Charles Smith, with his labels, K-Vintners and Charles Smith Wines, is a truly gifted winemaker and after years of managing rock bands he definitely still has his "Rock-tude." So he brought us "Wine Party! 2010." What a party it was...as winemakers like Trey Bush of Sleight of Hand Cellars, Mark Ryan (I Mark Ryan) with his eponymous label, David "Merf" Merfeld from Northstar, and a host of others got down to the business of pouring us some of the best wines from Washington. This along with burlesque dancers and hard rocking music (did I mention the Zeppelin?) made it a night to remember. Everybody showed up. Even with a 5:00 PM starting time it was clear this was the place to be. With standing room only, the line to get in went on most of the night, with folks waiting patiently for someone to leave so they could enter. Hopeful attendees gathered around the fire-pit outside, while friends stood in line waiting for their turn to join the party. Wine standouts abounded, so much so that we can't list them all. That being said, here are some of our favorites... |
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| DaMa Wines 2007 "CowGirlCab" Cabernet Sauvignon $21 - 90 Points Wine Enthusiast Dusted Valley 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon $26 - 92 Points Wine Enthusiast 2007 "Stained Tooth" Syrah $26 - 91 Points Wine Enthusiast Efeste Winery 2006 Red Mountai Syrah "Ceidleigh" $34 - 93 Points Wine Spectator Gorman Winery 2007 "The Pixie" Syrah Red Mountain $42 - 92 Points Wine Spectator K-Vintners 2008/09 Viognier $20.00 2007 "Motor City Kitty" Syrah $28 To find out more about these wineries just click on the name |
| Mark Ryan Winery 2007 "Dead Horse" Ciel du Cheval Red Blend $40 2007 "Long Haul" Ciel du Cheval Red Blend $40 Northstar 2006 Merlot Columbia Valley $41 - 91 Points Wine Spectator Sleight of Hand Cellars 2007 "The Illusionist" Red Blend $40 2007 "The Archimage" Red Blend $40 (Our favorite of the evening) Sparkman Cellars 2008 "Lumiere" Chardonnay $25 - 92 Points Wine Enthusiast 2007 "Stella Mae" Red Blend $42 - 90 Points Wine Enthusiast These and other fine wines available from Northwest Wine Fan |
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| By early evening we had tried more wine than we thought humanly possible. Time for a bite to eat! As we left the party there was still a line waiting to get in. So off we went to "Le Pigeon," a restaurant we had heard of but not yet tried. We were joined by our friends Ryan, Dolcie and Marcus. We invited Matt from Ex Cellars who distributes Owen Roe wines, but he had a previous engagement. Matt surprised us though, by dropping in to say howdy and leaving us a bottle of 2008 Owen Roe Slide Mountain Cabernet Franc to try. Yummy! For appetizers we enjoyed the Little Gem Lettuce salad and Pigeon Onion Soup. We shared entrees of Duck with spaetzle and black trumpets, and the Pork with fennel, saffron and chimichurri. We ordered a bottle of 2008 Marcel Lapierre Morgan Beaujolais to have with our appetizers and thoroughly loved the Owen Roe Slide Mountain Cab Franc with our entrees. A good time was had by all! But now it was time to head back to the motel. |
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| Le Pigeon 738 East Burnside Portland, OR 97214 503-546-8796 Monday - Saturday 5:00 - 10:00 PM Sunday 5:00 - 9:00 PM www.lepigeon.com |
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| Roll your mouse over the pictures... |
| Enjoy the music!... |
