Don’t Judge Me Mondays: Kirkland Uncorked

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I hope you all had a great weekend!  This weekend my husband and I went to Kirkland Uncorked and it was a blast!  Kirkland Uncorked, as you may have guessed, is a wine festival in Kirkland, WA.  It’s held at the Marina Park on the waterfront, so it has a gorgeous view!  There is an entrance fee that includes tasting tokens and a fun little wine glass. There were about 20 Washington wineries that participated this year, so it’s a great opportunity to try something new and find a new favorite wine!  The event this year was also a fundraiser for a charity that is near and dear to our hearts, Homeward Pet.  This charity is a no kill animal shelter and it’s where we adopted Dari, one of our cats.

I thought it would be fun to share with you today some of the wines I really enjoyed at Kirkland Uncorked this weekend.  When I go to an event where I will be tasting multiple wines, I like to make notes on what I tasted.  That helps me remember at the end what I liked, so I can decide what I want to buy at the event or at a later date.

I am going to tell you about my top 4 wines.

The first is the 2015 Grenache Blanc from J Bell Cellars in Yakima.  I first tried a Grenache Blanc in Napa Valley and fell in love with it.  It’s not as common as other varietals, so I am always on the lookout for it.  I was glad to see it on J Bell Cellars list and it did not disappoint!  It was crisp without being too dry, perfect for a warm summer day.  It’s a great wine to sip on its own, but it would be wonderful with a light fish dish or a creamy pasta also.

 

The second wine is another white, from Bontzu Cellars in Walla Walla.  It is the 2015 Viognier.  This type of wine is normally fairly sweet, similar to a Gewurtztraminer, but I find Bontzu Cellar’s Viognier to be a bit dryer than others I’ve tried.  I enjoyed that it was slightly sweet, but not cloyingly so.  It tasted lightly of honey and peach, with a lingering fruitiness. It would be great to drink by itself, or as a tasty complement to a cheese board.

 

The third wine was Roxy’s 2014 Rosé from the Foxy Roxy Wine Co. in Othello.  I will admit that I normally find Rosé disappointing.  It just tends to be too dry for me and leaves my mouth with an unpleasant feel. However, I really enjoyed Foxy Roxy’s!  It was slightly sweeter than other Rosé I’ve tried and reminded me of berries.  This will be an excellent wine to have on hand for the summer.

 

The final wine is from Piccola Cellars.  It was the Harvester’s Red.  I enjoyed this wine because it has a mild flavor, for a red, while still having an interesting smoky element.  Because it is a lighter red, it’s a good one for the summer. I love red wines, but tend not to drink as much of them in the summer because they are usually too heavy.  This wine is the perfect balance!  The interesting thing about Piccola Cellars is that its wine is sold in kegs, on tap or in what it calls  “wine totes”.  These totes are sort of like bags with a little spigot in them.  The analogy that comes to mind is Capri Suns for adults 😉  Each tote holds the equivalent of 2 bottles of wine.  It creates less waste and it seems like a great way to bring wine on a picnic, to a concert or camping.  It takes away the concern of breaking a glass bottle.

 

Thanks to my notes, I was able to decide what I wanted to buy at the Kirkland Uncorked wine store.  I ended up getting the Harvester’s Red from Piccola Cellars (partially because I am really curious about the wine tote) for $26 and the Pino Rosé from J Bel Cellars for $20 because it’s not something I see often.

It was a really fun event and it got me excited to do more wine tasting this summer in Woodinville, which is right in our backyard!

 

What sort of wine events have you been to this summer?  What are some recent wine discoveries you’ve made?  Let me know in the comments!