winegirlblogs

Our WineGirl of the Week for June 30th arrived in summer style from the wet side. Saira came with five of her friends to experience the Lake Chelan-dependence weekend! And like every year it will be a weekend to remember.

Saira’s Saturday activities included the Manson Farmer’s Market at the Manson Grange as well as the Manson Public Library book sale before she came to hang out at The Blending Room to sip a succulent glass of our Firá Chardonnay. Saira’s heading to a BBQ tonight and of course watching the Chelan fireworks before she’s off to bed to catch some beauty rest for Sunday.

Why does she need to rest up for Sunday, you ask? Well, Sunday is jam-packed with Kiwanis BBQ Chicken and the annual classic car show Rods and Wheels. My oh my! But then, what better way to end a July 4th weekend than with a second showing of booms and bangs sure to delight. The little village on the bay will host the Fourth of July fireworks for all to see. I sure can’t wait!

Good luck Saira! We hope you can fit it all in and get some serious sun time before heading back to Seattle. It was a pleasure to host you and your friends!

Cheers,
WineGirl

Drain

The result of all that mud digging posted in First Things First was a new drain.

Which way?	This way.	Long way.
Pipe Web	Foreman	Fifthman
Pipe, Pipe, Pipe	This is it.	Ain't she a b'yute?

I never thought I’d be so proud of a hole in the ground. We’ll even have a space for a sanitizing sink in the winery to clean all of our winemaking tools.

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Carpet

While the boys were having their way with the pipes, I was working diligently on our décor. This meant tearing up the hideous blue indoor-outdoor carpet. You’d think this would be easy… you’d just need a putty knife. (Putty knife shown below.)

HAH! This carpet was completely GLUED down from corner to corner, and it seemed the more I tugged the more glue there was! This was the first time The Blending Room made my lateral muscles so sore I could hardly breathe the next day; but it hasn’t been the last.

Cheers,
WineGirl

Well, I just realised I hadn’t actually prefaced The Blending Room with more than the announcement. You can’t follow along very well on our TBR project if you  haven’t got a good idea of where we started, can you?

So, this is the cement block nest into which we decided to put our ostrich egg called WineGirl Wines. Maybe it was the romance of the blustery, snowy January day that swept us off our feet; or maybe we forgot that its best to make life changing decisions in the summer time when the brain functions at full capacity. Studies in the Antarctic have shown that during prolonged periods of exposure to subfreezing temperatures, the human brain undergoes hormonal changes that cause us to suffer from forgetfulness and idiocy…

Actually, this is our dream come true and we’re making it home. One day soon, we’ll paint it anything but orange. Hopefully very soon. Note the fabulous garage doors, there’s TWO! And yes, they’re functional and inspirational. Note also the ridiculous metal posts to the left that make up the potential future The Blending Room sign. What are we going to put in two different spaces?


The Blending Room is roughly 1500 square feet. The CMUs (concrete masonry units) of the walls are painted white on the inside giving it an industrial look. The ceiling is unfinished with white plastic lining the insulation and white painted 1×4′s holding it all up. Hmm, not sure how I feel about that.


There’s an ADA bathroom and small little kitchen near the carpeted area that will become the tasting area. Note the hideous carpet, it will come up (literally) in conversation again. We missed pictures of the kitchen, but it’s quaint and has an ancient piece of cupboard hanging in it. That will go. Then pink laminate window sills. Hmm, they are the kind of pink that goes with our color palette, but pink? laminate? window sills? Hmm… On the flip side, note also the amazing windows that will let in the sweet Chelan sun light! I can’t wait.

On the outside we envision fences, patios and decks. Good fences make good neighbors, patios make for good places to hang and I’d like the view to be focuse don the green landscape and not our neighbors baby blue tasdte for all things trimmed in blue.

Keep up with The Blending Room improvements as we try to keep the blog up to date with them too. Be patient, they’ll keep coming.

-WineGirl and Javier

Wow! Wow is all I can really say. This huge event knocked us off our feet, literally.

Last weekend March 5th, 6th, and 7th, WineGirl Wines represented themselves in the Wine Garden of the NW Women’s Show! This event turned the Qwest Field Event Center into a mad house of pink and women’s gear!

Over 28,000 people poured into this event tasting new treats, learning of new objects like the bra barrette, sniffing olfactory pleasures from the House of Matriarch, not to mention free admission to the wine garden where 30 wineries poured their passion in to 3 oz plastic cups. Holy Cow!

Smiling servers:

1) Who everyone was there for: Washington State Fire Fighters. All proceeds from wine sales and sale of the 2010 Fire Fighter Calendar went to WSCFF Burn Foundation.

2) When I wish I had a camera in my brain: Professional convention go-er/Steam Punk chick had a long chat with me, all the while I tried NOT to stare at her two sets of yellowed vampire fangs, yes on purpose. Crazy!

3) New lessons were learned: Please forgive me, Professor Stearns for not listening in your marketing class during the demographics session. Apparently: “95% women, 25-65+, 85% work outside the home, 90% live within a 50 mile radius of Seattle” does not encompass your typical wine appreciator.

4) New friends were made:

• Christi from House of Matriarch stopped by. What a doll and inspiration! She was reading my tasting notes for My Derby Wife Merlot “…full tannin structure and cherry blossom bouquet… when she almost spits the wine out! What? I ask. She laughs and explains that cherry blossom is not a reproducible scent! How funny, and she would know as a professional nose!
• Kathy Charlton of Olympic Cellars. A true kindred spirit and role model. She was a veteran of the NW Women’s Show and had brought along her fun wines from the Working Girl series.
• And of course, fellow Lake Chelan winery owner of Hard Row to How had to stop by to check out the competition. Don Phelps is such a genuine man. I am so lucky to have his passion for wine in my own backyard. But I couldn’t help but giggle when he told me about the pasties he was going to bring back to his tasting room!

5) Newest Team Wino Member:

6) What almost made me cry: When the Matriarch returned at the end of the LONG event and gave me a sample of her Ultimate Bath pillow. I just wanted to draw the hot water right there and slip right in with the stunning bath pillow caressing my tired skin. Thank you!

We here at WineGirl Wines have been relatively quiet over the last few months; and some of you may have heard rumors. So at last, it’s time to make a public announcement: We are moving to Chelan!

It’s true. We’re packing up and leaving behind our Seattle/Sammamish digs. That’s right, you heard it! We’re finally going to bring the true WineGirl and Javier experience to you in our brand new location in Manson, Washington, right off the North Shore Lake Chelan Highway 150 in the land of 300 days of sun.

In May 2010, we will open our doors wide and let the winos loose upon our new tasting room and winery facility (well new to us, not so new to Manson). Swing on by and bring your friends, so you can enjoy The Blending Room Experience.

See you soon,
WineGirl

The Blending Room
by WineGirl Wines
222 E Wapato Way
Manson, WA 98831
(206) 659-9463