This is my first wine tasting I have reviewed (and attended). Olympic Wine Shop is located in Poulsbo, adjacent to Tap Rock Grill. I was not quite sure what to expect having never been to a wine tasting but I thought this would be a good place to start being that it was all Northwest Wines and they were featuring a winery with my family (maiden) name and my father makes a similar wine. Being a foodie, naturally I was curious to see the appetizer pairings as well.
For the wine enthusiast in the crowd, Olympic featured six wines and a port.
Merry Cellars – Sauvignon Blanc Wahluke Slope 2008 – my favorite white featured. I lean towards chardonnays and this was a lighter white.
Thurston Wolfe Winery – Pinot Gris Viognier 2008 – my guest’s favorite white.
Waving Tree – Sangiovese Columbia Valley 2007 – my favorite red featured. I have a difficult time with the tannins and this wine is much lighter and goes well with heavier meals (i.e. pastas).
Clubhouse Cellars - 86% Cabernet with Merlot and Syrah – my companion’s favorite red. Recommended to be paired with a ‘kitchen sink’ pizza.
Giant Wine Company – “The Ghost of 413” Red 2007 – mix of Cab/Merlot.
McKinley Springs – Syrah McKinley Springs Vineyard Horse Heaven Hills 2005 – my family namesake and has aromas of blackberry, licorice and black cherry – another favorite of mine.
As for the appetizers, they did not disappoint either. Various white cheeses with crackers to compliment. The only appetizer I did not sample but was getting rave reviews from the crowd was a mix of cream cheese, dried tomatoes and olives. My personal favorite was the ‘kitchen sink pizza’ on foccacia bread. This pizza was layered with feta cheese, onions, green, yellow, orange and red peppers and was truly delicious. I am generally not a fan of veggies but this appetizer was just too attractive not to try and it was as delicious as it looked. Quite a compliment to the wine indeed!
This is a smaller wine shop but it was crowded with wine tasters for the entire event and all that arrived and stayed socialized amongst each other quite pleasantly making it quite similar to a cocktail party one was invited to.
The owners of Olympic Wine Shop mingled with the patrons as well and made us feel as if we had stepped into their home for a couple hours to try their wines, a very comfortable experience as every business owner should make his/her patrons feel… at home and wanting to return as I and my guest did.
Olympic Wine Shop has recurring wine tastings and I would encourage anyone to attend one. They range in price from $10-15/person including appetizers and a tasting of 6 wines (last evening’s also including an additional taste of port for $10).
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment