Our host for the October edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, the blogosphere’s monthly virtual wine tasting event, is Dale Cruse of Drinks Are On Me. He selected A Grape By Any Other Name as this month’s theme and issued a semantic challenge to “taste wines labeled with their lesser-known varietal synonyms.” He also offered, “Extra […]

It’s time for another food and wine pairing challenge. As you have probably noticed, the Wine Peeps like spicy foods, so this time the menu called for a Creole/Cajun dish. As I planned the meal, I decided to prepare Shrimp Creole which I served with white rice and bayou coleslaw. If I do say so […]

The harvest began early in Washington State this year, and first indications are that it’s going to be another stellar vintage. The state of Washington has had an uninterrupted string of outstanding vintages for this entire decade, highlighted so far by 2005 and the 2007’s just now being released. According to a recent news release […]

For years, I’ve had friends tell me that they can’t find the great Washington State wines that I tell them about where they live. So with the help of Wine-Searcher.com and a lot of legwork, I’ve set out on a mission to prove them wrong. This is the second in a series of posts to […]

When most people outside of the state think of Washington wine, they only think of Walla Walla. That’s a great tribute to the marketing prowess of the Walla Walla community and its Wine Alliance but hardly an accurate statement about Washington State wines. In fact, the Walla Walla wine industry was built on the back […]

Today’s post is part of a series featuring the Women of Washington Wine. In an industry once dominated by men, more and more women are joining the ranks as winery owners, vineyard owners, and winemakers. Being a woman myself, I am fascinated by these women and what they have done and continue to do. Through […]

As we get older, many of us make our “bucket list” of things we want to do, people we want to see, and places we want to go before we kick the bucket. Even though I don’t consider myself all that old, and hopefully not close to kicking the bucket, I’ve started making some of […]

Our monthly wine tasting dinners are really the foundation upon which Wine Peeps was built. We have been getting together each month with friends to taste and evaluate wines throughout a four-course meal for years. Last Friday’s dinner featuring Washington Malbec was our 75th wine tasting dinner. To mark this milestone of sorts, we decided […]

Kori did not approve this post. She won’t tell you any of this. In fact, she is embarrassed that I am writing about her. However, with all due respect to some great female wine writers and friends: Catie, Teri, Margot, and too many more to mention, I sincerely believe that Kori is the “go-to gal” […]

The Columbia Crest Walter Clore Private Reserve, a Bordeaux-style blend, is the premier wine of Washington State’s largest winery. Former Columbia Crest winemaker extraordinaire, Doug Gore, started their Reserve Red program with the 1997 vintage, which became designated as Walter Clore Private Reserve with the 1999 vintage to recognize the pioneer who did the unexpected […]