Sunshine and Vino

I had a fantastic time off last week. Michael and I went for a few bike rides, I saw a great concert and went on a fun road trip through the desert. It was a good break from reality.

Did you enjoy the guest posts I had lined up? Thank you so much to the bloggers that shared their stories!

• Sugar Magnolia wrote a very informative post about how to train for a Triathlon. The more I read about other people’s triathlon experiences the more I want to try it for myself.
• Lori shared her story about losing 100 pounds. Her blog has always been one of my favorites because she lost so much weight and she’s also a cyclist too.
• Becky’s post on How (Not to Train for a Half Marathon got lots of hits! I’m glad it was so popular.

Thanks again ladies for writing these awesome posts for me!  I have a few more good ones coming up soon.

When we were in Yakima we had a chance to do a little wine tasting, too. We didn’t have time to do much but a little bit is better than nothing. There isn’t a whole helluva lot to do in Eastern Washington but there are some fun fitness related things to do (bike rides, hiking) plus wine tasting. There are tons of vineyards and tasting rooms in Yakima. We were short on time so we stuck with two tasting rooms in downtown.

The first was Kana, which is a Native word for “spirit or fire within a mountain.” We arrived at the Kana tasting room and it was packed with people. That was to be expected since there wasn’t much else to do in Yakima, but I later discovered there were a few big wine tours going on too.

It was $5 to taste and Michael and I split the tasting. They waived the tasting fee with a bottle purchase. I enjoyed the first few tastings, disliked the Dark Star, and LOVED the Syrah. The Syrah was fantastic: light and creamy and not too sweet. It was a smooth wine and had the bottle not been $30 I would have bought one. It was a little out of my budget for this trip. Usually when I go wine tasting I will splurge on one more expensive bottle if it really stands out, and then buy a few other average priced ones.

The bottle we did end up buying was the Workingman’s Red. The blend was well balanced, the Tempranillo and Syrah parts being the most noticeable. The bottle was in my budget ($15) so we left with one.

The staff was very knowledgeable about Washington wines, which I am less knowledgeable of simply because I do most of my tasting in Oregon.

We finished up the tasting at Kana and headed across the street to the second tasting room.

The Gilbert Cellars tasting room was very stylish and hip in decor.  It was completely packed when we first got there, but the group touring left shortly thereafter.

The first wine we tasted was the 2010 UNOAKED CHARDONNAY.  I loved it. It was my favorite that we tried but unfortunately Michael did not like it at all. We try to stick with buying bottles of wine we both agree on, since we will be drinking them together. So instead of buying a bottle of the crisp chardonnay I had to just enjoy it there.

It was light and very crisp–like a blend of Granny Smith apples and limes. I loved how dry and refreshing it was. Sometimes Chardonnay can be too heavy on sweetness and butter.

Hands down the most interesting of their wines was the 2007 PETIT VERDOT : “Scorched earth, wildflowers and blueberries lead into a saturated palate of sweet fruit and firm tannins as this wine shows off the potential of Petit Verdot on the Wahluke Slope.”

It was a big, strong wine with intense tannins. The manager, Laura, impressed me with her knowledge of everything wine and she said that the Petit Verdot is usually a blending wine–meaning it’s added to something else (like a Bordeaux) to even out the tastes.  I can tell why someone would prefer this wine in a blend because it was very strong.

We chatted with Laura for a bit and she said she was going to Portland for her weekend. I gave her a few restaurant recommendations for her to try (I hope she liked them!). She waived the tasting fee and it was time for us to leave–unfortunately empty handed. If we’re ever back in that area I might just buy that chardonnay anyway!

QUESTION: What is something you are blessed to have in your life right now?