Now in its 15th year, Taste Washington
itself is growing into a weekend destination, expanding to two days and
offering ticket packages to entice more people from outside the Seattle
metropolitan area to the event, scheduled for March 31-April 1.
Industry insiders hope the move sparks more interest in the Washington wine industry and ultimately boosts sales of wines that are increasingly gaining national acclaim.
"The new format keeps the spotlight on Washington wines," said Ryan Pennington, spokesman for the Washington Wine Commission,
a promotional group funded by member fees from wineries and growers.
"But by expanding to two days, we make this a high-profile, destination
event on a national level."
Washington's $3 billion wine industry
still ranks second behind California, which has more than 10 times the
acreage and four times the number of wineries. But the industry is
growing: Washington now boasts more than 700 wineries, and its wines are
earning top scores from wine writers across the country.
Taste
Washington, an annual food and wine tasting event managed by the Wine
Commission, has served as the annual celebration of the industry. Some
3,500 people attend each year, feasting on tapas and appetizers from
some of Seattle's best-known restaurants and sampling wines from 200 wineries.
Fifty-plus
restaurants, including Anthony's Pier 66 and Salty's Seafood Grills,
have signed on for the 2012 event the weekend of March 31, offering an
array of mouthwatering treats.
Artisan
cheeses and chocolates. Red wine poached figs on cheese crostini. Kalua
Mahi nachos. Lamb curry. Alder smoked, pepper crusted salmon. Homemade
ice cream by Molly Moon's and chocolate port and sangria milkshakes from
The Lucky Diner.
Then, of
course, there are the wines, which range from inexpensive and moderately
priced red and white blends to a Boudreaux Cellars reserve cabernet
sauvignon that retails for $100 per bottle.
The
success of the expansion remains to be seen. It could prove to be a
hardship for small, Eastern Washington wineries that need to stay in
Seattle longer, said Rick Small of Woodward Canyon Winery in Walla
Walla, an established winery that has attended the event most years.
"That
said, I still think it's a good effort," he said. "It keeps a lot of
people in town longer. They're going to go out to restaurants in
Seattle, and they're going to drink more Washington wine when they do —
and of course, that's the point."
This year, Woodward Canyon will be pouring a 2009 merlot and a 2009 "artist series" cabernet sauvignon.
Newcomer
Eight Bells Winery of Seattle, meanwhile, will pour its 2010 chardonnay
and a syrah and cabernet sauvignon, both from 2009. The winery is
already grabbing attention, in part because the wines are produced from
grapes grown in noteworthy vineyards east of Washington's Cascade Range.
An event that goes two days instead of one is "just a bonus," Eight Bells' Frank Michiels said.
"We're
a small, urban winery. We're really concentrating on more direct, local
marketing," he said. "On the other hand, we're definitely invested in
the idea of getting Washington wine marketed on a broader basis."
The
Washington Wine Commission and the Seattle Convention and Visitors
Bureau have signed a partnership agreement where the bureau manages and
recruits sponsors for the event. The commission, meanwhile, retains the
rights to the Taste Washington brand — including similar tasting events
that have been held in other cities, such as Chicago, Denver, Phoenix
and Tampa, to feature Washington wines.
Dave
Blandford, bureau spokesman, knows of no studies that have been done
examining the economic impact of Taste Washington for Seattle. But the
event already draws visitors from the city's primary tourist markets,
Portland, Ore. and Vancouver, and can only expand, he said.
"Our
goal is to continue to build on this brand as the nation's largest
single-region wine event," Blandford said, "and continue to build on
something that has been a very successful model so far."
Source : Yahoo
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