Destination marketing: it's Patrick McFarlan's specialty. Happens that he's employed by Willows Lodge in Woodinville; that doesn't stop him from marketing Washington's distant vineyards. As president of the Woodinville Chamber of Commerce last year, he spearheaded an event called the Washington Wine Highway, held again this past weekend on the lawn at Chateau Ste. Michelle.
Food, drink, and roadsigns that let you pretend you were in Yakima or Walla Walla without having to spend hours and hours on the Interstate. They told the food vendors to expect 1,500 at each booth, but the hot tickets, like Elliott's Copper River salmon filets and 0/8 Seafood's scallop sashimi, served 2,000 portions on Saturday alone.
Numbers not as high back at The Bellevue Collection (high-end shopping in and around Bellevue Square), which piggybacked onto the weekend with a lower-key promotion of wine dinners and tastings. Not quite as focused, perhaps, on the simple pleasures of eating, drinking and snoozing on the grass.
French Chef Sally is my friend Sally McArthur, who hosts luxurious,
week-long cooking classes at the Chateau du Riveau in the Loire Valley.
Local Wine Events.com,
the worlds leading Food and Wine tasting calendar. Spirits and Beer events as well. Post your own event or sign up
to be notified when new events are po
sted to your own area.
VinoLover, Seattle wine promoter David LeClaire's bulletin board of tastings,
dinners and special events.
Wine Educator Dieter Schafer maintains a full schedule
of Seattle-area tastings and seminars
for amateur wine drinkers and professional alike.
Nat Decants, a free wine e-newsletter from Natalie MacLean, recently named the World's Best Drink Writer at the World Food Media Awards in Australia. Wine picks, articles and humor; no ads.