Visiting Chateau Ste. Michelle

We got a pleasant surprise two days ago when we received notification in the mail telling us that we had won a free ultimate wine tasting and tour at the nearby Chateau Ste. Michelle through a Clearwire contest. A few weeks ago while walking back home from work a young man outside the Key Arena shoved some contest related promotional materials into my hands before I could really say anything in protest. I gave it to Hoon and asked him to enter his name just for kicks but he got an instant message saying “Sorry! You’re not a winner but try again!” so we tossed the papers without much thought. Then a few days later he got a FedEx letter with a return address from a law office – at first I though someone was serving him with a lawsuit so I would not open it, which made us both laugh post-fact – informing him that he had indeed won a prize. So to make a long story short today was the day we were expected to show up for the 2pm wine tasting and tour. We discovered Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling and Johannesburg Riesling years back and through the years they have been among our favorites, so I think it’s particularly fitting that this is now one of our local wineries. This tasting was a unique experience in a private setting with two of Chateau’s resident wine specialists presenting a tasting of Chateau Ste. Michelle’s select premium wines paired with appropriate delicacies. This allowed for a particularly interesting personal experimentation and discovering first hand how proper wine pairing can bring out amazing and often unexpected flavors in the foods we encounter everyday. Our prize included a gift certificate for the winery gift shop so we took a few of those great bottles of wine home with us. We also enjoyed a brief stroll on the grounds of the winery where resident peacocks, ducks and big Canadian geese roam freely. With its formal gardens, graceful architecture and warm, welcoming fire in the great stone fireplace, once could forget that we were in Seattle’a suburb of Woodinville, WA rather than some far away Chateau nestled in the French countryside. We definitely plan to return for another much longer visit but during warm and sunny summer months, until then we will let the taste of their Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and special Eroica Riesiling take us back in our thoughts.

We found a huge doggie park and an awesome burger place!

Today was a glorious sunny day and we decided to take a day off and enjoy nature. Because of recent heavy rains we didn't feel like going for a long hike in the hills so instead we visited Marymoor Park near Redmont (east of Seattle). We discovered a 40-acre dog off-leash area, the largest in the state. There must have been hundreds of happy dogs of all ages, breeds and sizes, running, fetching, playing, swiming or just romping around and the energy was contageous! We learned about S.O.D.A., a non-profit organization formed to provide ongoing support and stewardship for the off-leash dog exercising areas in and around Seattle, and decided to join and volunteer. After such an enjoyable long walk we got very hungry and decided to go for a quick bite at Red Mill Burgers, at their second location in the Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle. We had discovered that place a few weeks earlier and were definitley convinced that they diserve the title of best burgers in Seattle! Yummy!

Nice weather is back and we are very happy about it!

After record rain and a few days with actual snow accumulation, which caused office and road closures and added hours to people's commuting times (in some cases half an hour commutes turned into six hour ordeals on icy roads), we are having a week with no rain and predominantly sunny albeit short winter days. We used the weekend for another wonderful excursion to Discovery Park in Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, where these images were taken.