Christmas Extravaganza Saturday, December 17th at Pete's of Bellevue

Or should we call it the "Big Red Extravaganza"? Either way, there will be some large reds that will keep you warm during the holiday season! Please join Andy Campbell as he chooses wines to pair with Holiday roasts including wines from Washington, California and any other large red region in the world. With Andy's keen eye for value, along with some great eats, this is a tasting not to be missed!

Pete's Bellevue

Saturday, August 13 from 3-6pm

Washington Wine Battle Royale!
ATTENTION! For all you troops (fans) of Washington state wines, your orders are to come armed with your glass and be on the ready to seek and destroy (purchase) some of the finest Washington wines being poured today! Wineries to be on the lookout for are Goose Ridge, Kestrel, Maryhill, Columbia, and a few other fantastic wineries. Come find out who will be victorious in this vicious and delicious battle!

Château Calon Ségur

In most years, wines from Bordeaux, particularly the top level ones, either need to be drunk early with plenty of decant time or should be cellared for many years. On my birthday this year, we decanted and drank a great bottle of wine, 1995 Château Calon Ségur, a Third Growth in the 1855 classification, located in St. Estèphe in the northern Haut-Medoc. I thought that It would be interesting to describe the barrel tasting at the Château in September of 2009. Château Calon Ségur 2008 St. Estèphe Third Growth Calon Ségur has a label featuring a heart since a proprietor who also owned Lafite and Latour said that his heart was in Calon. We needed quite a bit of help to locate the winery. Our host was M Vincent Millet, a very reserved individual. After our return,

Summer Extravaganza!
Please join Andy Campbell as he hosts one of his now famous "Extravaganza" tastings. With Andy's keen eye for value at all price ranges, this will be a tasting not to be missed! He will feature some of his top picks for Summer guzzling, including fine selections from California (La Crema, Kendall-Jackson, Raymond), France (Moet & Chandon), Italy (Banfi Tuscan Estates), and some treats from Washington state.

Pete’s of Bellevue is proud to announce, for the first time in Washington, the winemaker from Veuve Clicquot is here to taste, sign bottles and share his winemaking experiences. Pierre Casenave will be here from 5-7pm, and along with some tasty eats, will be tasting wines from the entire Veuve Clicquot lineup…from the Yellow Label Brut to the grand old lady herself, the “Grand Dame”. This is a rare opportunity, and is a tasting not to be missed!

I just got word that due to the cuts in higher education funding, Lake Washington Technical College will be killing their 90 credit Wine Technology program. This is hard to accept, considering the fact that less than 5 miles away more than 90 wineries are represented in Woodinville wine country. Many of those wineries are small and marginally profitable, but there are more than a few big guns that might consider sponsoring this program.

Cool story from Reuters today about the discovery of a 6,000 year-old wine press in Armenia.  Follow this link for more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110111/lf_nm_life/us_wine_oldest.

YELLOWEEN 2010 PETE’S EAST SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2010 3-6 PM 4th Annual Yelloween tasting at Pete’s Bellevue! This is not just a tasting, it is an event! Please join Andy Campbell of WineSquire.com, along with numerous knowledgeable Veuve Clicquot Representatives as they taste Halloween’s favorite Champagne, Veuve Clicquot Brut “Yellow Label”. Celebrate “Yelloween” with this bubbly, or your choice of fine wines from around the world of Moet Hennesy’s portfolio.

For those of you following the two initiatives regarding the privatization of Washington liquor sales, be prepared for a noisy battle for the next two months. There is big money pouring into this fight on both sides, so I thought it would be a good time to talk about who is funding each camp. The names of the organizations buying political ads are meaningless, they always sound like noble causes. To really know what the fuss is all about, you need to know who is paying the bills and why. It is then up to you to choose the side that is best aligned with your own interests.

It's almost football season and we thought we could start things off with the big one: Washington versus Oregon! With the big brooding reds and complex whites of Washington, and the racy, zippy whites and sexy smooth reds from Oregon, we're not sure who will win! Please join Andy Campbell as he referees the match between various Washington wines he chooses, and Alan Hanish of Lange Winery, the premier Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris producer from the Willamette Valley in Oregon, Who do you think will win?

Tasting is from 3-6 pm. Hope to see you at Pete's Bellevue this Saturday!