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| A small part of the amazing wine collection at Purple |
We arrived in Seattle just in time for lunch on Thursday. My blogger friend, Christina, recommended Purple Cafe and Wine Bar, so we decided to try it. The food and service were wonderful! We’d hoped to return to try one of their unique wine flights, but unfortunately, every time we went back, there was a really long wait. If you’re in Seattle, I recommend making reservations!
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| The bottling process |
The Chateau Ste Michelle Winery hosted a pre-conference tour and tasting for IFBC attendees. It was a lovely, perfect day in Seattle. Half an hour outside the city, Woodinville is a world away. It’s rural, lush, and agricultural. The award-winning winery was established in 1912 and is famous for its Riesling. Our tour started with a flute of chilled, sparkling Michelle Brut Rosé from the Columbia Valley. It was light and would be wonderful for sipping in the garden with friends. The tour of the winery included a demonstration the bottling process and discussion of the varieties of wine they produce. Our guide led us into the tasting room where we were greeted by John Sarich. John narrated a 5-glass tasting for us that was accompanied by hors d’oeuvres that allowed us to experience the influence that wine and food have upon each other. He concluded his talk with a special signed copy of his book, Chef in the Vineyard – Fresh & Simple Recipes from Great Wine Estate.
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| Three whites, two reds, and a plate of hors d’oeuvres |
On the second day of IFBC, we attended the “Wine & Writing: Live Blogging: An Exercise in Writing with @BordeauxWines” session where we were regaled by Ward Kadel (@drXeNo) and Sam Klingberg (@brokewino) as they served us several wines from the Bordeaux region of France. My favorite, of course, was the Chateau Haut Mayne 2010 Sauternes.
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| Sauternes and Peaches |
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| Pike Place Market in the early morning |
Oh yeah!!! So happy that you went and enjoyed PURPLE, Susan! I guess I’m lucky we got to try it since there was a long line when you went back. I love your photo of the wine bar! Great post, as usual!!! 🙂
Gosh, what fun I missed! The winery tour sounds like such lovely outing…and I could certainly use some education on wine pairing. It was such an amazing conference…so, so glad we finally got to meet in person…wish we would have had more time to chat! Next time.
What an amazing time… the wine looks incredible.
I am sorry to have missed the wine tour – sounds like a great time!
I think I know that early morning market picture!
One word…. FUN!!!
I could certainly use some education on wine pairing. It was such an amazing conference…so, so glad we finally got to meet in person…wish we would have had more time to chat! Next time.
Thanks