Anything with a name like WineCHATr is naturally going to pique my interest! And I decided that it was finally time to blog about it.

We first saw WineCHATr promoted at Woodinville Wine Country’s St. Nick’s weekend last December. A few months earlier, I had discovered WineCOW (Wine Connection of Washington) when I linked to it in this blog. But it wasn’t until early this month that I made the connection between WineCHATr and WineCOW. Perhaps the caps in both names should have been a hint?

That connection is Marcus Pape, who also happens to be an author!

Earlier this month, I discovered that Marcus was holding a signing for his new book, Eat & Drink in the Northwest, at Brian Carter Cellars in Woodinville. So it seemed time to finally meet him and also taste the latest vintage of Brian Carter’s flagship wine, Solesce. My conclusions? The BCC Bordeaux-style wine continues to be rich and robust. Eat & Drink in the Northwest is an inspiring collection of seasonal “Northwest-inspired” food and wine pairings. And finally, Marcus has some great ideas for WineCHATr.

What is WineCHATr? Let’s go to the Web site to see how it’s described: WineCHATr.com is bringing both sides of the wine community together, wine drinkers and wine businesses, in order to create the ultimate online resource for everything wine related. … We’ve built upon the popularity of social networking and added a purpose. That purpose is to connect people and businesses with similar interests, in this case WINE, and provide them a space to share and learn.

The Web site goes on to explain the benefits to both individuals who love wine and businesses in the wine industry. Stay tuned for some exciting growth in the months ahead.

Cheers!