The day after Taste Washington is always a bittersweet one. On the one hand, there is the exhilaration of trying so many good wines and talking with winemakers and growers from all around the state. On the other hand, there is the sad realization that it is over and that the next Taste Washington Seattle is a year away (there is the Taste Washington Spokane for those who can't wait a full year). Personally, I petition the Washington Wine Commission to advance the date of the event several weeks each year to help ease the pain. I would also petition Washington State to make the Monday after Taste Washington a state holiday to help ease pain of a different sort for many attendees. Let's be honest. Nothing gets done today anyway.

This year, for the first time, Taste Washington featured a series of streaming videos during the event. The videos were organized and recorded by Yashar Shayan (@YasharSeattle on Twitter) who serves as sommelier at Seastar Restaurant. These included recordings of two of the Saturday educational seminars as well as a series of winemaker interviews during the Grand Tasting on Sunday. The complete list of videos is below (Note: Sound quality variable at times due to background noise).

The first video listed is one of the Saturday educational seminars titled "Mighty Malbec." Malbec is an emerging variety in Washington State. I had the pleasure of participating in the panel discussion with Jake Kosseff (Seattle Magazine and Wild Ginger Restaurants), Anna Schafer (aMaurice Cellars), Christopher Miller (Spago, Beverly Hills) and Thomas Henick-Kling (Director, Viticulture & Enology, Washington State University). The second video listed is my interview with Don and Judy Phelps of Chelan's Hard Row to Hoe. Hear Don tell the story of the name for the winery and Judy talk about some of the varieties they work with.

Hopefully for those who attended and those who were not able to, these videos will ease the pain of the next Taste Washington being fifty-two weeks away. Enjoy!

Mighty Malbec Seminar

WAWineReport.com interviews Hard Row to Hoe

Tom Douglas Food & Wine Pairing Seminar (see other parts here)

Josh Wade of DrinkNectar.com interviews Alexandria Nicole Cellars

Cheri Walters of CheriWalters.com interviews Rasa Vineyards

Jamie Peha of Peha Promotions interviews Milbrant Vineyards

Cheri Walters interviews NW Totem Cellars

Jake Kosseff of Wild Ginger interviews Corliss Estates

Cheri Walters interviews Betz Family Winery

Cheryl Cardwell of CherylCardwell.com interviews O Wines

Doug Haugen of WINO Magazine interviews Gramercy Cellars

Cheri Walters interviews Efeste

Erin Thomas of WINO Magazine interviews Kiona Vineyards and Winery

Josh Wade interviews Pepper Bridge Winery

Vivian Bliss of Wine and Beer of Washington State interviews Walter Dacon Wines

Doug Haugen interviews Des Voigne Cellars

Doug Haugen interviews Smasne Cellars