A few weeks ago, the Wine Peeps team hosted a Digging into the Cellar Party for about fifteen of our closest wine loving friends. The theme was Rhone-style wines, and we bookended a blind tasting of eighteen 2005 Washington Syrahs with a 2005 Chateau de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape from France and a 2001 Penfolds Grange from […]

Last week, we had the pleasure to take part in an online Chilean Red Blends tasting hosted by Wines of Chile. Eight Chilean winemakers/winery representatives convened in Chile to talk about their wines via videoconference to 50 wine bloggers across the United States. “Chile is red grapes paradise,” said Master Sommelier Fred Dexheimer who moderated […]

The Loire Valley is France’s third largest wine region. It is a long, narrow region that runs predominately east/west along the Loire River. The region spans about 600 miles. The Loire Valley includes 65 appellations and produces wines from over a dozen grape varieties. There is great diversity in Loire Valley wines due to its […]

Woodinville has definitely become a must-visit destination in Washington wine country. Home of the state’s oldest, largest, and most well-known wineries, Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia Winery, the Woodinville area is also home to over 90 wineries and tasting rooms, with new ones opening all the time. Woodinville now boasts the second largest concentration of […]

This past weekend, the Washington wine industry hosted its 23rd annual Auction of Washington Wines. The Auction has raised more than $24 million since its inception in 1988 to benefit the uncompensated care program at Seattle Children’s Hospital and since 2001, the Washington Wine Education Foundation, funding viticultural and enological research across the state. This […]

Coming up in two weeks is the Auction of Washington Wines, the original, largest, and most prestigious charity auction showcasing the stars of Washington wine. It has raised more than $23 million since its inception in 1988. It’s a great weekend for both wine and charity. There are many ways for you to participate: Barrel […]

During the recent Riesling Rendezvous, one of my favorite sessions was the Ageability of Riesling workshop, which made a strong case for the age worthiness of Riesling. In fact, Riesling is probably the most age worthy of all white wine varieties. This workshop, moderated by Stuart Pigott, featured two wines from nine different producers, one […]

Good wine and great values have been the keynotes at the Rhone Rangers events that I have attended. So why was attendance down so much at this year’s trade event in Seattle, both in numbers of producers pouring wines and in distributors, restaurants, and media tasting the wines? For answers to that question, I turned […]

At the recent Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla, Washington, one of my favorite sessions of the weekend was the Food and Wine Pairing Seminar with chef Jeffrey Saad, the runner up on season 5 of The Next Food Network Star. Jeffrey is a 25-year food industry veteran and restaurateur. He has a dynamic personality, […]

This past weekend, Dad (John), Colby, and I spent three jam-packed days in Walla Walla, Washington, for the third annual North American Wine Bloggers Conference. We were joined by over 300 fellow wine bloggers, wine industry participants, and media members for tastings, keynote addresses, breakout sessions, and visits to local vineyards and wineries. [See the […]