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  • ร—
    Urban Bliss Life ยป All Recipes ยป Food Events ยป Seattle Wine and Food Experience Grand Tasting

    Published: March 9, 2016 / Updated: May 28, 2022 by Marlynn Jayme Schotland ยท This post may contain affiliate links.

    Seattle Wine and Food Experience Grand Tasting

    The 2016 Seattle Wine and Food Experience Grand Tasting was a showcase of some of the highest quality, innovative brand leaders as well as exciting new players in the Pacific Northwest food & beverage scene. 

    2016 Seattle Wine and Food Experience: Grand Tasting, on UrbanBlissLife.com

    After experiencing the festive Pop! Bubbles & Seafood event, settling into a relaxing night's sleep at the Maxwell Hotel, and fueling up on a large, divine breakfast at Toulouse Petit (full restaurant review post coming soon), I geared up for the main event of the weekend: the Seattle Wine & Food Experience Grand Tasting.

    Jump to:
    • Grand tasting
    • Washington wines
    • Oregon wines
    • California wines
    • International wines
    • Spirits and ciders
    • The food
    • Etc.
    • Why go?

    Grand tasting

    You can read all about the main details of the weekend's events in my Seattle Wine & Food Experience preview post. In essence, it's a deluxe showcase of Pacific Northwest wine, spirits, cider, beer, food, and lifestyle brands. It's an excellent place to sample so many top notch businesses under one roof, in a fun and interactive atmosphere.

    I enjoyed several absolutely delicious bites by some of Seattle's best restaurants, bakeries, cooking schools, and caterers. There were impressive booth displays at this food and beverage festival, making it a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds and tummy. They were honestly all so gorgeous, such beautiful pieces of art, that I snapped a LOT of photos.

    So without further ado, here's a look at some of the highlights of the 2016 Seattle Wine and Food Experience Grand Tasting event, which was held February 21, 2016 at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall.

    Washington wines

    martedi wines barbera
    portlandia oregon rose
    anew rose
    the pundit red wine

    From top to bottom: Martedi Winery // Rainier Wine (makers of Portlandia wine) // Anew wines // The Pundit by Chateau Ste Michelle

    Oregon wines

    The Seattle Wine and Food Experience featured wines from all over the globe, with separate areas for Oregon wines, Washington wines, and International wines. Here's a look at some of my favorite Oregon wines that were represented at the Grand Tasting.

    serra vineyards syrah
    scott paul pinot noir
    wine by joe pinot noir
    le cadeau pinot noir

    From top to bottom: Serra Vineyards // Scott Paul Wines // Dobbes Family Estate // Le Cadeau //

    California wines

    klinker brick rose

    Klinker Brick Winery (keep in mind there were many more California wineries; this is just the one photo from this category that made the cut!)

    International wines

    2016 Seattle Wine & Food Experience: Grand Tasting, on UrbanBlissLife.com
    the cleaver red blend wine

    There were a few international brands, but I truly enjoyed chatting with Jeff Peda, the Northwest Regional Manager of Blends, Inc. Blends' family of wine estates includes wines from various countries, such as Argentina and Uruguay. The Cleaver red blend featured above is from California.

    Spirits and ciders

    crater lake vodka

    Bend Distillery & Crater Lake Spirits  makes amazing flavored vodka, and this was my first time trying the Hazelnut Espresso. Wow! It was a lot to take in a straight shot, but I could definitely see using this in many, MANY cocktails. It's on my list to get and use in a future Mixology Monday post!

    hendricks gin

    Hendrick's Gin always has an incredible display at any event, and this was no different. I took video, and may share it later, but they brought with them a fabulous steampunk-esque self-mixing cocktail contraption.

    The food

    I wish I had the space to go into great detail of each of these dishes, because I have strong opinions on all of them (mostly good!). If you have questions about specific ones, feel free to leave them in the comments and I will try to answer them. For the sake of space, here's a look at each dish and its ingredients. I like to say that we eat with our eyes first, and at first bite, just looking at these photos, you get a really excellent sense of just how delicious they are!

    2016 Seattle Wine & Food Experience: Grand Tasting, on UrbanBlissLife.com

    If you read this blog regularly, then you KNOW I fell in love as soon as I saw this dish: Coho salmon, farro risotto (oh how I love farro!!), Sorrel, and King Crab Mousse, by Celebrity Cruises. Celebrity cruises had an awesome lounge set up where you could watch their master mixologist mix up signature cocktails for guests, enter to win an Alaska cruise, or just lounge and enjoy the salmon.

    2016 Seattle Wine & Food Experience: Grand Tasting, on UrbanBlissLife.com

    One of my favorites of the event: filet mignon Au Porto-Angus beef filet stuffed with buttermilk blue affinée with a veal demi and port reduction, by Carousel French Cuisine.

    2016 Seattle Wine & Food Experience: Grand Tasting, on UrbanBlissLife.com

    Lamb pastrami on a pretzel crisp with sauerkraut mustard, but Trellis Restaurant.

    spicy ahi tuna poke

    "Beat Bobby Flay" Bibimbap: spicy ahi tuna poke with shredded lettuce, cucumber, radish kimchi, radish sprouts and gochujang sauce, by Chinoise Cafe.

    mortadella appetizer

    Nicky Farms goat Mortadella by Novelty Hill-Januik. This was one of my favorite dishes in terms of presentation, creativity, and taste. (I might have had two...).

    2016 Seattle Wine and Food Experience: Grand Tasting, on UrbanBlissLife.com

    Roasted Mushrooms on Dahlia Bakery Pecan-Flax Bread with Pickled Shallots, by The Dahlia Lounge.

    2016 Seattle Wine and Food Experience: Grand Tasting, on UrbanBlissLife.com

    Soy & ginger braised lamb with sesame sticky rice cake and lemongrass curry aioli, by Frolick!

    chocolate panna cotta

    Roasted white chocolate panna cotta with strawberry rosé gelee, by South Seattle College Culinary and Pastry & Baking Arts

    seattle canning company

    The Seattle Canning Company was on hand with their various products, and impeccable branding all around.

    2016 Seattle Wine and Food Experience: Grand Tasting, on UrbanBlissLife.com

    Insalata Di Mare by Blue Sardina

    bruschetta

    Mozarella and tomato bruschetta by Mama Stortini's. I loved this bruschetta so much.

    venison sirloin

    Seared rare venison sirloin, red wine braised salsify, and grains of paradise, by Lark.

    2016 Seattle Wine & Food Experience: Grand Tasting, on UrbanBlissLife.com

    Finally, a bevvy of sweet treats from Gelatiamo (pictured left), and donuts from Top Pot Doughnuts

    Etc.

    Many exhibitors had fun interactive features and my favorite by far was meeting the founder of Tim's Chips. We got a photo together (I'll post that soon on Twitter, Instagram, and/or Facebook), and he was there signing bags of chips so I got a signed bag for my kids! Yakima Valley was the featured wine region, and in addition to all of the wineries and restaurants featured in the photos below, there were some incredible beer and cider companies represented here as well. One of my favorites was brand new to the cider scene: Flatbed Cider. I hope to be writing more about their cider in a separate post soon!

    Why go?

    If you are reading this, then you made it this far through all of the photos, and my rambling. High five!

    I know there were a lot of photos, and I thank you for bearing with me. But, imagine all of the DELICIOUS beauty that you did not see, which I had to cut. There's a lot missing here, because I don't have room for every awesome find from this event. So that means you will need to check it out for yourself next year!

    If you're a food or wine/beer/spirits lover in the Pacific Northwest, this is the event for you. You would love chatting with the winemakers and principles of many of the wineries, with the chefs and restaurant owners. It's a very inviting atmosphere; I knew maybe one or two people, and not very well, and I found everyone there so warm and welcoming, and eager to chat. There were so many interesting people to meet and incredible business stories to be shared here; it's like speed dating between consumers and food & beverage companies. I left with so much valuable information, a ton of business cards, and lots of great memories.

    Be sure to click on the links for the above mentioned businesses to learn more about their food and beverage companies. To learn more about the Seattle Wine & Food Experience, please visit their website.

    Which wine or dish featured above would you be interested in trying the most? 

    I attended the Seattle Wine and Food Experience Grand Tasting and the Pop! Bubbles & Seafood event as a media guest. As always, all opinions and photos are my own. I only write about products, places, experiences, events that I personally enjoy and believe you will, too!

    « Seattle Wine & Food Experience POP! Bubbles & Seafood
    The Barlow Room in Dayton, Oregon »

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      Reader Interactions

      Comments

      1. Dia @ All The Things I Do says

        March 09, 2016 at 11:23 pm

        This looks heavenly! I love wine tastings. I also love yummy food. I haven't been to Seattle yet but it is on my list.. probably because of my love of Grey's Anatomy.

        Reply
      2. Holly says

        March 09, 2016 at 4:55 pm

        I'm so jealous! ;) The food looks divine, and I would love to taste all of those different wines! Maybe I'll check it out for next year.

        Reply
      3. Create/Enjoy says

        March 09, 2016 at 2:42 pm

        Wow, SO many wonderful things!! Must have been overwhelming! I love the sound of the mini bibimbaps and the roasted white chocolate panna cotta!!!!!

        Reply
      4. Leah says

        March 09, 2016 at 1:31 pm

        Looks like such great food, wine and a good time! I love that owl wine bottle, too!

        Reply
      5. Joanna says

        March 09, 2016 at 1:28 pm

        Oh my goodness this event looks amazing! I absolutely love wine and food tastings. I am from Washington area originally and I love Seattle.

        Reply
      6. Kelly @theinspiredparent says

        March 09, 2016 at 1:23 pm

        Oh wow!! What an awesome event - I would've totally loved this!!! (And now I'm super hungryโ€ฆhee-hee). Such great fun!!!!

        Reply
      7. Ali says

        March 09, 2016 at 12:34 pm

        Oh my gosh those pictures! That first salmon plate looks so amazing. And I would buy that bottle of wine with the owl on it even if the wine tasted terrible! Sounds like an amazing weekend.

        Reply
        • Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

          March 09, 2016 at 1:16 pm

          The Pundit wine (bottle with owl) was really delicious!! I think they are currently sold out but are getting ready to release the next vintage soon. Thanks, Ali!

      8. Brianne says

        March 09, 2016 at 12:28 pm

        This sounds like my kind of event! The wine and food looks amazing.

        Reply
        • Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

          March 09, 2016 at 1:17 pm

          I think you'd love it, Brianne! :)

      9. Erin @ Platings and Pairings says

        March 09, 2016 at 12:00 pm

        What an amazing event - All of the food and wine looks FABULOUS. You captured it wonderfully too. That would be hard for me to do after several glasses of wine and a straight shot!

        Reply
        • Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

          March 09, 2016 at 1:18 pm

          LOL - I am definitely learning to be better about using the spit bucket, and just taking sips. Hard when the wine is SO good though, sometimes ;) Thanks, Erin!

      10. Michele Francisco says

        March 09, 2016 at 11:00 am

        Yummy photos Marlynn! In fact, I can practically taste them ;) Someone else I know who attended also raved about the Serra wines so I've got to check them out. Thanks for a lovely recap!

        Reply
        • Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

          March 09, 2016 at 1:18 pm

          Thanks, Michele! I need to get more Serra wine for home as well. Delicious!

      11. Meredith {MarthaChartreuse} says

        March 09, 2016 at 10:45 am

        That seems like an amazing way to spend a weekend! I am especially drawn to the raspberry dessert with mini macs on top!

        Reply
        • Marlynn Jayme Schotland says

          March 09, 2016 at 1:19 pm

          Isn't that dessert darling? It was amazing watching the whole process and all of the little details for that one dessert. I love culinary program booths sometimes the most because they really flex their creative cuisine muscles!

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      Marlynn Jayme Schotland 2021 profile pic

      Hi! If you're looking for easy, fast, delicious family-friendly recipes, wine pairings, and travel tips, you've come to the right place! I'm Marlynn - a cookbook author, writer, photographer, and mom of two teenagers + a lovable lab retriever. I hold a WSET 2 with Distinction in wine, and am a member of Society of American Travel Writers (SATW) and the International Food, Wine, and Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA).

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