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The Original

A man named Ron came into The Blending Room last week. I thought I recognized him from somewhere. An older gentleman, bald on top, but a very well manicured white beard on the bottom. He looked as if perhaps he had forgotten his top hat home. He was very kind, but direct almost a little gruff. I knew I was in good hands when he began delving into his wine background. Turns out he retired only to find himself Chief Taster at Columbia Winery for over eight years.

Columbia Winery was the first winery I ever visited. I was 16, maybe I just turned 16. My boyfriend and I were celebrating my birthday on the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train. It was the mystery edition tour, a real Who Done It? where everyone’s a suspect and we all have to untangle the planted actors from the guests to solve the murder. Turns out the stuffed Husky dog I received as a surprise birthday gift was the culprit. Go figure.

Anyway, we arrived at Columbia Winery in Woodinville after what seemed like hours traveling time from Renton. Guess the commute’s still the same, even in a car. I’m not sure if I actually tasted wine that night, seeing as I was a paranoid goody two shoes and didn’t want to get caught drinking under-age. Maybe I sipped off my boyfriend’s glass, as he was after all of age. We purchased two bottles of wine. One was drunk at some point, and the other I have carried with me throughout nearly half my life. It’s a 1994 Columbia Valley Merlot. Not sure if the late Master of Wine David Lake made it or not. When I find the bottle I’ll add it to this post.

Well, throughout the next decade and a half I have found several reasons to visit Columbia Winery. One, I purchased a wine barrel from them in 2003 for my Sonoma County ΦΗΡΑ Cabernet Merlot. And, I went tasting with some friends where I purchased a 2000 Pinot Gris, that I still have too. It’s the label of the month for June along with the 1997 Yakima Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from the Otis Vineyard. If you look closely you can see the scratch marks from years of storage on my fancy Ikea wine rack. I’ll probably never open either. They’re part of my story. Probably better that way, seeing as white wines do not age well, and well reds, well… I believe on either of those occasions I may have run into Ron behind the Columbia Winery bar. It felt great to be on the other side of the bar from Ron. It allowed me to see how far I’ve come in the WineGirl Wines endeavor.

Saturday February 20th was declared the First Annual Derby Wife Day (by me). So to celebrate Killer Bee-otch threw her best derby girlfriends a wine party hosted by WineGirl Wines and featuring My Derby Wife Merlot. The party was hosted at the Danger-Wench Palace by Rat City Rollergirls’ Sara Problem, Raven Mad and Shovey Chase. THANKS GUYS!

The night was a raging success, besides (as BomBarb pointed out) that George Carlin might advise us to never attend a “First Annual” anything.

We had a ceremony uniting best friends or as rollergirls call ‘em: Derby Wives. Go here to learn about the Derby Wife tradition. The ceremony was officiated by Megatron and our girl-of-flying-petals was The Mexican Fury.

I want to wish all the best and a long an happy life to the following Derby Wife unions:

• In a rare move, a retired skater married a referee! The Stiletto-Beg Union! (Jo Jo Stiletto and Mae Kim Beg).
• The Kafkanovelopolites are no longer living in sin, the Danger-Wench union is official. (Raven Mad, Shovey Chase and Sara Problem).
  
• And a union freshmeat, The Plated-Shorty-Sheedy Union!
• Finally, announcing the Killer Bee-otch union to Scarlet Leather and attended by Sheeza Brickhouse!

Congratulations to all and I look forward to next years’ Derby Wife Day!

A very special thanks to Tash-ya Round’s fabulous chocolate-covered strawberries from her Elegant Gourmet Catering biz. YUM!

Are you planning a Derby Wife celebration? It wouldn’t be complete without the 2007 Wahluke Slope My Derby Wife Merlot inspired by the Rat City Rollergirls. Pick some up here and now!

-WineGirl aka Killer

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The University of Washington Foster School of Business had their annual Challenge for Charity Auction this past weekend at the Chateau Ste Michelle winery. The auction raised net proceeds over $100,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of King County and the Special Olympics of Washington. What’s even more exciting is that the Foster School of Business has now contributed over $1,000,000 to our amazing charities.

As WineGirl, it has always been my dream to lead my passion in way a that gives back to my community. As owner of WineGirl Wines, I can now proudly say that I have been able to realize this dream. In January of 2009, WineGirl Wines donated a case of 2007 Red Mountain Firá Merlot to the C4C Auction, which was followed by our August of 2009 Release Party sponsorship of The Treehouse for foster children. Then a donation to the Wine for Haiti Fundraiser followed by this year’s donation to Challenge for Charity of 2007 Wahluke Slope My Derby Wife Merlot made it our third and fourth official donations to build community.

This is small in comparison to the amazing ways others have given back to our community, but it is a committed start to a lifelong dream. It would be such a blessing if I could continue to help, so that the children of these charities may lead their passions and realize their dreams. Thanks to all of you for helping make this dream come true for me and helping to grow this small act of charity with WineGirl Wines!

Ciao,

WineGirl

As the New Year set in, tragedy hit home to millions on a little island in the Caribbean sea. We here in Seattle are well-known for our brilliance, lets say. Perhaps it’s the doldrum grey winter weather igniting the brain bulbs, but alas I can confidently say that most flashes of brilliance hitch a ride on the tie-die conveyor belt and are lost to the ether.

However, just the other day my good friend Garren’s bulb flashed and has burned brightly for over a week as he hit the pavement running on a wild hair. He set out on a mission to help those less fortunate in Haiti, by directing an ad-hoc silent auction of beautiful Pacific Northwest wines and among other delectable pleasures worthy of bidding for such a fantastic cause.

My advice with a grain of salt: Get out there and do something yourself or support Garren’s charismatic efforts!

This Saturday at the Vineyard Table in Seattle. Suggested donation $25, first 50 get a free bottle of wine. Browse the silent auction collection, of which we donated 6 bottles of wine, two My Derby Wife bottles of Merlot signed by yours truly Killer Bee-otch #36 of the Rat City Rollergirls included.

Facebook Event Wine For Haiti Fundraiser

Twitter Hash Tag #wineforhaiti

Wine for Haiti Beneficiaries:

• 45% Wyclef Jean’s (a native Haitian) YELE foundation: http://yele.org/
• 45% Doctors Without Borders: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org
• 10% Local Seattleite Charyn Pfeuffer’s Global Citizen Project

All the Best,
WineGirl

This week, we took the time to rack some aging wines. Racking entails transfering the wine from the barrel, washing out the sediment (lees), returning the wine to the barrel and topping off the barrel with extra wine. We transfer the wine by pressurizing the barrel with inert gas and pushing the wine through the hose to the waiting vessel. This method is very gentle on the wine and limits unnecessary exposure to the air. It’s nice not to have to use the pump for this process. As much as I like our little pump, it requires priming which can be a chore, especially for this job. The WineGirl was anxious to get started moving wine, so I cranked up the stereo and connected the bulldog to the nitrogen tank and got going.

With the wines properly racked off the lees and the barrels cleaned, WineGirl, Brother Ben and I returned the wine to their home barrels for some more months to age undisturbed. The 1 1/2 inch diameter hose can get heavy after a while of being filled with wine, but everyone was holding up fine until the last drop. I won’t forget again that I can’t clear the line of wine by pushing the gas through to the barrel. It seems like a fine idea until you see the result all over the wall or your brand new sweatshirt.

Brother Ben was a good sport about the eruption, our largest to date. He learned a valuable lesson about wearing new and/or light colored clothing to the cellar. I learned that time taken to clear the lines by gravity is better spent than by scrubbing the ceiling. The WineGirl was amused by the whole situation though, and it was she who was at the controls. She didn’t look too sorry, Ben.

J.H.