Rio Jean Photography - Taste Washington {Take 2}

I have been looking forward to attending Taste Washington since last year!  Last year was amazing and now that I know I'll be gaining at least 5 lbs, I started to plan ahead diet wise, and shed like 15 lbs, yep!

Taste Washington is EPIC if you are a wine lover or a foodie, you HAVE to attend this event.  And I did warn you, you will gain at least 5 lbs from all of the great food and wine!

In case you missed my blog about Taste Washington last year, I've included images from that post below. If those pictures of food and wine don't make you want to attend, then here is more incentive, let me tell you who on my favorite list of people will be there.

I am super excited to be seeing James St. Clair again of Silver Lake, read my post about my visit with him, he is the rock star of Silver Lake.

The Hightowers, Tim and Kelly, will be pouring it up, they are a very fun couple and have great wine.  Take some time to chat with them, you won't be sorry!

The beautiful Shae of Frichette winery, go and talk to her about her edutainment, once you meet her, you will be a fan forever!

Keith and ReNae, of Terra Blanca, beautiful people and a gorgeous winery.  Keith is a mastermind when it comes to business, geology, and wine.  Talk to them about rabbit heads, the first person to email me the correct story about rabbits heads will receive a bottle of wine from my personal stash.  If you know me, my wine is verrryyyy precious to me, just picture me as Gollum hunched over his precious...that's me...except I'm not a scary creature.
**You must live around the Seattle area OR if you live in Eastern Washington, be somewhere near the Tri-cities so we can meet and I can give you the wine. I CAN'T ship the wine ***

 Tapteil Winery, whose name I spelled wrong for the longest time!  Jane and Larry will hopefully be there pouring their wine, check out the labels! Jane does amazing art work!  I'd be surprised to see Argus there, keep an eye out for a dread locked tail ;)

SO!! Reason enough to attend, right?!  I'll be there on Sunday!

Here is the official description from Visit Seattle:

SEATTLE – Visit Seattle and Washington State Wine invite wine lovers to mark their calendars; Taste Washington, the nation’s largest single-region wine and food event, will take place March 26-29, 2015, at various venues throughout Seattle. Now in its 18th year, Taste Washington promises a full weekend of activities, from an exciting new celebration targeting the under-40 wine lover to the signature Grand Tasting, which features hundreds of Washington State wineries, food from top Pacific Northwest restaurants, chef demonstrations and more.

The weekend begins Thursday, March 26, with the Red & White Party, an elegant, upscale evening with Washington State’s celebrated wineries pouring special selections from large-format bottles. The fun continues with The New Vintage, an upbeat event aimed at the next generation of wine lovers with a backdrop of music, dancing and tasty bites. The weekend culminates March 28 and 29, with two days of educational seminars led by top wine writers and sommeliers and the Grand Tasting at CenturyLink Field Event Center.

Details on winery participation, featured chefs, seminar topics, hotel packages and tickets will be available soon at www.tastewashington.org. Taste Washington is produced by Visit Seattle in partnership with Washington State Wine.

About Taste Washington:
Taste Washington is the largest single-region wine and food event in the United States, featuring more than 225 Washington State wineries and more than 70 Pacific Northwest restaurants. The 2015 Taste Washington welcoming sponsor is Alaska Airlines; the premier sponsors are Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Card and Muckleshoot Casino; and the event feature is Stella Artois. Taste Washington attracts more than 5,000 wine and food enthusiasts to the Seattle area. The Washington State Wine Commission launched Taste Washington in 1998 and is now produced by Visit Seattle. For more information, visit www.tastewashington.org.

Rio Jean Photography - Benton City, WA {Frichette Winery}

Frichette Winery (http://frichettewinery.com/)I have met a lot of winery owners and I would have to say Shae is on my list of favorite owners!  The Frichettes are so down to earth and I immediately felt at ease when I met with Shae and her family.  

One of the aspects I love about this winery is the cozy and inviting atmosphere. When I first walked in, I immediate felt a sense of inviting warmth and a feeling of being among family.  I honestly can say this is the only winery that has given me that feeling.  Shae is like a long lost friend who I hadn't seen in years, we literally could have spent the afternoon catching up and sipping on wine.

Greg and Shae had amazing jobs in California, Shae was a trainer for Black and Decker and was able to jet set all around the world for that position and Greg still works in IT/Marketing.  How cool is this couple, right?  Talk about an awesome combination of skills! On a trip back home to Pasco, the Frichettes decided to visit Red Mountain on a whim.  And of course, they fell in love and decided it was time for a change!

Frichette Winery had its first crush of Merlot in 2011 and opened its tasting room doors in September of 2013.  The first year, the winery produced 650 cases and in 2013, the winery produced around 1,000 cases. The Frichettes hope to be producing about 2,500 cases a year so they can remain a small production winery.

  

 Three words that sum up Frichette winery are fantastic wine, edutainment, and family atmosphere.  All three of these descriptors are definitely seen in the tasting room and in the Frichette brand. 

I really enjoyed all of the Frichette wines, Greg is mentoring under Charlie Hoppes of Fidelitas and Greg hopes to take over the wine making process in about two years.  I don’t know about you, but I am excited to try the wines when Greg starts making them! 

If I lived in the area, I would be at most of the edutainment events the winery puts on!  This sounds like a blast, for a girl’s night out or even a date night with your spouse! What is it, you are probably asking, right?  Shae is brilliant!  She wanted to incorporate education into the winery events but also wanted it to be fun (See her training skills coming into play here?) so why not edutainment?  People can come to an event, have a blast, and also learn something new.

This winery has nailed its branding and marketing (now here comes Greg’s skills!) I love the website AND the blog.  I have visited numerous winery websites, and the one thing that really makes Frichette’s website stand out in my mind, is the blog and the use of video.  Video has been the next “shinny object” for a while and I really like how the Frichettes are incorporating it into the website.  The videos provide visitors a chance to hear and see Shae, which is way more powerful than just reading something.  I have to say, after watching the videos, I felt more at ease with visiting the winery and I could tell that Shae is a very approachable person.

The branding and labels are timeless and beautiful.  If you notice the labels, there is an "F" for Frichette and if you flip the bottle upside down, it turns into a "J" which is for the Frichette’s son Jayden.  I had a chance to meet Jayden and let me tell you, he has a head of curls to die for!  You will no doubt have the opportunity to meet this sweet little man when you visit the tasting room as he has his very own space in the tasting room.

Jayden's area

Frichette Winery is truly a family legacy and a destination winery with fantastic views of Red Mountain. So….have I enticed you enough to give Frichette Winery a try?  I promise you will not be disappointed.

Cheers! 
Melanie