Avid wine research occurred over the holiday weekend and it took us to the magical town of Woodinville! We went to 6 tasting rooms and only bought 6 bottles of wine… Well, how else are you supposed to save on tasting fees?!
The first Winery we went to was JM Cellars. It was recommended to us by one of my co-workers - another enthusiastic wine lover. We are so fortunate that he told us about this place, the grounds were amazing. The estate was beautiful and fully equipped with walking trails, outdoor seating around a fire pit, and neatly kept lawn games. We must go back in the summer!
Inside the tasting room area, we were greeted by happy employees ready to get some love from the Parrish Pups and to serve us our first tasting. The fire was going and the tasting room was fully decorated with one of my favorite things – pine cones! I die, I am moving in!
To complement our first experience at JM Cellars, we were introduced to a Cinsaut wine. It is infrequent grape that is rarely made into a single varietal in Washington State. The taste is reminiscent of a Pinot Noir, but way better. We of course had to purchase this wine because it is rare and reasonably priced to boot!
We went to several tasting rooms throughout the Hollywood District, taking a break only to off load the mid-day wine loot at our room at the Willows Lodge. Finally, we brought our day to a close at Brian Carter. We have never had their wine or been to the tasting room before, but I am so glad we stumbled upon it.
The employees there were awesome. Yes, yes, I know it was the end of the research outing and we were full of wine, but they truly were amazing. They added the pups to the dog wall and they were so knowledgeable about their wines and the history of the Vintner, it was refreshing.
To top it all off they even had a Sommelier working. She was awesome! Unfortunately, we had an impression in our minds that I am sure others would as well, that she may not be the friendliest, but boy did she kick ass. She was so fun. She was personable and told us her story about how she got into wine and how her mother thought she was just a super weird kid because she always had to smell things. Her tip about becoming a better wine taster was to just start smelling things and really pay attention to the experience. Makes scents... get it.
During our studies, I was very cognizant of the people behind the counter and we encountered several great tasting room employees. Unfortunately, several either did not know the history of their winery / winemaker, while others did not understand much about the wine they were serving. We also encountered several that had only been working in the industry for a month or so, which makes me wonder if there is a lot of employee turnover and why? Despite longevity, I think the person should know about what is on the tasting menu…so that was disappointing.
I asked several tasting room employees if they liked their jobs and how often they encountered angry people. They shared that they loved their jobs and regularly encountered happy people or people on vacation. Rarely, did they encounter someone angry and if they did it was an over-served mother of the bride. Several also mentioned bearing witness to several lover’s quarrels. Either way, the anger was not directed at them. What a concept!
So coming back from the long weekend you can imagine how shocked I was immersing myself back into my work environment. All of the stress I had washed away, came flooding back with angry tenants wanting compensation for it raining too hard outside. I am done whining about my job and the ridiculous expectations from unreasonable people.
I am ready to wine!
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