Big Fat Wine

It’s officially summer.  Today is the solstice.  Here at Big Fat central we have new babies.  I’m not talking about the 1000′s of bunnies running (or hopping) around but our one vine has baby gapes.  The vine was here when we moved in and we tried to identify it by the leaves and fruit last year but our lack of horticulture training proved to make this an impossibility.  By the time the fruit was ripe enough to eat the raccoons had stripped the vines bare, but it sure was beautiful.   This year our vine is covered in premature clusters.  I’m going to take that as a good sign.

Well today was the longest day of the year.  A long, cold, wet, cloudy day. Good thing I can dig a good chilly day but I sure am ready for a good warm or even hot day.

The wildflowers are blooming but they seem confused.  It has been so cold and wet this spring that I’m not sure how the yard is going to react.  The same is true for my choice in wines.  Usually by this time in the year I am looking for light, fresh reds or even refreshing whites.  This year, not so much.  I just heard that in Fairbanks Alaska today it was seven degrees warmer than it was here.  SHEESH!  Mother nature is either pissed or crazy… or maybe both.

As Always,

Love, Laugh, Learn… LIVE!

Overcast, wet and rainy Father’s Day in Seattle. Deja – Vu. It doesn’t matter whether the kids are 5 or 23, they still remain the best breakfast cooker-uppers on Father’s Day! The only thing missing is Fiona and Liesel because they are “grow’d up and living on their own”, but they are definitely in my heart as always. The bare bones office is now setup and I thought I would crack open a “wine once enjoyed”.

2008 Columbia Valley The Last Straw We had this earlier this year at a wine bar in Bend, Oregon with Josh and Liesel and we enjoyed it immensely. Of course, we enjoyed everything we had the pleasure of partaking in that evening. As I sit looking through wine blogs, wine business pages and reading about wine history, I am picking up on the aromas of wet stones, and cherries. Flavors of plumbs and wheat. At the King County Library, you would probably find this under “Pacific Northwest Bordeaux”. The blends are what I love! Now I am getting a bit sentimental thinking about that evening in Bend, but wine often times is a great media for reminiscing and remembrances. Family is numero uno. What more can I say? Wine is thicker than water and if you immerse yourself in all that it brings to life, you will enjoy each day to its fullest. To a “wine once enjoyed” and a wonderful Father’s Day …again!

See, everything goes with wine.  We love Fathers Day around here.  The kids fix breakfast in bed for Joel and present him with tokens of their affection and sappy cards.  Then we get to think of all the chores that they (or we) have avoided in the past few months and guilt them into action; “Dad is going to (fill in blank with procrastinated chore) and it’s Fathers Day.” Of course the kids jump into action to keep him from doing anything.  If the sun shines then it will be a weekend filled with yard work.  If the sun doesn’t shine then it’s a weekend of setting up the new office and cleaning out the family room and garage.  Muwahahahaha {insert evil laugh}

For Fathers Day dinner, I think it’s time to break the barbecue and the credit cards out of mothballs and spring for a couple of really good steaks.  This calls for the Moda’ from Talamonti Vineyard Italy.  I spoke about this wine about a week ago from a tasting at WineStyles in Federal way.  I think I mentioned that I thought the smoky taste will go perfect with rare barbecued beef.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

As Always,

Love, Laugh, Learn… LIVE!

<>

Summer is just around the corner. Backyard barbecues, porch parties, sunshine until 10:00 PM, pink sky at night, when the air is warm and feels soft on my skin and the smell of flowers and fresh cut lawns, Ahhhh I love it! My yard looks like crap right now though. The spring here in the northwest has been cold and rainy; not great for getting the yard into shape.

I had planned to invite friends over for the solstice (first day of summer) but with my yard looking the way it does… NO WAY. There isn’t enough wine in the world to make this look good. I think I need to spend the next couple of weekends working instead of running around to tastings, wineries and vineyards.

Maybe I can just use my time a little better and do both?!?… maybe?

I know that the weather here has been down right strange, and I imagine that it probably holds true in other areas as well. I wonder how the grapes will react to the situation. I know hard times can make for some really exceptional wines so here’s hoping that through all this we get some really great wine in the next couple of years.  

As Always,

Love, Laugh, Learn… LIVE!

<>

Grocery Shopping Just Got Fun!

In the state of Washington, a new license endorsement is available for grocery stores who want to offer beer and wine tasting in their stores. The new law was effective June 10, 2010. Like any other law, there is some state control;

Tasting Conditions

Tastings must be conducted under the following conditions:

• Samples must be 2 ounces or less, up to a total of 4 ounces per customer during any one visit to the premises;
• The licensee must have food available for the tasting participants;
• Customers must remain in the service area while consuming samples; and
• The service area and facilities must be located within the licensee’s fully enclosed retail area. The retail area must be of a size and design so that the licensee can observe and control persons in the area to ensure that persons under 21 years of age and apparently intoxicated persons do not possess or consume alcohol. SSB 6329 – Fact Sheet SSB 6329 – Additional Requirements

The following requirements also apply:

• Employees of licensees whose duties include serving during tasting activities must hold a class 12 alcohol server permit;
• Wineries and breweries may provide personal services such as pouring at a grocery store holding a beer and wine tasting endorsement. The cost of sampling may not be borne, directly or indirectly, by the brewery or winery; and
• A licensee may advertise tasting events only within the store, on a store website, in store newsletters and flyers, and via e-mail and mail to customers who have requested notice of events.

Washingtonians, this will be a new and unique experience. I think a lot of people are intimidated by the fancy wine bars. This will give people the opportunity to get a few tastes in as they frantically fill their carts with groceries. Just like the wine bars, you’re more willing to try a new wine if you get to taste it first. For us  Seattle rain people, it will be strangely unique but I really think it will be successful and draw a lot of attention. Wine sales will spruce up and (fingers crossed) and hopefully it will add more of a varied selection of good wines. Maybe, just maybe, the shelves will be a little more organized. It isn’t difficult at present to figure out. The less expensive wines are on the bottom shelf, and the more spendy bottles on the top shelf. The problem is that the California reds are often combined with the imports, under a huge sign that says “Australia”. Organization is the key. For us that know exactly what we are looking for, we want to quickly grab and go. There can be at least some element of class. After all, it is wine, not the canned vegetables section!

The mere fact that there is a tasting limit, keeps me from coming home late after running to the store for laundry soap. Of course it also provides a great reason for smelling like alcohol even if you did stop off at the wine bar! (Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…)

<>

We just got out tickets for this years annual members only events at Chateau Ste. Michelle.  We have been members of the wine club for years.

From the very first time we made our way down the grapevine lined driveway and felt the romance oozing from every nook and cranny we knew that we wanted to be a part of it.

On our first visit we wanted to see everything and learn everything that we could about the place and the wines so we signed up to take the free visitors tour.  The room where you wait for the tour to start is the same room that the members come to pick up their quarterly allotment and used to have exclusive members tastings of the current selections.   The members tasting area isn’t in the main room anymore but at that time it still was so we watched as “members” came in and were greeted like old friends and poured tastes of the wines that they were picking up while the tasting room associates gave information and suggestions for each bottle.   We had to join.

We don’t have our bottles shipped so we have an excuse to get away to a mini vacation 8 times a year.  We know when we get there we will be able to shake off whatever stresses are going on at work or at home and just relax and enjoy for a couple of hours.

We have had to cut some corners to compensate for the economy but one thing that we have decided is a necessity and neither of us is willing to cut is our membership to CSM!

Click here for wine club membership details.

My friend Paula just turned (number deleted just because).  She has a blow out birthday party every year and it’s always a great way to kick off the summer season for Joel and I.

We arrived and as usual she had a table of goodies, a cooler of beer and a bucket of some of the best fruit “spodie” on the planet.  I don’t know her recipe (if she told me she would have to kill me)  but I do know it involves soaking her fruit in heavenly elixir for days ahead of time.

The menu changes but most of the faces remain the same.  Paula has an amazing circle of family and friends and I am honored to be counted among them.  Paula’s almost brother-in-law and I always seem to get involved in long drawn out conversations about politics, religion, the state of the nation and other such normally taboo subjects.  It’s fun for us as we both understand the delicacies and subtle rules of debate and consider it our sport of choice; however, the crowd seems to give us a wide berth until we come up for air, or more spodie whichever comes first.

What can we count on every year at Paula’s birthday party?  Great people, flowing alcohol, good conversation, classic rock music with a splash of disco just for the dance-ability, and the feeling of absolute acceptance for whoever you are.   Paula is one of those types of people who loves with her whole heart.

When you have a friend who loves all the way and accepts no matter what is going on in your life it is a true blessing.  I am lucky to have had that in my life since I was in second grade.  Paula lived 2 houses down and across the street and was the first person I met in the neighborhood.  We became fast friends and were inseparable for most of our growing up years.   By the way, I was the wild one.

When we got home, we discovered that we had an addition to our already incredibly full household.  We were met at the door by the cutest kitten that you’ve ever seen.   Apparently our son Josh’s friend was booted from his rental house because the owner didn’t bother making the mortgage payment and it was foreclosed on so they are looking for a new rental and need somewhere for this sweet baby to stay until they find a new home.  I don’t know if I’m going to be able to give it back, but I’ll try.

As always,

Love, Laugh, Learn… LIVE!

<>

Your news sources are a very personal thing.  I know that the places I look and listen for news have become such a huge part of my day that I don’t quite feel like I’m “all here” if I don’t hit the TV, radio or computer before I have to function in the real world.

So, where do I look and listen?

I wake up to channel 13 (Q13 Fox in Seattle) morning news.   The crew is serious but not too serious (sorta like me) but they seem to have fun and really enjoy each other and what they do… me, me, me.  (sorry Groundhog day flash backs).

Then 102.5 KZOK’s morning show (The Bob Rivers Show) on the way to work.  These guys are great, very different but great.  Some days I love them and other days I love to hate them, either way, feel the “love”.  They have an oil and water type of mixture that just works, it never fully blends but it works in a functionally dysfunctional balanced unbalanced sort of way.

In the evening Channel 7 KIRO news is where I end my news day.  This production is a nice way to end the day.  They are always soothing no matter what they are reporting.

So, what does this have to do with wine?   Well, nothing… but everything has to do with wine or I should say the wine lifestyle.  By the wine lifestyle I mean relaxed, life enjoying, family centered, fun filled, wine glass half full sort of point of view.   We don’t live there every day but we do live there more  than not.  Some days (like today) things don’t exactly run smooth as silk.  Every day, every single day we look for the good things in ourselves and in each other and in our situation.

Why watch or listen to the news?  Because it keeps us connected, let’s us know what’s going on around us and sometimes even reminds us how much we have to be thankful for.  I can let the news drag me down or I can use the news to build me up, the choice is mine.  Every day, every single day I try to remember to live my Big Fat Lifestyle by choice no matter what is going on around me.  I can’t control what other people do but I can control how I react.

As always,

Love, Laugh, Learn… LIVE!

<>