Busy, Busy, Busy!

Whew! This is going to be just a quick update. It was a crazy busy weekend for Spring Release and then with the WSWE (Washington State Wine Experience) buyers here last night. And with Balloon Stampede here this weekend I can already tell that it’s going to be a crazy summer. But I just love when it starts to get busy around here. Makes things move that much quicker.

We all made it through Spring Release this year. We had some awesome customers come through, like always, both new and old. It is always fun to see new faces mixed in with some of our longtime friends. We did our normal tasting in our production building, where we were pouring our 2007 Dry White Riesling, 2007 Estate Barbera, Non-Vintage Red Wine, 2007 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet, 2006 Columbia Valley Merlot, 2006 “Artist Series” Cabernet and our new release the 2006 Estate Red Wine. What a fun line-up of wines. We also held our first event in our brand new Reserve House, where we poured the 2006 “Old Vines” Cabernet and the 2002 “Old Vines” Cabernet from a magnum as a bonus. We were so excited to get in there after all this time. The building is going to be a great addition to the Woody grounds.

Right after Spring Release we got to turn around and get things ready for the WSWE, which we hosted here yesterday afternoon. There were 16 different Walla Walla Valley Wineries pouring and around 60 buyers. Talk about a crazy event. I met Rick at the WWCC Enology and Viticulture Center at noon and we brought 8 of the buyers out to Woodward for wood-fire pizza lunch after a quick trip through the Estate Vineyard. Then it was off to Walla Walla Wine Works for their next session before all 60 buyers were back here to taste with the 16 WW Valley Wineries. Due to Mother Nature not cooperating with us, we had to do the event in our production building. We had more wine flowing than I’ve seen in a really long time. It was crazy. It reminded me of a swarm of bees at the speed everyone went through and tasted everything. Then it was off to L’Ecole #41 for a bbq dinner.

This weekend brings us the Walla Walla Balloon Stampede. We’ll have balloon enthusiasts coming to the valley as early as today to start taking trial runs and getting ready. As a local in this valley I’ve always enjoyed this weekend. I remember as a kid getting up early in the morning to see if I could spot any balloons in the sky. Though, if the weather stays like it is today, I’m not sure if we’ll see any this weekend. With the wind blowing like it is, who knows where the balloons would land if they ever got up.

For those of you in Seattle, check out Daniel’s Broiler this month. They are showcasing Washington wines and one of their features is Woodward Canyon! Also, if you’re in the Coeur D’Alene area, Rick and Darcey will be doing a winemaker’s dinner at Beverly’s the Coeur D’Alene Resort on May 17th. Call Beverly at 208-765-4000 directly for more information. And here’s a sneak peak of the menu if anyone is interested. Looks like they are pairing some great food with some older vintages of Woodward Canyon wines, which we're sold out of here at the winery.

Amuse Bouche: Tuna Nicoise – 2007 Estate Sauvignon Blanc
Salad: Tropic Salad – 2006 Washington State Chardonnay
Appetizer: Smoked Copper River Salmon Carpaccio – 2006 Columbia Valley Merlot
Intermezzo: Washington Apple Granite’
Entrée: Veal Osso Buco, Seared Yellow Fin Tuna and Roasted Squab with Smoked Tomato Compote – 2004 “Old Vines” Cabernet, 2001 “Artist Series” Cabernet and 2005 “Artist Series” Cabernet
Cheese: A trio of the world’s fine cheeses – 2003 Charbonneau Red
Kiss Goodnight: Chocolate Chipotle Cupcake

See you all in the tasting room!

Ciao,

Shari / Woodward Canyon