Taste Washington draws more than 6,400 wine and food enthusiasts to the Puget Sound to celebrate Washington wine and farm fresh food. March is Washington Wine Month and will culminate with exclusive tastings, farm-to-table lunches, wine seminars and a two-day Grand Tasting of over 230 wineries and sumptuous bites from 65 fabulous restaurants. Taste Washington is a wine and foodie extravaganza.
This long weekend of celebrating Washington Wines begins on Thursday with the fifth annual Red and White party by AQUA at El Gaucho, an elite tasting of some of the top wine producers’ recent releases.
And then on Friday, three rustic, chic luncheons reflect Washington’s agricultural heritage with Taste Washington on the Farm. Home to everything from shellfish farms to fruit orchards, it’s no surprise Washington would have a fabulous farm-to-table dining scene.
Washington has hundreds of acres of grapes and hops, organic veggies and wheat. Orchards produce the biggest apple crop in the nation, and the state is well-known for its cherry crop. Blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries are just within reach. And with our miles of shoreline, freshly harvested mussels, clams, Dungeness crab and, of course, salmon grace our tables.
Delightful wines, fresh ingredients and a dose of adventure add up to three exciting new excursions to experience special farm-to-table lunches in Seattle and the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas.
Each adventure offers tours of the farm with the farmers, rubbing elbows with the chefs who create a locally sourced spread, and sipping wine with the winemakers. From the three offered, it’ll be a tough choice to make.
One choice is “Wine in the City” at the Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle, where you’ll enjoy a gourmet lunch in a charming urban farm tucked into 16 acres of beautiful gardens at the Center for Urban Horticulture. Chef Kyle Peterson from Palace Kitchen has a delectable meal planned using produce from the urban farm, supplemented by additional ingredients from Tom Douglas’ Prosser farm. Featured wineries include Mercer Family Estate and Matthews Winery.
Choice No. 2 is “Dining on Heyday Farm” on Bainbridge Island. Heyday Farms is a family-owned, 25-acre sustainable and historic farm. Diners will savor a delightful meal in the barn prepared by two local chefs, Tad Mitsui, executive chef and proprietor at Heyday Farm, and Chef Zoie Antonia.
Island wines that will be poured with lunch include Bainbridge Vineyards, Eagle Harbor Wine Co. and Fletcher Bay Winery. Others featured will be Amelia Wynn, Eleven, Perennial Vintners and Rolling Bay.
The third and most adventurous is the “Flyaway to Wine.” This is where you’ll find me. You get to travel by floatplane to the Olympic Peninsula, touching down at the picturesque Resort at Port Ludlow. Greeted dockside with a taste, you’ll then be escorted to Finnriver Farm & Cidery, a 50-acre organic family farm, orchard and artisan cidery in Chimacum. Tickets without the floatplane ride are also on sale.
After the tour, enjoy a delicious lunch in the Cider Garden prepared by Chef Dan Ratigan of The Fireside Restaurant at the Resort at Port Ludlow. Featured wineries and cider include Waterbrook Winery (one of the oldest wineries in Walla Walla), Doubleback (Drew Bledsoe’s family winery) and Finnriver Farm & Cidery.
The Grand Tasting takes place on Saturday and Sunday. In addition to the 230 wineries and more than 65 restaurants, Taste Washington will again feature an all-star chef lineup Guests are invited to watch and interact during hourly chef demonstrations from 2 to 5:30 p.m.
This year’s celebrity chefs include Brooke Williamson of Hudson House in Redondo Beach, California. Williamson was the runner-up in Bravo’s “Top Chef” Season 10, set in Seattle. The chef of Tin Roof in Maui, Sheldon Simeon, also competed in “Top Chef: Seattle” as a finalist and won fan favorite. His tropical cuisine is sure to be a hit at Taste Washington.
Tickets for the Red & White Party are $175. Tickets for the farm events range from $85 to $185. Other events include educational seminars ($45-$85), Sunday brunch ($75) and the Grand Tasting ($95-$210) To purchase tickets, visit http://tastewashington.org/
Hope to see you there.
Mary Earl has been educating Kitsap wine lovers for a couple of decades, is a longtime member of the West Sound Brew Club. She volunteers for the Clear Creek Trail, is a member of the Central Kitsap Community Council and a longtime supporter of Silverdale.
