Putting your concierge to work

As most of you know, my position with Fidelitas doesn't just consists of helping members with shipments and orders. I get to serve as the concierge for our members and am available for trip planning assistance, gift giving services, party planning and much more. Recently, members have contacted me for a number of these services.

One OPTU member from Western Washington took advantage of the trip assistance feature. Working together, we found wonderful accomodations, restaurants and wineries for him to visit while travelling through Walla Walla, the Tri Cities and Red Mountain.

Some Faithful, Loyal, True members recently contacted me about helping them with some gifts for an annual dinner party that they put on. We created baskets of "comfort food" with Optu wines, individual cookbooks and cookie and brownie mixes.

Just yesterday, a few members contacted me about a red wine party they had coming up and asked for a few of my favorite appetizer recipes that pair well with red wine. Drawing on my sommelier training, along with years of hosting food and wine pairing parties, I think we found a few good ones that will please both the hosts and the guests.

I love the opportunity to work with our members in planning these fun trips, gifts and parties, and look forward to doing it some more! I just finished "Host a Tasting" kit with step-by-step instructions on how to host your own tasting party with your friends, that is available to members of the Fidelitas Wine Club. I can't wait for someone to try it out!

Isn't this incredible? Looking west from the tasting room at sunset, just last week.

Shipment time!

Today is batching day at the tasting room, which means that this is the day that we get every shipment ready to go out the door, whether they are being shipped or picked up. Here are a few big bits of news regarding our current wines:

• Your shipment consists of the 2006 eight syrah and the 2005 eight red wine. These are two fabulous wines that are each special in their own way. The 2006 syrah will be our final vintage of syrah at Fidelitas. That means all of our syrah fans (and I know there are a lot of you!) better stock up now because there won't be any to come in the future. The eight red wine is a phenomenal red blend that is dominated by cabernet sauvignon and merlot, and finished with cabernet franc and malbec. We have so few of these that we are only able to provide members with an additional 2 bottles for reorders. Trust me...it's worth it.
• We just released the 2006 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a 100% cab that is 100% from Red Mountain. It's great now, but I'm already licking my lips thinking of what it will be in a few years.
• And here's the big news...we are almost out of the 2005 Champoux Cabernet! If you've been waiting to order more, wait no more. We have about 14 cases left, that seem to disappear every time I turn around.

The tasting room on Red Mountain will be open until 7pm tonight. If you're in the area, please stop by, taste the wines and say hello!