Wine Stories
A Trip to the Cave
By VT Staff
If you missed the Cave B Winery Tour - too bad! It was a great weekend, with lots of wine, food, pampering, more wine, more food, gorgeous views, and a fair few laughs!
With a brief gorgeous, sunny, snow-free (yippee) 2 hour drive, the 16 of us checked into our 'bungalows' we were to call 'home' for the weekend. Around 2 pm we meandered up the hill, through the vineyards, to the winery where winemaker "Rusty" Figgins introduced us to his 2004 and 2005 barrel samples of scrumptious wines. We 'thiefed' tastes from the barrels from every variety, with amazing stories of the 'how, what, and whoops' of each one we tasted. Rusty is known for his stories and he did not disappoint us. From there, we wandered into the Tasting Room 'back room' and had our own private full tasting of everything the winery currently has bottled and is on offer. Thankfully this was accompanied by plates of cheeses and crackers!
As we floated back to our rooms for a quick power nap before dinner (or for some, a refreshing massage or facial) we arrived at dinner, ready for more. We had Rusty join us once again, giving us the inside scoop on what we were drinking and why it had been paired with the specific dish. It was a wonderful meal, and at the end, about half wandered off to bed… and the other half of us…well… let's just say, I cannot play spoons to save my life!! However, Rusty proved to be quite the maestro with the spoons and did a respectable rendition of "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" (although he doesn't recall this)! And.. there was some definite Irish blarney being tossed around!
After a lazy, leisurely wake up the next morning, a brisk walk down to the dramatic cliffs of the Columbia River, followed by a lovely hot breakfast (why does food always taste so much better in the country?) of eggs, bacon, freshly baked goodies and fruit, and one last wander around the property - it was time to head back to Seattle.
Our first official wine trip - and I think I can confidently say, "Vine Tales Travelers had a wonderful experience!" The recurring comment was : "when is the next one?".
Stay tuned. It is looking like Columbia Valley or Walla Walla in the Spring!
**Names on the photos have been omitted to protect the innocent (?)!
