Category: Washington
The Taste of Good Times
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Wine events come in all shapes and sizes, and last weekend Seattle hosted one of the biggest annual wine and food events in the Northwest, Taste Washington. This was my first time to attend Taste Washington, and I spent the majority of the day Saturday serving guest some of Chef Frank Magana’s mind blowingly delicious goodies. The Chorizo Stuffed Prawns [...]

By Ben Simons with 2 comments
The Journey Continues at Alexandria Nicole Cellars
Alexandria Nicole Cellars Jet Black

Those of you who are connected to me on Facebook have already seen that last week brought some big news for me in my wine industry journey. Last week I started working for Alexandria Nicole Cellars, one of the wineries that made me want to move to Washington in the first place. My dream of working in a multi-faceted role [...]

By Ben Simons with 2 comments
Winemaking: The Marriage of Science and Art
Periodic Table

There are very few areas in life where science and art intersect. The two things seem to be diametrically opposed to one another. Philosophers have fought intellectual battles about which mode of thinking is more central to the human experience. Regardless of whether or not one paradigm is preferable to the other, wine is one area where the two sides [...]

By Ben Simons with 7 comments
Twin Peaks: Wine Fever Dream With Me
Agent Dale Cooper

Last night I was awakened by a dream, a dream so glorious that I had to rush to write it down so that I would remember all of the details to recount to you. Like a magic portal to my subconscious, this dream featured dancing midgets (little people that is), crushed velvet robes, giant sandworms, a disembodied human ear, and [...]

By Ben Simons with 0 comments
Syrah is Sexy
Tea Bags

Just a note, if you are easily offended, you might consider skipping this one. This is an innuendo-heavy post. We all have our own things that turn us on. Some guys are leg guys, and some are ass guys. Me, I’m a Syrah guy. Okay, so Syrah and Pinot Noir, but my Pinot fixation is a topic for another day. [...]

By Ben Simons with 3 comments
History is Alive in Walla Walla
L'Ecole 41

Getting older sucks. Of course, it’s not really the actual aging that is a problem; it’s the changes that go along with aging that bother us. We have the great pleasure of watching our bodies slowly deteriorate, despite our best efforts to fend off the visible effects of having outlived our physical peaks. There are some of us who decide that [...]

By Ben Simons with 4 comments
The 2011 Tri-Cities Wine Festival
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One of the biggest local wine events of the year here in Eastern Washington is the Tri-Cities Wine Festival that is put together by the Tri-Cities Wine Society. Roughly 100 wineries participate every year, and this was Thomas O’Neil Cellars first trip to the festival. The original plan was for Tom O’Neil to join me at the festival while his [...]

By Ben Simons with 0 comments
Elbow Deep in Viognier
Tom_Pressing

Small businesses always present owners with unique challenges, and a small winery is certainly no exception to that rule. All that fancy equipment that you see at the larger wineries is not always an option for a smaller place. You start out with the items that are essential to operate, and then year after year you add on as you are [...]

By Ben Simons with 0 comments
A New Chapter – I’m in the Wine Biz

Here I am, after a long hiatus from the blogging world, jumping back into the fray. There were a lot of reasons for my absence from the world of wine blogging, which we don’t really have to get into in this post. I have missed all of you guys while I was away from it all, and I’ve been planning [...]

By Ben Simons with 4 comments
The Wines of Robert O. Smasne Tasting Room Opens in Tri-Cities
Smasne Cellars

The last few months have seen some exciting developments in the local wine scene here in Eastern Washington. There have been several wineries that have opened tasting rooms here in the Tri-Cities, including Thomas O’Neil Cellars, Kitzke Cellars, and Hamilton Cellars. Add to this mix the addition of some great new restaurants cropping up, such as Picazo Restaurant and Bar [...]

By Ben Simons with 0 comments