Who needs romance when we’ve got Red Wine and Chocolate? And oh boy, do we have incredible red wines and delectable artisan chocolates lined up for two palate-rich, hedonistic weekends in February. On February 11th and 12th, we’ll have chocolate pairings by Rebecca Chatham of Tempurr Artisan Confections. She’ll bring her incredible truffles, creative mendiants and my personal favorites the chocolate salted caramels! Her chocolates are to die for and will be paired alongside a perfect selection of our red wines. We will be busting out some of our extremely limited stock of wines for these pairings, so you won’t want to miss it.

You can also meet Rebecca on Saturday and Sunday from 1 – 4pm as she discusses her passion for chocolate and shows us how to make our very own chocolate tuxedo strawberries.

Lake Chelan TraX is back and bigger than ever. For two evenings over the three-day President’s weekend, Lake Chelan will be hosting the coolest downhill trick skiing and snowboarding competition this side of the Rockies. The TraX Rail Jam is a ski and snowboard event that takes place on a two-story rail setup. 25 tons of snow will cover the setup, skiers and snowboarders will have the option to grind three different features in a jam format. They will be judged on overall impression.

TraX is on and will be loaded with a full list of activities from the frosty family fun run to the beer garden.

But the best part about TraX is The Blending Room Art pARTy! Read more HERE.

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.

The last chance to give My Derby Wife wines away for the holidays is fast approaching. Luckily there are lots of places to find these fine reds and whites.
Out now are the 2009 My Derby Wife Merlot and the 2009 My Derby Wife Chardonnay. Both are available in the greater Seattle area, Olympia, Port Angeles, Wenatchee, and Manson. For immediate shipping, email us now at winegirl@winegirlwines.com. We can pack up your wine with gift wrapping and get it on its way to derby fans far away. And shipping is only $0.01 until the end of the year. Also, contact us directly for quantity discounts or just to say hey.

Here are the stores that currently carry our My Derby Wife wines in Washington. Click on the map for more information about the shop near to you.

Happy Holidays,

J.H.

For a list of all the retail stores that carry our Kamari and Fira wines, look here.

Enjoy the sun this weekend at The Blending Room

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.

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 is a rough and tumble wine we’ve been holding onto for a while now. Bottled in June of last year, this bottle has been in the cellar until the time was right for it’s unveiling. Now you can try our ’08 My Derby Wife Cabernet Franc at The Blending Room. It’s 100% Columbia Valley Cabernet Franc with that peppery spice and a medium body. This Derby Wife is only available from our online store or at The Blending Room in Manson. Contact us directly for quantity purchases or special deliveries.

Rat City Rollergirls‘ have a bout this evening at Key Arena. It’s the Home Team Standings bout with DLF challenging Grave Danger and the Sockit Wenches going up against the Throttle Rockets. The doors open at 4:30 and you better find your seat by 5:30. Tickets are still available as of this writing but the last bout sold out, so don’t wait to get over to Seattle Center.

Have fun and good luck to Grave Danger.

J.H.

Just when we thought it was spring in Manson, we got two weeks of snowy weather here at The Blending Room. We have wine to rack soon, so the weather didn’t stop us from doing some barrel cleaning out in the snow. Racking helps clarify the wine by pulling the clean wine off the top while leaving the solid lees behind in the barrel. Longtime wino, Evan, came over from Chicago for a visit and we convinced him to help for a day in the cellar.

Evan assisted us with barrel washing, rinsing, scrubbing, moving and sulfuring just like a pro cellar rat. It’s a great help to have an extra pair of hands when moving around the heavy french oak barrels. It was a wet day at The Blending Room with a wild hose and melting snow, but any day the ends with a glassful of fine wine is a great one. I think our man, Evan, would agree.

Thanks for the help, Evan.

J.H.