Two Great Wine Events Coming to the Northwest in November
If you enjoy attending northwest wine festivals as much as I do, I’ve got a couple of recommendations for upcoming events that are certain to whet your appetite.
For an excellent food and wine festival with a local flair, be sure to consider Bellingham Bay Rotary Club’s Grape & Gourmet on November 4. This is one of the key fundraising events for the Club, and a portion of the proceeds are used to benefit local charitable organizations.
Held at Bellingham’s Best Western Lakeway Inn from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, this culinary delight will feature wines from over 30 regional wineries and gourmet foods from a number of local restaurants.
I suggest purchasing the VIP ticket, which gets you in the door 1-1/2 hours earlier at 5:00 pm. This provides you with a better opportunity to make sure you don’t miss out on anything, and besides, who doesn’t enjoy having VIP status?
According to the Rotary web site, advance tickets can be purchased by phoning Mike Werner at 815-4269 or at BellinghamBayRotary.com. Regular tickets cost $75 and the VIP option will run you $125.
The Taste of Tulalip at the Tulalip Resort & Casino near Marysville is scheduled for November 9 and 10. Last year I suggested you mark your calendar and purchase your tickets in advance because this increasingly popular, top-of-the-line food and wine event will likely sell out.
That’s indeed the case with the multi-course Celebration Dinner slated for Friday, November 9 and the following day’s all access pass. But there are still plenty of tickets available for the November 10 Grand Taste, which I think is the highlight of the weekend.
I love this event because it includes some of Washington’s premiere wineries – such as Abeja and Leonetti Cellars – which you’re unlikely to find at any other public tasting.
In addition to the 65 Washington wineries scheduled to be on hand there will also be a number of fine wines from Napa Valley, Oregon, Italy and France. For those who like to bend the elbow on an occasional pint of ale, a selection of craft beers from 14 regional breweries will also be on tap.
The 5-hour Grand Taste begins at 2:30 pm and includes unlimited tasting along with a wide selection of cuisine prepared by the Resort’s staff. Tickets are $85 in advance, $95 the day of the event, but don’t expect them to last that long. For purchase information visit tasteoftulalip.com.