If you’ve ever been to a wine release party then you know it’s a great time to visit a winery. If you haven’t then trust me…it’s fun! Release events provide more of a social atmosphere than a normal tasting day.
The wineries stay busy pouring samples of newly available wines, as well as other current or future releases, in a bustling environment full of excited wine drinkers. And often times they also offer up some great food to go with the wines.
Sometimes only those customers who preorder wine are invited, or the winery chooses to charge a tasting fee, but in Washington many of the release events are open to the public to enjoy at no charge. But hopefully you’ll be respectful and buy something for the hospitality.
This last weekend three exceptional wineries in Woodinville celebrated with customers the release of their newest wines – Betz Family Winery, Mark Ryan Winery, and Stevens Winery. Here is how they went:
Betz Family Winery-
Betz is rarely open to the public, so it’s always a treat when they open their doors and share what has come to be known as some of the best wine in Washington State. Bob Betz, recently named
winemaker of the year by Sunset Magazine, makes incredible wines of structure and flavor in the French style. This release included his Southern Rhone blend Bésoleil and three 2005 Syrahs including La Serenne, La Côte Rousse, and a new limited reserve Chapitre 3. If you weren’t on the ball and came late however, you would have left empty handed because all of these wines sold out! The event itself was fairly low key with a light mingling of guests meandering around the open winery enjoying wine, cheese and even some olive oil.
Mark Ryan Winery-
Besides being known as one of the best new wineries of Washington, Mark Ryan has also become infamous for their great wine release parties. This past weekend was no exception, but luckily the crowds were considerably smaller than they usually are due to the football games. The dark interior, painted walls and punk rock artwork help to create more of a studio type atmosphere, which really helps to accentuate the party side of their release to which people flock…but the great wines probably don’t hurt either. The wines being released included the 2005 Dead Horse, Long Haul, and new Water Witch blend, as well as a 2006 Chardonnay. And as always the food was exceptional with thin crust pizza and other assorted goodness. Besides the fact that the wines are great, and don’t stay around very long, a Mark Ryan release party should be a must for any local wine patron.
Stevens Winery-
Last but certainly not least was Stevens, the only winery not open to the general public, who instead opted to keep their release private for those lucky customers with a Golden Ticket. No, people weren’t being tempted with candy bars. This was much much better. Only people who placed a preorder for the new reserve Cabernet, StevensXY, received the elusive golden ticket. However, this is completely understandable given their limited space and small production amounts. Those lucky soles who used their ticket to gain entry were treated to three wines, including the reserve Cab, the new 2005 Blacktongue Syrah and Stevens AThought, a 2006 Sauvignon Blanc. Steven’s also cloaked the winery in darkness to create more of a art gallery type party, which is fitting since Tim Stevens is an artist and design’s all of the winery’s labels. The food was quite good this time as well!
Well that’s it for release weekend. If you didn’t make it out to enjoy the wine and merriment then I definitely recommend getting on some mailing lists and keeping posted for the next round of events, which should come up again later this winter
