Tickets are going quickly to one of our favorite wine events in Washington state, Taste of Tulalip — so run, don’t walk, to get yours before they sell out.

Trust us, you don’t want to miss this collaboration of wine, food and art.

Some “All Access” passes and tickets to the Grand Tasting on Nov. 14 are still available at Ticketmaster. But the Nov. 13 Celebration Dinner is already sold out.

All Access pass holders will have early entrance to the Grand Taste and the edgy Rock and Roll Cooking Challenge; a wine seminar called “Washington State AVA Smackdown,” featuring some of the state’s top wine producers; a VIP seminar featuring a cooking demo from Chef Chris Cosentino (from San Francisco’s Cockscomb and Boccalone); a private Magnum Party with a selection of high-level wine and food pairings; and more.

The Rock and Roll Challenge is a fast-paced culinary roller coaster with slammin’ rock and roll music. Three chef/sommelier teams will face off for a 30-minute cooking and wine pairing showdown—Iron Chef Style. Each team will combine talents to create the ideal entrée or appetizer from their mystery box, and pair it with a wine selection that the sommeliers will “hunt” for at the Grand Taste.

Each team will consist of one local Chef, one Tulalip Chef and one local Sommelier. This year’s local guest chef lineup includes Toby Jensen, The Ruins Seattle; Eric Truglas and Dean Shinagawa, Kama’aina Grindz; along with Tulalip Chefs Nikol Nakamura, John Jadamec and John Ponticelli. The Sommeliers will be comprised of Chris Horn, Purple Cafe Seattle; Dawn Smith, John Howie Steak; and Kristin Young, Bastille Cafe and Bar.

The Challenge takes place during the Grand Taste, which is always the weekend’s highlight. This year, more than 100 wines from Washington state, Oregon, California, Oporto, Maderia, will be poured, along with global selections of bubbles, late-harvest and ice wines, and craft beer.

Tulalip Resort Casino‘s talented wine expert, Tommy Thompson, and the event’s 2015 honorary winemaker, Kerry Shiels of Côte Bonneville, have created a unique blend of wine sourced from DuBrul Vineyard grapes — 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc. As you can see in the above photo, the artwork by Mike Gobin for the commemorative wine bottle and plate is a beautiful expression of the Tulalip culture.

We were also delighted to discover that this year, on Nov. 14, Taste of Tulalip is featuring an in-depth reserve wine tasting/seminar called “Turning Water Into Wine” with Sparky and Sarah Marquis of the award-winning Australian winery, Mollydooker Wines. The tasting lineup will include 12 of Mollydooker’s recently released 2014 wines.

When we visited their Cellar Door and vineyard in McLaren Vale last year, we had so much fun with Sparky and his dad, Leigh Gawith. We had a vineyard tour, tasted through their amazing lineup and had a truly wonderful time. For more information, see our blog posts and learn about Mollydooker’s Marquis Fruit Weight™ process and their “yum-worthy” wines:

Mollydooker Part 1
Mollydooker Part 2 

We hope to see you at Taste of Tulalip!

Cheers,
Margot and Dave