I was excited to meet these wonderful winemakers, especially as I will be leaving for Washington State in a few weeks, and of course, visiting some of Washington's exceptional wine country!
The evenings wines were all incredible: Rhones, Rhone/Cabernet blends, Cabernets, Sparkling, Whites. Each and every one unique unto itself. Having the opportunity to speak individually to the winemakers there, there was one common thread:
Passionate about their art, generally young (at least what I consider young these days!), creative, down to earth, gracious. Each and every one expressing their willingness to show me around their winery when I come up, to recommend places to eat, places to go. Loving as I do the down to earth attitude of Paso, the wines and winemakers, it struck me that here is another region, relatively new, doing wonderful things with wine and wanting to share with anyone who has a love of wine. I have a feeling when I visit Walla Walla and surrounding areas, I will become enchanted all over again with the creativeness of these personable wine artists.
A special thank you to some of the wonderful people I met, making this an incredible evening and helping to pave the way for what will be a most memorable trip in a few weeks:
Dominique, who took the time to take me around to the winemakers, making a point of introducing me and informing me about Washington State wines and wineries.
Trey Busch...winemaker and owner of Sleight of Hand Cellars.
Gilles Nicault...a humorous, gallant, young French winemaker, director of winemaking for Long Shadows, a consortium of distinguished wineries and vineyards.
Stacy and Greg Lill of De Lille Cellars
Matt and Kim Loso of Barons V & Mateo (who are producing a Merlot that will knock the socks off the best Merlot coming out of our Northern California cousins).
Christian Grieb of Treveri Cellars, offering up a most tantalizing sparkling Syrah, as you entered the premesis.
And....with a picture being worth 1000 or more words.....just a small shot of the incredible dessert table!
An evening of great food and desserts (and chocolates!). WONDERFUL, creative and varied wines.....but the best part, which I have found to consistently be the best part of meeting new wines, are the people who create them. The people who put their love and passion in a bottle so that they can share their dream with others.
THANK you for an incredible evening! And looking forward to spending time with many of you on my upcoming trip to Washington and the Walla Walla and Woodinvale wine country.
Cheers to you all....
don
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