Wine and Wineries: A Win-Win

Tonight I had the pleasure of tending bar at the re-opening of UW's Women's Center, a role that I'm now familiar with (over the past year I've been the bartending at Henry Art Gallery events) and decidedly in love with. There is a distinct possibility that bar-tending is my calling in life (or, you know, a side career). Let's look at the facts here, shall we? I get to socialize with copious amounts of fresh (well, at the start of the night) faces for 2 to 3 minute intervals (which, by the way, is the perfect amount of time before the "hi, nice to meet you" conversation gets stale), discuss the evening, answer questions about the wine, and feel good about sending them on their way with a compliment or a witty remark. And, all the while, I lightly sip my own, complimentary beverage and take in the scene while chuckling at my inner monologue (and, likely, judgments). In fact, I am currently enjoying a tasty glass of tonight's Pinot Noir (my favorite... This one isn't bad: Main Street Winery, Napa, 2008) with my roommate, a reward for all of my enjoyable chatting earlier this evening.

Speaking of wine (and, um, tasting it), this past weekend I had the pleasure of leaving schoolwork and stress behind with about a dozen friends as we headed to Leavenworth for an Oktoberfest celebration. For those unfamiliar with this bizarre little town, it's nestled in the Cascades, about 2.5 hours outside of Seattle. Seriously, this "alpine Bavarian village" is fashioned like it's straight out of Germany (circa the 1800's) and was all sorts of abuzz for this festive event; it was, in short, totally nuts.

Somehow, between polka dances, giant bratwursts and beer steins, a few of us managed to sneak away for about 4 hours to check out the spoils from local wineries. Though mildly fuzzy, I'm confident there were two tastings and two bottles of wine involved, paired with scintillating conversation. The wine was most certainly awesome (Nebiollo?), the overall day/night/36 hours was fabulous, and the verdict? Everyone should check out Leavenworth, especially during the month of October.

And, in case you're interested in checking it out further...

Leavenworth, WA

http://www.leavenworth.org/modules/pages/?pageid=1