Best of Luck, Jessica G!

Jessica G, who has been working with our Tasting Room and Marketing & Sales for the past several years, is leaving us to pursue the production side of the wine industry. She has landed a great position for harvest that is going to keep her very, very busy. We all wish her the best of luck and greatly appreciate the hard work that she has put into Fidelitas over the years. From this point forward, I will be working very closely with Marilyn and Cyndy to cover all the pieces that Jessica handled in the past. I think we have our work cut out for us!

Jessica (on the right) handing me job responsibilites...from Ray's, of course.

Summer in the City - the Seattle Wine Club Event

I think that I am finally recovered from the awesome wine club event that we held in Seattle this past Wednesday night. We had an awesome turnout, despite the really hot weather. I am glad that my co-workers from Red Mountain were able to make it over: Charlie, Cyndy, Jessica G and Marilyn - thank you for all of your hard work! Thanks also to our awesome team of volunteers: Sarah and Sarah, John, Ben (my fiance with the liberal malbec pours), Dara, Katie and Alissa - you guys were great! And last, but definitely not least, a HUGE thank you to our growers for coming over: Roger Gamache, Miguel Rodriguez and Dick Boushey. For those of you who were wondering, we were expecting Paul and Judy Champoux as well, but they are facing some health concerns right now. To Paul: We wish you a speedy recovery so we can party with you soon!

Miguel Rodriguez, from Weinbau, and Charlie. When I asked Miguel if he was hot, he told me it wasn't nearly as hot as it is in the vineyard. Thank you for coming, Miguel!


These are some existing members who just recruited new members. Thanks!

Hot in here? Oh yeah. A few people mentioned that Seattlites shouldn't complain about warm weather and sunny skies, but we all certainly had a healthy glow about us.

My grandmother (who I think a lot of you met!) and my good friend Dara. Dara spent most of her night running around keeping the white wines cool and wine in grandma's glass.

The GORGEOUS flowers were done by Ellen at Herban Floral. She does all sustainable flowers - most of which are from her own backyard. Ellen also Twitters daily about being green with flowers and weddings.

Much more pleasant temperatures on the patio. The view of the city wasn't bad either...

Wondering who to thank for bringing your wine across the pass? Neil, who deserves more than just the water glass I think he's holding.

Wondering who was running around taking pictures of you all night? It was my mom. Thanks, mom!

Pretty Optu shipments waiting to go home.

Thanks to John R. He and his wife are actually wine club members, but they stayed out front all night to make sure everyone got to go home with an icy water bottle.

Vineyard Tours, Part Two

A few posts down, I started to talk about the days that Charlie took us around several of the vineyards from which we source our fruit. Part 1 consisted of the day that we spent at Champoux vineyard, playing with huge, old vines and tasting yummy Champoux wines. For day two, we head north from the Tri-Cities.

The Bacchus and Dionysus Vineyards at Sagemoor. We don't source fruit from these vineyards, but stopped to see the oldest vines in the state. This is sort of the "quintessential" way to plant vines, facing south/southwest for maximum sun exposure on all sides of the vines, on a slope for good drainage, and near a body of water for cooling effects and good air flow.

The perfect way to tour vineyards at 9 am...

At Conner-Lee Vineyard: Charlie and I talking amongst our rows of Malbec. Charlie said that he really loves this vineyard for the more herbaceous and earthy tones that it contributes to a wine.

Charlie with Miguel Rodriguez with Cabernet at Weinbau Vineyard. Miguel (who will be at our wine club event next week) has been working in this vineyard since he was just a kid. Now, he is the vineyard manager and lives on the property with his wife. Remember at Champoux Vineyard that the clusters were just starting to flower? A day later and few hours further north, little berries were forming. What a difference a day (and change in microclimate) makes.

More southwestern exposure at Stillwater Creek Vineyard.

Stillwater Creek - slightly cooler than Weinbau but with tiny, tiny grape berries beginning to form. Remember, this was early June.

Do NOT let this happen to your tractor tire.

AUGUST

I never fail to be amazed by how quickly every August blazes past. Charlie and I have both been running around the state pouring tasty Fidelitas wines. Last week, I got to pour at an awesome little place called Picnic, on Seattle's Phinney Ridge. I shared five of our wines, while Picnic served up yummy, fuss free snacks for everyone. It was a great mix of Picnic regulars, wine club members, and people who wandered in for their first time. I would encourage anyone to stop by who is planning to be in the neighborhood. The same night, Charlie was at the Wine Alley in Renton. This is a well established wine shop that has always been a great supporter of our wines. In case you haven't heard me say this already: Please support your local wine shops! These are often small, independently owned shops who have been so important for wineries like Fidelitas and many more.
Over the weekend, I attended the Pour on the Plaza hosted by El Gaucho Bellevue. The grey clouds stayed dry for us, and it turned out to be a great event. This was their first time hosting, and I hope that they do it again next year! While there, the chef from Wild Ginger brought me a little banana leaf packet with salmon, coconut milk and kaffir leaves that had been cooked on the bbq. It was incredible. With our semillon, extra incredible.
Charlie and Jessica G. attended the Revelry on Red Mountain last night, and I heard it was awesome. Thank you to everyone who made it out to Col Solare. This was a great benefit event and a wonderful way to support the local wine industry.
So, now we are up for a winemaker dinner at Art of the Table this Wednesday (this place is AWESOME!), a tasting at Esquin next Tuesday, and then the Seattle wine club event next Friday (which is sold out). Busy, busy! On top of all of that, I'm buying a house and just got engaged! Wish me luck in August...