Happy New Year winos.
Come celebrate winter in the Lake Chelan Valley. Winterfest has been extended to two weekends for 2012. As always, there will be ice sculptures, live music, snowmobile races, and the best in the Valley’s fine wines. The Blending Room will be open longer hours and extra days for wine tastings and special events.

Winterfest Hours for The Blending Room:

Friday, January 6th: 12 – 7
Saturday, January 7th: 12 – 7
Sunday, January 8th: 12 – 6

Friday, January 14th: 12 – 7
Saturday, January 15th: 12 – 7
Sunday, January 16th: 12 – 6
Monday, January 17th: 12 – 5

We will be having special events both weekends including bonfires in the yard Friday and Saturday evenings after dark. There will be hot cayenne cocoa, fondue, and, of course, red wines to warm up with inside The Blending Room.

And to get ready for the festivities, take a look-see at this video from last year’s event:

J.H.

Orchard Wood Ovens will be cooking up their lovely wood fired pizza pies and The Blending Room will be pouring the newly released 2010 Fira Chardonnay and very newly released 2009 My Derby Wife Gewurztraminer along with old Kamari Black Label Reserve favorites. We’re nearly sold out of 2008 Kamari wines, so come in for what may be the last weekend of this great vintage. 2009 reserve releases will follow hot on the heels.

J.H.

Washington Wine Report is the work of Sean Sullivan. Sean reviews wines and provides news about the wine industry in this state. He relieves the community of Washington wine lovers of a burden by taking on the task of sorting out all the many wines from the many Washington winemakers. It’s a serious task, but Sean seems to have a passion for, not only, reporting on Washington’s wines but unraveling the stories behind the wines and wineries. The writing is appropriately detailed but not so overly descriptive that he has to invent adjectives to finish a paragraph.

Sometimes, we here at The Blending Room get so wrapped up in our own projects, that even though we live a wine life, we lose track of what’s going on in the greater state wine community. Washington Wine Report is a useful resource for quickly getting information about new wines and new developments in our constantly changing wine region. Now that I’ve found his blog, maybe I won’t have to go to any more trade shows.

Washington Wine Report recently tasted and rated our lineup of 2008 Kamari red wines. Thanks, Sean, for the kind words.

J.H.

At The Wine Loft, you’ll find our 2009 Firá Gewurztraminer, 2008 Firá Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2008 Kamari Cabernet Franc. Stop in to meet the lovely owners, Jim and Mary Jones.

J.H.

This Wednesday, January 19th at 5 pm, we will be pouring Firá and Kamari wines at Tastebuds Coffee and Wine in Wenatchee, WA. On the tasting menu will be our ’09 Firá Gewurztraminer, ’08 Kamari Cab Franc, Malbec, and Black Label Reserve Blend. We look forward to meeting some new wine fans on Wednesday.

Tastebuds’ address is:
212 Fifth Street #2b
Weantchee, WA 98801

Their phone number is:
(509) 88T-ASTE (888-2783)

Check out their website and facebook page for more info on Tastebuds.

Hope to see you there.

J.H.

One of the newest places to find our wines is in Renton, WA at the Red House. They feature fine food and a large selection of beers and wines from local makers and from around the world. They say the atmosphere is “sophisticated and casual” and I would agree. I recently poured our Firás and Kamaris at their weekly Wednesday wine tasting event. Trucking over from Manson was a journey, but worth the trip. The Red House is a cozy place. People were very friendly and in good spirits throughout the night sharing stories and laughs with old and new friends. The wines were well received and the food provided for the event seemed to compliment nicely. The 2010 Firá Cabernet Sauvignon and 2010 Kamari Black Label Reserve Red Wine Blend were the hits of the evening.

The Red House now carries WineGirl Wines’ 2009 Firá Gewurztraminer, 2008 Firá Cab Sav, and 2008 My Derby Wife Merlot. If you need more reason to check them out, look at their full menu online. After the event wound down, I had a chance to enjoy their Red House Paella and it was a delicious and hearty meal. I’d order it again next time and pair it with our Firá Cabernet Sauvignon for a savory sensory experience.

A growing list of where to find our wines is here.

J.H.

Last Friday October 8th, we selected our Firá Chardonnay, Firá Cabernet Sauvignon, and Kamari Black Label Reserve Malbec to host the evening. Lake Chelan Cheese brought over a fancy aged Champagne Cheddar, a soft-ripened Double Crème Brie, and a classic from those crazy folks in Northern California: Humboldt Fog.

Firá _Chardonnay	Firá Cabernet Sauvignon	Kamari Black Label Malbec
Champagne Cheddar	Double Crème Brie	Humboldt Fog

The fan favorite was certainly the elegant and luscious Humboldt Fog, with its characteristic grey vegetable ash streak down the center, paired perfectly with the bright cherry notes of the Kamari Black Label Reserve Malbec. Come down this Friday for another round of cheese and wine shenanigans at The Blending Room in Manson.

Cheese,

WineGirl

The sun is shining and the boats are floating. This week’s edition netted something from the murky depths of Lake Chelan.

The Latest Dance Craze...

(From left to right) WineGuy Jeremy, Boomer, and WineGirl Wench Hayley show us what all the kids are doing. THE SQUID. That’s what happens when the name Kamari rhymes with a certain food.

THE SQUID

Thanks again for stopping in, guys. You have shown us the light. Just like all the finest wineries of Europe, we will now be offering a free squid pairing* with our portfolio of wines. Glad you enjoyed the dance-off at The Blending Room on the North Shore of Lake Chelan in Manson, WA.

Cheers,

WineGirl

*Just Kidding.

We are lucky to have Chantanee featuring our 2007 Kamari Black Label Reserve Red Wine Blend. It’s a bold wine that can stand up to Thai spices about as well as any wine. Not an easy feat.

It’s worth the trip to chat with a fine mixologist about all things booze and enjoy some spicy eats between revelations.

J.H.

UPDATE: Barman Mike has moved on from Chantanee to bigger and better things. You can still go there to find our 2007 Kamari Black Label Reserve. Follow Mike and his drink making adventures at McSology.

Marketime is in Fremont at 4416 Fremont Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98103.

See where else you can buy bottles of WineGirl Wines here.

J.H.

UPDATE:

The 2007 Cab. Franc is sold out, but MarkeTime is now carrying WineGirl Wines’ 2007 ‘My Derby Wife’ Merlot in addition to the 2008 Firá Chardonnay.