So many wine events, so little time . . .

Next week, the Culinary & Wine Showcase returns to Bellevue to unite local restaurants with wine- and food-lovers. Now in its second year, the calendar of events has really expanded, with something happening every day from Monday, May 26 through Sunday, June 1.

Highlights include a wine tasting featuring the 2008 Seattle Magazine Washington Wine Award winners paired with bites from Bellevue Collection restaurants, with Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein in attendance.

And, during the week local restaurants such as 0/8 Seafood Grill and Maggiano's Little Italy will be hosting wine dinners featuring Washington wineries.

New this year is the 'Bite & Flight Passport' - an amazing deal, it costs just $25 and lets the passport holder try bites of food paired with tastes of wine at seven local Bellevue restaurants!

Between these events and the Washington Wine Highway, I think I'll have had my fill of wine (if that's possible) by Memorial Day!

Yakima Valley Wine Country Visit

My first trip to Yakima Valley wine country was amazing. Not only did I get the opportunity to sample several incredible wines, I also was able to see first hand all the beautiful acres of vineyards of Olsen Estates Winery. It was such an educational trip. I learned about the vines, the terroir and the whole winemaking and bottling process.

For more information about Olsen Estates winery click here.

Gewurtzha-what?

One of my favorite parts of this job is learning about wine. At our quarterly staff meeting last week, we did a blind tasting. The challenge? To identify the varietal. (As a bonus, one of the wines was flawed and two were different vintages from the same winery. But I am not that good - yet!)

It was an incredibly interesting tasting for several reasons. The varietal was Gewurtzaminer, a type of wine that I haven't had a lot of before. Every time we do this, I am surprised by how much range of flavor a single varietal can produce. In this case, we had everything from acidic fruits to melons to honey to caramel.

We also learned about bottle shock. Unbelievable to think that two bottles of the same wine could taste so different just because one had just been traumatized by the bottling process! It had no flavor and tasted almost like water.

Very educational and also fun. If you don't get to drink at work like I do, I would definitely recommend trying this with friends at a party!

Something that drew me to Randall PR was my love for fine foods and dining out. So after only being on the job one week, I was excited to be able to attend Taste Washington on April 6, 2008. Being very new to Randall PR and the wine community, I was thrilled to have an opportunity to sample wines from all over Washington state. It was also great to meet so many of clients I had been hearing so much about.

But Taste Washington wasn't just about the wine. Some of my favorite encounters included admiring the skillful and intricate artwork of Fresh Northwest Design and indulging in the Raw Sashimi Scallops from 0/8 Seafood Grill. Needless to say, it was not a bad first week on the job.

-Callie, PR Coordinator

Taste Washington 2008

When Olsen Estates asked me to help pour wine at this years Taste Washington, I jumped at the chance. It was my very first Taste Washington, and it didn't disappoint. The event was a great opportunity to sample some of our states best food and wine.

Olsen Estates poured its acclaimed 2006 Olsen Estates Chardonnay and its very first vintage of red wine, the Olsen Estates Rouge des Coteaux.

For more information about Olsen Estates wines click here.

Zephyr Grill & Bar, sister restaurant to Seattle's iconic icon Grill located in Kent Station, received some well-deserved recognition in the latest issue of South Sound Magazine.

To read about Chef Musser, his "Aroused Americana" cuisine and his newest restaurant, click here.

rian handbags

We would like to welcome rian handbags to RPR. This is especially exciting for us because it represents our desire to offer a more comprehensive cross-section in our specialty niche of “lifestyle” clients. Not to mention we are beyond thrilled about their product.

The quality and thought behind their bag designs is stellar. The men’s messenger bag may be the coolest computer friendly bag we’ve ever seen. Local Bellevue store MARQSMEN and Portland's Michael Allen carry them.

The women’s line is due out later this year! We’ll send out a sneak peak as soon as we can!