If you live in the Seattle area and enjoy wine, but you only want to go to one wine event in the year, Taste Washington is it. If you know a bit about wine but want to know more, Taste Washington is the place to go. Or if you want to know why Washington state is becoming known worldwide as the producer of some incredible wine, get your tickets now to Taste Washington.

My wise Twitter friend Yashar, the sommelier at Seastar Restaurant and RawBar, recently described Taste Washington as “the Super Bowl of Washington wine events.” I have to agree. We went last year and can’t wait to go again.

On Saturday (March 27), there are seven seminars featuring winemakers, vineyard owners and wine media. They all sound so interesting that I haven’t yet decided which ones to attend. For example, Bob Betz of Betz Family Winery and Dick Boushey, owner/grower of Yakima Valley’s famed Boushey Vineyards, will take an in-depth look at the vineyard – and provide you with a chance to taste wines from its grapes. Meanwhile, Seattle’s well-known Chef Tom Douglas heads a food and wine pairing seminar. And then there’s a panel called “The Legend of Quilceda Creek” – one of the biggest names in Cabernet Sauvignon. There’s also a game-show-like atmosphere at a seminar where the audience participates in a blind tasting and tries to guess which wines are from Washington state. And my friend Sean Sullivan, of Washington Wine Report, is a panelist for a seminar on Washington’s “Mighty Malbecs” – a grape that’s recently become a rising star in Washington.

The seminars are being held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday at Bell Harbor Conference Center. I wish I could attend all of them!

The next day, Sunday March 28, features the Grand Tasting from 4 to 7 p.m. at Qwest Field Event Center. The tickets cost $75 – but think of it this way: for a special occasion, you might buy a good bottle or two of wine for $75. At Taste Washington, for $75 you have the opportunity to taste up to three wines from more than 200 wineries. And that’s not all – about 75 restaurants will be providing their favorite mouth-watering appetizers for you to sample.

So get your tickets, arrange for a designated driver or public transportation, and be prepared to taste and learn about Washington wines next weekend. The Washington Wine Commission aptly calls this event “the ultimate wine experience.”

Cheers!