Sauced

Upcoming Drinking Events: Tiki at Liberty, Suite 410’s $5 Cocktails, and Four Roses Bourbon Night at Brouwer’s

Bibulous happenings for the week of July 4.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jul 05, 2011 at 09:30AM 1 Comments

Sunbreak: Suite 410 has $5 cocktails through August.

Photo: Facebook

When it’s all spectacular outside, you spend less time inside the bar. To lure you back, Suite 410 manager Craig DeBolt is shaving $3 off the price of cocktails during the months of July and August. All the drinks on the bar’s summer menu—including a caipirinha and a mint julep—are $5 this month and next.

Also Eastsiders: Did you know that Barrio’s Mark Sexauer is now working at Milagro Cantina in Kirkland? I didn’t—but a press release just told me that was the case. Will have to look into that. Sexauer’s El Zacatecano cava cocktail will be featured at a wine dinner on Tuesday, July 12 at the restaurant. The meal is $50 and includes, along with the drink, a three course meal. Each course is paired with a wine from Woodinville’s Pomum Cellars. Call Milagro to reserve.

Let’s have a look at where we’ll be drinking this week:

This Wednesday, July 6 Liberty is going tiki, serving up signature cocktails from PKNY (nee Painkiller) in New York City. Truth be told, the tiki gods have not been smiling upon the owners of PKNY—they were forced to change their name over a trademark squabble and have been navigating choppy waters with NYC’s health department. No fun. Know what is fun? Tasty tiki drinks. Liberty promises a super special secret guest as well.

Also on Thursday, Brouwer’s Cafe hosts a Four Roses Bourbon night. From 6pm the bar will be pouring Yellow Label, Single Barrel, Small Batch, Brouwer’s Single Barrel and flights of all four. The bar will also be making custom cocktails with each of the bourbons.

And finally, the West Seattle Summer Fest comes to West Seattle this weekend, July 8-10. Junction wine shop Bin 41 is offering special tastings for the occasion. Tastings will be held on Friday from 6 to 7:30, Saturday from 2:30-4 pm, and Sunday from 12:30-2pm. There’s a bunch of bands playing at the fest too, check out the website for more information.

Next week: Prepare your foies for Bastille Day. I’ll return shortly with the best and booziest Seattle events for celebrating the violent and bloody manner in which France overturned its monarchy.

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Tags: Kirkland, Eastside, Wine Tastings, Drinking Events, Tiki

Drinking Events This Week: Dry Fly at Meet Your Maker, Earth Day Tastings, Eggs N Ovaries

Booze-focused to-dos for the week of April 18.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Apr 19, 2011 at 10:13AM 0 Comments

Bring your reusable vessel to the 7 Seas tasting at Full Throttle Bottles in Georgetown.

On Tuesday, April 19, Palace Kitchen begins the Meet Your Maker series, “an opportunity to meet some of our favorite specialty liquor, beer and wine producers.”

Kent Fleischmann of Dry Fly Distilling in Spokane will be there from 6 to 9pm. Pay $25 to meet him and try Dry Fly’s gin, vodka, and whiskey paired with bites from the chef: scallop crudo, smoked salmon, and glazed pork belly. Details here.

Gig Harbor’s 7 Seas Brewing will be tasted at Georgetown’s Full Throttle Bottles on Wednesday, April 20 from 5 to 7pm. It’s $3, or $2 if you bring your own earth friendly vessel.

Attention organic hair-product junkies (I know you’re out there, stand up and be counted): the Local Vine on Capitol Hill is inviting Aveda over for Earth Day on Thursday, April 21 from 6 to 9pm. Admission is free and you can enter to win products. The bar will be serving organic and biodynamic wines for the occasion.

Molbak’s Garden and Home in Woodinville is hosting a wine tasting in honor of Earth Day this Friday, April 22. A $25 entrance fee buys you six “generous” pours from Brian Carter Cellars, Castillo de Feliciana, DeLille Cellars, Dusted Valley and Elsom Cellars (good wineries!), plus appetizers.

This Saturday, April 23 it’s Eggs N Ovaries in Ballard: you donate, you get a wristband, and you run around Ballard bars looking for hidden Easter eggs. The event benefits ovarian cancer research, all the info you need is here.

Sunday, April 24—some people call it Easter—Bottleworks welcomes Full Sail Brewing to the store. It’s a chance to try 10 beverages (year-rounds, seasonals, and barley wine) from the fine Hood River, Oregon brewery for the bargain price of $1.

Bottleworks opens at 11am on Sundays.

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Tags: Tastings and Classes, Beer and Food Pairing, Earth Day, Georgetown, Washington Wines, Ballard, Woodinville, Wine Tastings, Beer, Capitol Hill, Seattle Beer

The Weekend Wine Report

A kosher wine tasting, Passport to Woodinville, Spring Barrel Tasting in Yakima.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Apr 15, 2011 at 11:33AM 0 Comments

Taste kosher wines tonight at Wine World Warehouse.

photo courtesy: kjubi.com

Save: on kosher wines
Everything must go! With Passover beginning at sundown this Monday, April 18, Wine World Warehouse is discounting its kosher stock and hosting a free tasting on Friday, April 15 from 6 to 8pm—tasting bar wines are an additional 10 percent off tonight.

Spend: $75 for six weeks’ worth of tastings in Woodinville
Passport to Woodinville begins anew this weekend, but it’s working a bit differently this year. If you haven’t yet procured a ticket, get on it—the last day to buy one is Saturday, April 16. Once you have it, however, you can present it at participating wineries for the next six weeks and they will give you a free tasting. Details here.

Sip: Yakima’s latest
If you need to get out of town this weekend, don’t forget about the Spring Barrel Tasting in Yakima. Winey sunshine madness is sure to ensue.

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Tags: Wine Tastings, Woodinville, Yakima, Passover, Kosher Wine, Weekend Events

Road Trip: Spring Barrel Tasting in Yakima

You live in wine country, people. Go drink some!

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Apr 06, 2011 at 10:12AM 1 Comments

Spring Barrel Tasting in Yakima begins April 15.

Photo courtesy: oxfordsuitesyakima.com

Do you sometimes forget you live in wine country? Serious wine people—bless their hearts—like to marvel over the fact that some people have never even been to Walla Walla! But the rest of us, distracted by the many treats of urban life (Gourmet pork rinds! Shiny boots! Professional soccer!), sometimes lose sight entirely of our premier grape-growing regions.

Here’s one awesome way to remember: take a road trip to Yakima April 15 through 17 for Spring Barrel Tasting. For one thing, the sun (remember that guy?) is far more likely to shine over there than out here. For another, there will definitely be wine. Lots of it. Fifty wineries worth. A $45 ticket buys you access to all kinds of different tastings.

Here are some suggestions from our travel department on where to eat, drink and sleep while you’re there.

Now go on, get out of here.

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Tags: Wineries, Wine, Wine Tastings, Yakima, Washington Wine Regions

Sake Tasting Party at Saké Nomi in Pioneer Square

Fifteen sakes plus Japanese Street Food from Umami Kushi at the Seattle sake shop this Friday.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Feb 23, 2011 at 09:13AM 0 Comments

School yourself on sake while munching on meat sticks this Friday in Pioneer Square.

Photo courtesy Open Kyoto

Premium sakes are more popular than ever in the United States, and yet far too few of us really know one from the other.

It’s probably time to change that, and here’s a good place to start.

Saké Nomi is hosting a bunch of Japanese sake brewers this Friday, February 25—it’s your chance to try 15 different sakes and learn about how and where they are made.

Sweetening the deal are snacks from Harold Fields, the chef from Umami Kushi, a Seattle-based yakitori catering company. So expect a lot of tasty skewered meats.

The tasting begins at 5pm and ends at 8, though there are promises of an after party.

Space is limited to 50 people and tickets cost $25 per person. Call Saké Nomi to reserve.

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Tags: Tastings and Classes, Pioneer Square, Wine Tastings, Seattle Sake Events

Drinkboy’s Robert Hess at Suite 410 Cocktail Lounge; Dusted Valley at Poco Wine Room

This Thursday, January 20: Two drinking events for your consideration.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jan 17, 2011 at 11:32AM 0 Comments

Robert Hess stops by Suite 410 on Thursday.

Remember Suite 410 on Stewart Street? It reopened last summer under new ownership, and there are some good people there trying to do some good stuff there. Could I be more specific? Yes, but I want to encourage you to go over there and talk to the bartenders. They’ll win you over.

On Thursday, January 20, Seattle’s own Robert Hess—a true cocktail luminary and the guy behind DrinkBoy and other boozy projects—stops by. You can pick up a signed copy of his book, The Essential Bartender’s Guide, for $10 and talk to him about how to make your mixed drinks much better.

The event is free, includes light appetizers, and begins at 6pm.

Also this Thursday, Poco Wine Room is hosting a tasting with one of my favorite Washington wineries, Dusted Valley Vintners. That costs $10 and lasts from 6 to 9pm. Dusted Valley owner Chad Johnson will be there to pour and chat.

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Tags: Downtown, Cocktails, Capitol Hill, Wine Tastings, Drinking Events, Free Food, Seattle Drinking Scene

Get Ready To Get Boozy At The Farmers Market

A bill before the state legislature would let shoppers sample beer and wine.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jan 10, 2011 at 09:55AM 0 Comments

Wine and beer: Coming soon to a farmers market near you?

The state legislature is considering a bill that could lead to the legalization of wine and beer tastings at farmers markets, according to The Seattle Times.

The bill, sponsored by state Senator Jeanne Kohl-Welles, proposes a pilot project to test tastings at 10 markets. From the article:

“The bill would direct the state Liquor Control Board to choose 10 farmers markets for the pilot project, which would run from July 2011 to September 2012. Only one winery or microbrewery could offer samples at a market per day, customers would have to stay in a designated tasting location, and food would be available to customers as they drink their samples of two ounces or less.”

Spokespeople from the Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance, Washington State Farmers Market Association, and Rockridge Farms have all appeared before the legislature to support the bill, while representatives from the Washington Association for Substance Abuse Prevention have come out against it.

Thanks to a similar project in 2008, Washington state grocery stores can now apply for a permit to host instore wine and beer tastings.

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Tags: Beer, Booze News, Wine Tastings, Farmers Markets, Booze in the News

Better Boozing: Free Wine Class at Dish It Up!

Practice wine sniffing (and drink for free) this Saturday night in Ballard.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Jan 04, 2011 at 10:18AM 5 Comments

Know your aromas Stop by Dish It Up this weekend to sharpen your sniffing skills.

Something cool this weekend:

Shannon Jones is winemaker at Woodinville winery Hestia Cellars. He is teaming up with sommelier Cole Sisson this Saturday, January 8 to teach a free wine-sniffing class at Dish It Up’s Ballard location.

If you tend to scratch your head like a monkey when you hear people discussing wine aromas, you should definitely stop by. Wine aromas are described using foods and objects such as honey and chocolate and various berries and wet dog and skunk and cloves and bootstraps. Jones and Sisson are bringing some of these things (probably not the skunk, but who knows) to the class. You’ll smell what they bring, and then smell the wine themselves. Suddenly, everything will make sense. Bonus: You get to drink the wine.

The class is from 6 to 8pm. Since it’s held on the second Saturday of the month, Ballard Art Walk will be in full swing. So you might want to check that out too.

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Tags: Tastings and Classes, Wine Tastings, Ballard, Free Drinks, Free Stuff, Better Boozing in 2011

More New Year’s Eve Parties, Deals, and Events

Here are a few more options for ringing it in right.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Dec 29, 2010 at 07:38AM 1 Comments

Almost here.

Here and here are the parties we’ve already discussed. Below are a few more thingies I think you might want to look into.

A Ballard bar I love called the Copper Gate is offering its magical happy hour menu from 5pm to closing on January 31. A cover will not be charged and you get free champagne at midnight. Live music (“featuring the Suffering Fuckheads”) begins at 9pm.

Book a table at the Saint on Capitol Hill and for $20.11 someone will bring you an appetizer, entree, and one of the house Hermano margaritas. Sister bar Havana always has a big NYE blowout too, buy tickets here.

I should also alert you to a set of sparkling wine events at a wine bar near Pike Place Market. On Thursday, December 30th from 5-7pm, 106 Pine is pouring Northwest sparklers: Cave B’s 2008 Blanc de Blanc, Arglye’s 2006 Sparkling Brut (2006), Domaine Ste Michelle’s 2004 Luxe, and Pacific Rim’s White Flowers (NV). That last one is an excellent choice if you’re serving oysters, by the way. On Friday, December 31, the wine bar will be serving champagne for $5 a glass all day, there are also discounts on meat and cheese boards.

Finally, if you’re looking to stock up on champers, head to 12th and Olive on Capitol Hill, it’s offering Jacques Chaput d’Arrentieres Brut Tradition for $29 a bottle, $26 by the case. That’s a pretty good deal on a solid little bottle of champagne, my revelers.

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Tags: Happy Hour, Capitol Hill, Wine Tastings, Sparkling Wine , Ballard, New Year's

Wine Tasting 2011: Gilbert Cellars at Taste

This is the year you become a wine expert. Get started on January 7.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Dec 23, 2010 at 01:37PM 0 Comments

Taste’s monthly wine tastings are $10. First up in 2011: Gilbert Cellars.

Let’s really get into wine this year, shall we? I want to seriously focus my wine study in 2011, and I’d like to take you along with me.

Here’s something to start us out. On January 7 from 5 to 6:30pm, Taste at the Seattle Art Museum is hosting Gilbert Cellars for the restaurant’s monthly wine tasting.

The tasting costs $10. For this you get two glasses of wine along with a little tutorial about what you’re drinking and three snacks—two of them savory, one of them sweet.

Gilbert Cellars is a Yakima Valley winery that makes a bunch of wines—the cab franc is consistently well-rated, and of the 2007 cab sauv, critic Jay Miller writes: “a medium-bodied wine with layered fruit, spicy flavors, good volume, and some elegance.” He gave it 91 points.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting attending casual wine tastings is going to turn us into Jay Miller. What I am thinking is that thinking about wine, taking notes, and approaching these little happenings as opportunities to taste and talk more about the wines we encounter does, little by little, help us become more educated drinkers. And I don’t know about you but the more I know about wine, the more I really enjoy drinking it.

Call Taste to reserve your place at the tasting or email tasterestaurant@tastesam.com

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Tags: Wine, Wine, Wine Tastings, Wine Tastings, Wine and Food Pairings, Better Boozing in 2011

The Gulpable Gift Guide #3: Local Wine

Drink your way through holiday shopping this weekend in Woodinville.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Dec 03, 2010 at 10:00AM 0 Comments

The gift of wine Stock up on local bottles this weekend in Woodinville.

This December 4 and 5, a bunch of Woodinville Wineries are participating in the St Nicholas Day Open House—your opportunity to do all your holiday shopping while drinking, and to do so far away from the fluorescent lights and cell phone-accessory kiosks of the dreaded shopping mall.

You pay $50 for a two-day pass, $40 for Saturday only. (Sunday only passes already sold out). You go to Efeste (where you should really spring for a bottle or two, love those wines) to pick up your wine glass. You take this glass all around Woodinville and taste the local wines. You pick out your favorites and give them to people as gifts.

Check out all the participating wineries and buy tickets here. And if you’re the sort who likes to do some homework before embarking on these such endeavors, you might consult our list of the best 100 Washington wines.

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Tags: Wineries, Wine, Wine Tastings, Woodinville, The Sauced Gulpable Gift Guide

20Something Returns

Prep your palates and dust off your club clothes, young folk.

Posted by: Jessica Voelker on Nov 15, 2010 at 09:23AM 1 Comments

These four would qualify as “mature” at 20Something.

On Saturday, November 20, 20Something The New Vintage returns to Fremont Studios. Seventy-five wineries and 15 local restaurants will dole out wine and food samples from 6 to 10pm as KEXP’s Darek Mazzone sets the mood with age-appropriate music.

The ostensible goal of this gathering is to attract a new generation of drinkers to Washington wines. But hear this, young winos: It’s quite the scene, and you are not meant to dress casually. At the various beer events at Fremont Studios, everyone wears hoodies and calls each other “brah.” Not so at 20Something. I went last year and was startled to encounter herds of young ladies teetering on very tall heels, their hair straight and silky, their skirts short. And there were even a few suit jackets on the guys, a rare thing around these parts. If you’ve been looking for an excuse to show off your finer garments—and heavens knows that in this city, there aren’t that many—jump on this, because it might sell out.

Tickets are $50. Buy them here.

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Tags: Wine, Wine Tastings, Wine and Food Pairings