Every year, Washington wine enthusiasts celebrate spring at a very special event called Taste Washington, where you can sample tastes from more than 200 Washington state wineries and 60 restaurants. It’s a two-day extravaganza that should not be missed!

First, I recommend you get tickets now at Ticketmaster for the Grand Tasting on April 5 at Qwest Field Event Center. Second, I suggest that you take a couple of  minutes to check out the seminars on April 4. These seminars are fun in addition to being educational.

I wish I hadn’t missed them last year, but I was out of town. Shortly after the 2008 Taste Washington event, I read a blog post by my colleague Thad in Beyond the Bottle, and then became determined to attend at least some of the seminars this year.

“In previous years, I had only attended the Sunday tasting event, never realizing how much I was missing by not going to the Saturday seminars. Seminars are one of the best ways to taste wine and learn more about the people and places behind each glass in front of you.” — Beyond the Bottle, April 7, 2008

You do not have to be a well-versed wine enthusiast to enjoy the seminars. They are a great opportunity for novices to learn more about Washington wine and mingle with the who’s who of Washington wine makers and others in our great industry.

And speaking of which, I would be remiss if I didn’t note the spectacular news that Washington now is home to 602 wineries! That’s almost double the number since I started writing about Washington state wine, and almost a 300-percent increase in the last decade.

Hope to see you at Taste Washington!
Cheers!