4th Annual Shooting for the Stars, September 20, 2009

El Gaucho Portland Hosts

4th Annual Shooting for the Stars
Putting Challenge and Casino Night
Sunday, September 20, 2009

Who:

El Gaucho® Portland, Hemophilia Foundation of Oregon (HFO) and Oregon Health and Science University’s Oregon Regional Hemophilia Treatment Center (HTC).

What:

Fourth Annual Shooting for the Stars

When:

Sunday, September 20, 2009
5 p.m. to midnight

Where:

El Gaucho Portland,
319 S.W. Broadway, Portland

Why:

One hundred percent of the evening’s proceeds will benefit the HFO and the HTC. Founded in 1963 by a small group of parents and children with hemophilia, the HFO is a volunteer organization dedicated to providing education and support to families affected by hemophilia and other bleeding disorders. The HTC, located at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, serves children, teens, and adults with hemophilia and other genetic bleeding disorders.

Details:

• The restaurant will be transformed into a casino with blackjack, poker, craps tables and roulette.
  
• Guests will receive $50 in gambling chips with unlimited opportunities to purchase additional chips.
  
• The evening’s events will feature a three-round putting challenge, offering lucky putters the chance to win $10,000.
  
• Guests will enjoy a buffet dinner with El Gaucho’s renowned 28-day dry-aged Certified Angus Beef® Prime tenderloin kabobs, prime rib and signature Caesar salad prepared from scratch.
  
• Live auctions and raffle
  
• Black Jack Tournament and a Texas Hold ‘em tournament will be available for guests with a $100 buy in.
  
• Prizes will be awarded for each tournament winner and the highest overall winning player of the night.
  
• Signature cocktail menu designed by Mark Joseph, beer and wine are included.

Throughout the night, guests will also participate in raffles and a silent auction benefitting HFO and HTC.

Tickets are $150 and include one entry into the putting challenge, and $50 in gambling chips. Additional opportunities to participate in the challenge are available for a fee. Black tie attire is recommended.

To sign up for the putting challenge, buy tickets, or receive more information about this charitable event, contact Monica Dickey at (503) 297-7207 at the HFT.

Open since 2000, El Gaucho® is the Northwest's steakhouse legacy focused on elegant, old-school, tableside service for people celebrating their lives. The menu highlights 28-Day Dry-Aged Certified Angus Beef® Prime steaks, cutting edge fresh seafood selections from sustainable sources, and extensive wine and malt scotch lists. El Gaucho’s swanky bar was recently featured in Continental Airlines magazine and given the “Gold Standard” by Portland Monthly magazine. Located at 319 S.W. Broadway, El Gaucho is open Monday through Thursday 5 p.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.; Sunday from 5 to 11 p.m. Happy hour is available 5 to 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. to close Monday through Friday and all day Sunday. For more information, visit www.elgaucho.com or call (503) 227-8794.

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Media Contact: Andrea Courtney
Randall PR / (206) 624-5757

FETCH! Wine Walkabout Sucess!

Talkabout a Success!

5th Annual Wine Walkabout Raises Money for Nonprofit Organization FETCH!

WHIDBEY ISLAND, Wash.— (August 12, 2009) — Cloudy skies and cool breezes couldn’t keep dog and wine lovers away from the FETCH! Wine Tasting Walkabout on August 8! Despite the less than ideal weather, the 5th annual Walkabout raised $2,000 (Free Exercise Time for Canines and their Humans!).

Over 100 attendees enjoyed fine cheeses, breads and chocolates accompanied by an assortment of wines provided by Novelty Hill, Januik Winery, Bohemian Highway, Rosenblum Cellars, Goats do Roam and Penfolds. An estimated 125 canine friends were also in attendance, wagging their tails, stretching their legs and nibbling tasty homemade treats.

With this year’s expanded wine list, even FETCH! founder Pat Buchanan was recruited to help pour at the tasting tables.

“The addition of more Washington wineries this year has been wonderful,” Pat Buchanan said, “local businesses supporting local parks—what a way to give back!”

Stay tuned for information on next year’s FETCH! Wine Tasting Walkabout!

FETCH! is a volunteer run 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization devoted to promoting safe, responsible off-leash play time for dogs and their owners. FETCH! was founded in 1998 after 81-year-old Margaret Kuehn was prohibited from allowing her dog run off-leash at Double Bluff Beach. Fellow dog lover, Pat Buchanan, heard Kuehn was collecting signatures for a petition, and decided to help. In 1999, after much support from others, a trial off-leash area was designated. The off-leash area became permanent a year later. Since then, five off-leash parks have been secured across Whidbey Island.

FETCH! parks are visited by approximately 85,000 humans and 105,000 canines each year. FETCH! receives approximately 96 percent of its operating funds from direct donations and fundraisers with the balance coming from sales of retail merchandise. For more information about FETCH! please call (360) 321-4049 or visit the web site at www.fetchparks.org.

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Media Contact: Lydia Vernon
Randall PR/ (206) 624-5757

Olsen Estates Winery Introducing Two New Northwest Rarities

Olsen Estates Winery Introducing Two New Northwest Rarities
Botrytis Dessert Wine “Golden Berry Select” and a 100-percent Petit Verdot

PROSSER, Wash.—(August 12, 2009)—As the family behind Olsen Estates Winery continues to celebrate its centennial year in the Yakima Valley, they are adding two very rare and very distinctive wines to their repertoire: the 2007 Golden Berry Select ($75) and the 2007 Petit Verdot ($37).

Available September 8 and only in the Olsen Estates Tasting Room, the 2007 Golden Berry Select Botrytis Riesling is one of only a handful of its kind in the state of Washington.

This special, fascinating dessert wine is made in the German Trockenbeerenauslese style, a term meaning “selected harvest of dried berries.” What makes this wine unique is that the grapes, from which the wine is made, have contracted the fungus Botrytis cinerea, also known as “noble rot.” The fungus occurs naturally and only in certain rare and unpredictable conditions, determined by Mother Nature. It removes moisture from the grapes, causing them to shrivel, or “raisin,” thereby concentrating fruit acids, minerals and sugars.

2007 Golden Berry Select Botrytis Riesling ($75)
Aromas of honey, apricot, spice, citrus and floral notes follow through the palate,
finishing soft and tremendously long.
Fermentation: 85 days
Total production: 14 cases
Bottle Size: 375 ml.

“Conditions have to be perfect in the vineyards for “good” botrytis to grow, if we have too much moisture we end up with grey rot, which is completely unusable” said winemaker Kyle Johnson. “When our vineyard manager noticed it was happening, we were ecstatic at the chance to make something so extraordinary.”

Olsen’s second rarity is the 2007 Petit Verdot, released July 4 and available online and at the tasting room. While petit verdot is normally used as a blending grape, winemaker Kyle Johnson decided to bottle the wine as a single varietal after noticing its balanced and unusually soft tannins.

2007 Petit Verdot ($37)
100% barrel-aged for 16 months in 100% French oak (75% new oak)
Black cherry, tobacco and chocolate surround a core of
blackberry and cassis, with a long, luscious finish.
Total production: 200 cases
Bottle Size: 750 ml.

“This wine is very special to us as a family,” said winery manager Martin Olsen. “Not only is the varietal on its own unusual, but the grapes were grown in a vineyard on our family’s newly dedicated Olsen Hill and released in our family’s centennial year in the Yakima Valley.”

Olsen Estates Winery Olsen Estates Winery is located at 500 Merlot Drive, Prosser, Wash., in the Yakima Valley AVA. Known in the valley as longtime grape growers, the Olsen family unveiled their first vintage in 2006, made from only the best grapes from their 800-acre vineyards. Olsen Estates’ focus is on 100-percent-varietal and Rhône-style blends, crafted by winemaker Kyle Johnson. Tasting room hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday during the summer. The winery and surrounding grounds are also available for private events. For more information, call (509) 786-7007 or visit www.olsenestates.com.

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Editors Note: Samples of the Olsen Estates 2007 Petit Verdot are available by request. Due to the limited quantity of the 2007 Golden Berry Select, sample tastings are only available through the winery manager at the Olsen Estates tasting room.

Media Contact: Andrea Courtney

Randall PR / (206) 624-5757

El Gaucho Seattle to Host Saucy Burlesque Show

El Gaucho Seattle to Host Saucy Burlesque Show

Miss Indigo Blue will Bring Va Va Voom to Pampas Room this Fall

Seattle, Wash.—(August 11, 2009)— With its swanky ambiance, El Gaucho Seattle’s Pampas Room is the perfect venue for the adults-only variety of dinner theater known as burlesque.

Popular dancer Miss Indigo Blue, a modern-day Gypsy Rose Lee and accompanying troupe will showcase “Nouveau Burlesque” from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. on October 16. Admission includes a four-course, set dinner menu with your choice of entrée. A select, discounted wine list will be available during the show. Tickets vary in price from $70 to $200 per person and are available at El Gaucho, (206) 728-1337.

• Front-row table seating costs $200 per person and includes a bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne
• Regular table seating costs $130 per person
• Bar seating costs $70 per person

With her sassy, sultry attitude, enchanting, irreverent humor, and sophisticated costumes and choreography, Miss Indigo Blue is a shining starlet who deftly balances the almost-tasteful with the always-titillating. Although she thrills audiences around the globe, this three-time Miss Exotic World award-winner and world-class tassel-twirler calls Seattle home. She is also headmistress and founder of the Seattle Academy of Burlesque.


El Gaucho® is the Northwest's steakhouse legacy focused on elegant, old-school, tableside service for people celebrating their lives. The menu highlights 28-Day Dry-Aged Certified Angus Beef® Prime steaks, cutting-edge fresh seafood selections from sustainable sources, and extensive wine and single malt Scotch lists. Offering intimate private dining and nightly live music, El Gaucho’s bar was recently named one of the “Best Places to Network” by Seattle Business, “Readers’ Choice for Best Steak” by Seattle Magazine, and has earned five Wine Spectator “Awards of Excellence” and three “Best of Awards of Excellence.” Located at 2505 First Ave., El Gaucho is open Monday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. For more information, call (206) 728-1337 or visit www.elgaucho.com.

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Media Contact: Andrea Courtney
Randall PR / (206) 624-5757

El Gaucho Seattle to Host Saucy Burlesque Show

El Gaucho Seattle to Host Saucy Burlesque Show
Miss Indigo Blue will Bring Va Va Voom to Pampas Room this Fall

SEATTLE, Wash.—(August 11, 2009)— With its swanky ambiance, El Gaucho Seattle’s Pampas Room is the perfect venue for the adults-only variety of dinner theater known as burlesque.

Popular dancer Miss Indigo Blue, a modern-day Gypsy Rose Lee and accompanying troupe will showcase “Nouveau Burlesque” from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. on October 16. Admission includes a four-course, set dinner menu with your choice of entrée. A select, discounted wine list will be available during the show. Tickets vary in price from $70 to $200 per person and are available at El Gaucho, (206) 728-1337.

Front-row table seating costs $200 per person and includes a bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne
Regular table seating costs $130 per person
Bar seating costs $70 per person

With her sassy, sultry attitude, enchanting, irreverent humor, and sophisticated costumes and choreography, Miss Indigo Blue is a shining starlet who deftly balances the almost-tasteful with the always-titillating. Although she thrills audiences around the globe, this three-time Miss Exotic World award-winner and world-class tassel-twirler calls Seattle home. She is also headmistress and founder of the Seattle Academy of Burlesque.

El Gaucho® is the Northwest's steakhouse legacy focused on elegant, old-school, tableside service for people celebrating their lives. The menu highlights 28-Day Dry-Aged Certified Angus Beef® Prime steaks, cutting-edge fresh seafood selections from sustainable sources, and extensive wine and single malt Scotch lists. Offering intimate private dining and nightly live music, El Gaucho’s bar was recently named one of the “Best Places to Network” by Seattle Business, “Readers’ Choice for Best Steak” by Seattle Magazine, and has earned five Wine Spectator “Awards of Excellence” and three “Best of Awards of Excellence.” Located at 2505 First Ave., El Gaucho is open Monday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m., and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. For more information, call (206) 728-1337 or visit http://www.elgaucho.com/.

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Media Contact: Andrea Courtney Randall PR / (206) 624-5757

Olsen Estates Winery Welcomes Robert Johnson as New Sales Manager

Olsen Estates Winery Welcomes Robert Johnson as New Sales Manager

Seattle-Based Johnson Brings Expertise and Enthusiasm to Award-Winning Winery

PROSSER, Wash.—(August 10, 2009)— Olsen Estates Winery is welcoming top wine professional, Robert Johnson as its new sales manager.

With over a dozen years of experience in both restaurant management and wine distribution combined with his specialized wine training, Johnson is a valuable addition to the Olsen team.

“Robert is a genuine triple threat,” says Martin Olsen, winery owner and manager. “He is passionate and knowledgeable about wine but also knows the ins and outs of the industry with all the experience he has under his belt. We’re absolutely thrilled to have him.”

Johnson, a Seattle native, discovered his love of the wine industry on a personal wine trip to Napa Valley in the fall of 1995. “What really got me was the customer service. I was taken care of at each winery,” Johnson said. “I loved that the wine industry was so friendly and from then on I just saw it as a place I could work in.”

Johnson shortly thereafter met the corporate trainer for G. Raden & Sons, while managing the Keg restaurants. A small distributor at the time, Renton-based G. Raden quickly recruited him after seeing his potential and passion for wine.

For the next 13 years, Johnson held various positions and helped grow G. Raden into one of the largest beer and wine distributors in the nation. The company eventually became Young’s Columbia.

His experience is complemented by his wine training, which includes his Level One Sommelier certification and a Certified Specialist of Wine.

Now, Johnson is using his connections and breadth of experience to promote, market and expand sales of Olsen Estates wines in Seattle and throughout the state.

The timing couldn’t be better. The Olsen Family is celebrating their centennial year of farming in the Yakima Valley: Festivities will continue with a series of events through September, culminating with the release of their first Heritage Series wine, a 2007 Syrah made from their finest 100% estate-grown grapes.

Olsen Estates Winery Olsen Estates Winery is located at 500 Merlot Drive, Prosser, Wash., in the Yakima Valley AVA. Known in the valley as longtime grape growers, the Olsen family unveiled their first vintage in 2006 made from only the best grapes from its 800-acre vineyards. Olsen Estates’ focus is on 100 percent varietal and Rhône style blends, crafted by winemaker Kyle Johnson. Tasting room hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday during the summer. The winery and surrounding grounds are also available for private events. For more information, call (509) 786-7007 or visit http://www.olsenestates.com.

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Media Contact: Andrea Courtney

Randall PR / (206) 624-5757

Happy Birthday to icon Grill!

Seattle's bastion of Aroused Americana, icon Grill, celebrates 11 years of service to the Emerald City today!

Check out icon's own Chef Nick Musser on King 5, sharing tips for dinner done easy:
http://www.king5.com/video/food-index.html?nvid=386723

And if that's still a bit too much work, pop into icon Grill for their limited time pulled pork sliders with chipotle peach bbq sauce and pickled watermelon rind... mmm...
http://icongrill.net/