update
We’ve gotten word that Eric McLaughlin from the 8th Street Wine Co. hosted a Snake River Valley and made by Idaho wineries wine tasting yesterday afternoon.
According to Ted Judd of Vin du Bois, “Erik did a great job of presenting the AVA, a history of our regional wineries, and the varietals served. He had to leave before the tasting was finished though, he got a frantic phone call from home telling him wife was in labor and her contractions were down to 5 minutes apart. He left in a HURRY. The tasting was finished without any glitches by the others on his staff and an enjoyable afternoon was had by a large group of very happy tasters. We hope that Jennifer is doing well. Have not had an update on whether they are parents again or not.”
Here was the lineup:
Bitner Riesling
Williamson Viognier
1000 Springs Chardonnay
Cinder Rose’
Vin du Bois Pinot Noir
Sawtooth Tempranillo
Indian Creek Star Garnet
Fraser Syrah
Pend d’Oreille Malbec
Koenig Merlot
Hells Canyon Cabernet
Ste Chapelle Ice Wine
We all owe Erik our gratitude for being a such a strong supporter and cheerleader for our industry.
http://8streetwine.com/
On another note, Mike and I got in on 94.9 the River’s restaurant deal where every Friday they have a select restaurant sell gift certificates for $25 but your credit is actually $50. So it’s like a half-off gift certificate or double-your-money deal depending on how you look at it. So we used our La Vie en Rose gift cert. Friday night. Overall, it was a good experience. I thought they would have more French wines but seemed to offer mostly Italian wines. Although my meal was deelish, (Chicken Pentecoste?) I thought the food was a bit over-priced. Mike got the brie-stuffed New York…yum.
Of course we got dessert…to go…I got the Tahitian Vanilla Brulee Tart. We enjoyed it later that night. It was uber-sweet and I almost wish there was less caramel (the bottom of the tart was all caramel). I thought it would be mostly creme brulee. I will definitely go back for more of their desserts…the chocolate ones looked tasty!
http://www.lavieenrosebakery.com/desserts.html
Other than that, the weekend has been filled with tasting room visitors, gardening and I managed to squeeze in two hours of climbing last night from 6 to 8 at Swan Falls. Talk about a busy day down there! There were fishers, motor bikers, hikers, scenic drivers, campers and parachuters. While I was waiting to meet up with Mike on the rim, I managed to run over and snap some photos…enjoy!
