Dr. Loosen and Robert Weil Winemaker Dinner with Kirk Wille

In honor of Summer of Riesling, we invite you to join us in toasting to one the most celebrated varitals from one of the world's most renowned Riesling vineyard- Dr. Loosen (pronoucned loh-zen) wine estate. 

Leaving the steep slopes of Germany's Mosel Valley, Kirk Wille will host a winemaker dinner featuring older vintages of Dr. Loosen and Robert Wiel wines perfectly paired with the flavors of Southeast Asia. Dr. Loosen and Robert Weil Winemaker dinner will be held on July 6th at Wild Ginger at the Bravern in Bellevue.  

Here's the starting line-up:

Reception
Dr. L Riesling Sparkling

Flight/Course 1: Off-Dry Riesling
2008 Robert Wiel Tradition
2010 Dr. Loosen Kabinett, Blue Slate
2010 Von Schubert Kabinett, Grünhäuser Herrenberg

Flight/Course 2: Dry Riesling
2010 Von Schubert/Maximin Grünhaus Riesling Trocken
2009 Dr. Loosen Riesling Dry, Red Slate
2009 Robert Weil Kiedrich Turmberg Trocken

Flight/Course 3: Sweet Riesling
2010 Von Schubert Spätlese, Grünhäuser Abtsberg
2008 Robert Weil Spätlese, Kiedrich Gräfenberg
2002 Dr. Loosen Auslese Goldkapsel, Ürziger Würzgarten

The dinner is $99 per person and limited to 18 guests. To make reservations call Wild Ginger at The Bravern at (425)495-8889.

Vinolution 2012

Last Friday's Vinolution 2012 party was fabulous! After being greeted by a few of the darling and playful Atomic Bombshells, guests grabbed an empty wine glass and made their way around the room while noshing eats and drinks from some of Washington's select wineries and restaurants..even a distillery. It can't get much better than that.  

Big raindrops didn't stop the fun on the rooftop outside.. after all, this is Seattle - the birthplace of rain. We joined a few of Seattle's finest restaurants and passed out our signature duck sliders.
  

The Yellow Leaf Cupcake Co. showcased a tower of bite size cupcakes that not only looked divine, but tasted equally so. The pancake cupcake, topped with maple frosting and sprinkled with bits of bacon, paired surprisingly well with a sip of The Wild Sky Cabernet Sauvignon from Zero 1 Vintners.

We can't wait for next year's event!

Don't fear the Riesling

Ask any wine fanatic and they'll profess, wholeheartedly, that summertime is synonymous with Riesling. Starting on the first day of Summer, June 20th, wine lovers all over the country come together to fill and toast glasses of Germany's Queen of all wine- Riesling. Wild Ginger doesn't plan on breaking this joyous tradition. With the longest day of the year approaching, we can excitedly proclaim Summer of Riesling is right around the corner.

The Summer of Riesling celebration all started when one bar in New York City decided to strictly feature Riesling on their glass pour menu in 2008. The project, simply started with the goal of diffusing the notion that Riesling was sweet, spawned into a country wide celebration paying homage to a misunderstood varietal.

Wild Ginger welcomes you to join the annual shenanigans!

Upcoming events:

Sandra Bernhard and the Wines of Australia

June 21 6pm | The Triple Door private suites ~ tickets here>>

Dr. Loosen/Robert Weil Winemaker Dinner with Kirk Wille 

July 6 | Wild Ginger at The Bravern

Riesling Through The Ages- 40 Years of Riesling Dinner  

July 19 | Wild Ginger

Burlesco DiVino: Wine in Rome

August 8-10 8pm August 9-10 10pm (21+) | The Triple Door ~ tickets here>> 

Terry Theise Austrian Riesling Dinner & Burleco DiVino: Wine in Rome

August 9  7pm | The Triple Door ~ tickets here>>

August Kesseler Dinner

August 22 | Wild Ginger

Australian Winemaker Dinner

September 7 | Wild Ginger at The Bravern

Oregon vs. Washington, featuring Brennon Leighton from Efeste and Matt Berson from Love and Squalor

September 14 | Wild Ginger

To make reservations for desired event call the following locations:

Wild Ginger 206.623.4450

Wild Ginger at the Bravern 425.495.8889
The Triple Door 206.838.4333

Meet our Sommeliers ~ April

Meet April Pogue, one of our Wild Ginger Sommeliers. Like a Grenache from the Priorat region of Spain, she is approachable and easy going, but can be intensely focused, and is sometimes even a little flamboyant.

She joined the Wild Ginger wine team in 2010, and says her favorite part about working at Wild Ginger is having the opportunity to constantly learn more about wine, and the culture surrounding it, with such a diverse group of wine aficionados.

"We all have different styles and backgrounds, which creates such a dynamic formula." says April. "Plus, we work with the best list in Seattle, so everyday I look at it and learn."

April began her wine venture while working at the 5th Floor in San Francisco. "Upon joining the team, it became pretty clear to me that in order to fit in with the culture, I needed to bone up on more than just the basics of wine," says April. This observation influenced her to purchase her first wine education book "Windows on the World Wine Course" by Kevin Zraly. She soon became a wine fanatic. Her education was then furthered at Spago Beverly Hills by wine enthusiast Bonnie Graves, whose passion for wine and gift at teaching influenced group blind wine tastings which turned out to be a fun, informative challenge.

She found her most memorable wine managing a wine bar in Bellevue while getting together with the owners and participating in a monthly tasting group that sampled high-end wines. On a particular night, they had an assortment of 2nd growth Bordeaux from the 2000 vintage.

"My favorite was the 2000 Ducru Beaucaillou," says April. "Everything was perfectly balanced, the fruit, earth, tannins and acid. It was totally muscular, but had a lot of finesse as well. Yeah, I could drink that baby every night."

On the topic of food and wine pairing, Aprils likes to try the untraditional avenue. When selecting the fragrant duck, her favorite Wild Ginger dish, April goes for the Grenache while others would normally pick a Pinot Noir. She chooses Grenache for its pleasant fruit profile that complements the jammy sweetness of the plum sauce, yet reflects the robust earthy qualities in the duck.

"As for a perfectly balanced Grenache, I absolutely love the southern Rhone Valley and would choose the 2004 Domaine du Pegau, Cuvee Reservee Chateauneuf-du-Pape," says April.

Pining for Wine in the Pines

Jacky Lo, Executive Chef at Wild Ginger, spent the weekend nestled between the Evergreen tress at Swiftwater Cellars for the fourth annual Wine in the Pines, a wine and food festival that takes place over the mountains in Cle Elum.

New this year was the Wine Celebrity Seminar, a food and wine experience hosted by celebrity Master Sommelier and prolific author of food and wine pairing cooks Evan Gold Smith, M.S. Joining him was wine personality Leslie Sbrocco, host of "Check Please" on PBS network, the regular wine expert for The Today Show, contributing writer for publications including Good Housekeeping, O Magazine and Glamour. For the food pairing portion of the seminar, Chef Jacky prepared pine needle smoked lamb sauté with pine nut sauce.

Over 50 different wineries from Washington, Oregon and California poured a selection of wines while Chef Jacky presented the succulent Lamb Rendang with wine pairing in mind.

What a weekend. We had so much fun, one could say we're pining for next year!

Summer of Riesling Events Calendar

Wild Ginger Seattle Summer of Riesling Events

August 29th - Mosel Wine Merchants Tasting – Join Dan Melia, the visionary co-founder of Mosel Wine Merchants for a Mosel Riesling tasting, accompanied by lite appetizers from Wild Ginger's Kitchen. Dan will be pouring and talking about wines from Clemens Busch, Peter Lauer, Stein, Spater-Veit and Steinmetz.

• Cost: $15/person inclusive

• 5:00 pm - 7:00 at Wild Ginger Seattle

• Advance ticket purchase required. Limited to 60 guests
• Purchase tickets at the Wild Ginger front desk or by calling (206) 623 4450

Wild Ginger at The Bravern Bellevue Events

August 24th – Washington Riesling Dinner. We’ve picked 12 of our favorite Washington Rieslings, including Eroica, Poet’s Leap, Owen Roe Dubrul and Pacific Rim Wallula Vineyard, to show off how wonderfully this grape does in our own state. To top it off, we asked Shayn Bjornholm, who is a Master Sommelier and the Education Director for the Washington Wine Commission to join us and speak about why it is that these wines taste so darned good when they come from Washington. This will all take place at Wild Ginger at The Bravern in Bellevue.
Event details
• Cost $69 per person + tax and gratuity ($90 total)
• Reservations required. Limited to 30 guests.
• Reserve by calling (425) 498 8889

September 14th – Barth tasting. Norbert Barth and his family own some of the best vineyards in the famed Hattenheim region of the Rheingau in Germany. The wines, though not as famous as some of the other Rheingau greats (Goerg Breuer and Robert Wiel, for instance), are some of the most true and delicious Rieslings anywhere on the planet. Barth Ultra is also one of the best sparkling wines from anywhere, and made entirely from Rheingau Riesling. Join Mark Barth as he shows us his best juice, paired with a lite appetizers prepared by our chefs at Wild Ginger.

Event Details
• Cost: $18/person inclusive. (event limited to 24 guests)
• Advance tickets: (425) 295 8889 or stop by the Wild Ginger Bravern Front Desk
• 5:00 - 7:30 pm

The Triple Door Events

September 15th – Barth Winemaker dinner and Colin Hay concert. Norbert Barth and his family own some of the best vineyards in the famed Hattenheim region of the Rheingau in Germany. The wines, though not as famous as some of the other Rheingau greats (Goerg Breuer and Robert Wiel, for instance), are some of the most true and delicious Rieslings anywhere on the planet. Barth Ultra is also one of the best sparkling wines from anywhere, and made entirely from Rheingau Riesling. Join Mark Barth for an intimate tasting, followed by dinner and the Colin Hay concert from our private suites above The Triple Door Main Stage.

• Cost: $85/per person plus tax and Gratuity ($110.50 inclusive)
• Advance tickets required: (206) 838 4333 or purchase here>>
• 6:00 pm start time

Summer of Riesling Updates

Thank you to everyone who has joined us so far for The Summer of Riesling. If you haven't gotten down to one of the restaurants yet (or just want MORE!), never fear. We've posted a bunch of calendar updates, including some new events here.

Also, we wanted to tell you about the Heed the Hedonist Riesling Haiku Contest, which you can enter, here in order to win great Riesling prizes (actually prize, but it's really great).