Keep the new year's party going at several tasting events
This month and next offer more cultural, traditional and customary festivities, so no need to pack away that party hat just yet.
Taste Washington (tickets sales launched Wednesday, January 11), the Lunar New Year (begins Sunday, January 22), a very special birthday (February 5), Super Bowl LVII (Sunday, February 12), Walla Walla wineries tour in Seattle (Monday, February 13) and Valentine’s Day, February 14.
After a three-year hiatus, the Washington State Wine Commission and SE Productions are teaming up to relaunch the nation’s largest single-region food and wine festival. This multi-day event begins on March 6 and ends on the 13 with a multitude of exciting events. Tickets to Taste Washington events will be available on their website starting January 11.
For food and wine lovers, there is The Grand Tasting on March 12 and 13, featuring over 200 wineries and 50 restaurants. Seminars before the Grand Tasting lets you sip and learn about topics such as Washington's Newest Wine Regions, the Birthplace of Washington Wine, Sparkling Wines of Washington or Washington vs the World.
We’ll hop on into the new lunar year on Sunday, January 22. This second New Year’s celebration of the year is called the Lunar New Year. In contrast to the solar calendar, the lunar calendar follows the phases of the moon, new, waxing, full and waning. There are 12 cycles in lunar years and each new year celebrates one of 12 animals rather than a planet or asteroid.
As of the 22nd, the roaring tiger is out and the tranquil rabbit rules. Festivities begin New Year’s Eve – January 21 – and run for 14 days.
Customs include cleaning the home, red envelopes with money inside, paying respects to your ancestors, firecrackers to chase out the evil spirits who lurk in the dark and traditional lion and dragon dances.
Many cultures begin the Lunar New Year with a festive meal. The banquet may include shaved noodles, hom bao, steamed fish, sweet rice cakes, spring rolls, turnips and radishes. Sparkling wine is rather untraditional but it’s a new year celebration!
So pop a bottle of bubbly such as Asti Spumante. Asti is a region in Italy’s Piedmonte where big reds such as Barolo and Barbaresco are produced. Spumante designates the style of wine, derived from the Italian word spumare meaning to foam. Asti Spumante is the region’s sparkling wine made with the Muscat grape using the charmat method which is basically carbonating the wine in a tank rather than in the bottle. Eliminating the second fermentation in the bottle produces a less expensive sparkling wine that is quicker to with a market with a minimum production time of 30 days.
Prosecco is another charmat produced bubbly named for a village in the Veneto region in northeastern Italy. Inside the Prosecco region is Valdobbiadene positioned up in the hills and producing fantastic Proseccos. So good, it has DOCG status.Prosecco must be 85% of the Glera grape with the remainder of the allowed blend to be other grapes such as Verdiso, Chardonnay, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio, or Pinot Noir.
The world’s largest sparkling wine producer is Freixenet in northern Spain. Spanishsparkling wine is referred to as cava which is a style of wine much like the designation spumante in Italy. These wines are always great for celebrations because of their exceptional quality, price, and availability. Most cavas are produced in the Penedès, a region in Catalonia that is cava’s ancestral home. The three traditional grape varieties are used — Macabeu, Xarel·lo and Parellada.
Germany also produces millions of gallons of sparkling wine, third behind Italy and France. Sekt is the name for sparkling wines made there. These may be a little more time consuming to find but there is one German trained winemaker in Wapato that is producing excellent sparkling wines.
Treveri wines has been served at White House State Department receptions and the James Beard Foundation in New York. That’s how good they are. And they produce a wide array of sparkling wines, including ones made from the German grapes Gewurztraminer and Mueller-Thurgau.
If you would like to try a more traditional Japanese Lunar New Year drink, try O-toso, which is sake steeped with herbs and spices. Yoko Yoko Ramen in Bremerton has a sake sommelier on staff, and at the December sake class I learned a thing or two about celebratory traditions in Japan. Sharing sake to bring in the Lunar New Year is very traditional and Sommelier Razz made a beautiful O-toso infused with rhubarb, sancho, cumin, ginger, ginseng, cinnamon and a dash of mirin (sweet sake).
Some 40 Walla Walla Valley wineries and winemakers will grace McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St., Seattle, once again this year. At the Grand Tasting on Monday, February 13, you can sample wines crafted by these wineries along with delectable bites. More info at https://www.wallawallawine.com/event/on-tour-sea/
Then on February 14, we can show our love to Kitsap Peninsula restaurants that are cooking up inspired offerings for Valentine's Day. One of my favorite romantic spots is the Bay Street Bistro in Port Orchard. They also hold monthly wine dinners, another of my favorite activities. Check them out.
And finally we come to February 5, and the advice from Edie Ceccarelli, who was born on February 5, 1908. Ceccarelli was the first of seven children born to Italian immigrants Agostino and Maria Recagno. She turns 115 this year, making her the oldest person in the United States. Her advice for longevity is two fingers of red wine with dinner and mind your own business.
I suggest pouring two fingers of red and raising your glass to toast Edie. Cheers!
Mary Earl has been educating Kitsap wine lovers for a couple of decades, is a longtime member of the West Sound Brew Club and can pair a beer or wine dinner in a flash. She volunteers for the Clear Creek Trail and is a longtime supporter of Silverdale.