Since I accepted this position that's focused on drinking wine and playing on the Internet, I hear complaints from hiker wife about how all I do anymore is sit around drinking wine and playing on the Internet.
So I need to find some alternatives to that "sitting around" part.
My body craves vitamin D delivered the old-fashioned way, and that's not from a milk carton or the white horse pill that hiker wife forces down my gullet.
I must burn some calories so that I may replace them with those beloved "empty calories." And off we go …
1. Take a hike. OK, I admit that I learned of this while sitting at home on my computer, but Terra Blanca Estate Winery & Vineyard near Benton City, Wash., offers vineyard walk and tasting tours from April through November - weather permitting.
A member of Keith & ReNae Pilgrim's wine education staff guides you through their Red Mountain blocks. Then you get to taste.
There is one tour on Friday afternoon and two more on Saturday. Cost is $15 for the 90-minute excursion, but it's free to wine club members. Reservations are required. Go to terrablanca.com.
2. Bowling in wine country. As a child, my lawn games focused on Wiffle Ball and Jarts. Somehow I didn't shoot my eye out or impale myself.
As I grow older, games that can be enjoyed with a glass of wine in my left hand are appealing. If I were as ambidextrous as retired NBA great Paul Westphal, then I could swirl my Schott Zweisel stem with my off hand.
Bocce ball seems to be on a roll in the Northwest these days. If I recall, winemaker Gino Cuneo in Carlton, Ore., helped bring the game to Northwest wine country. And this spring, John Stuart at nearby Abbey Road Farm installed a court for guests at his remarkable silo B&Bs.
Now Saint Laurent Estate Winery has imported the game to the Wenatchee Valley. Each Saturday, the Mracheks play host to croquet and bocce ball tournaments. The series began Memorial Day weekend and concludes Labor Day weekend. Play runs 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Teams are restricted to four players, and the winning team receives a "Lucky" bottle. No outside food or drink allowed. Learn more at stlaurent.net.
3. Grabbing some tail in Westport. The imaginative Roberts family at Westport Winery in Aberdeen, Wash., is on point again with its summer rounds of Yappy Hour.
Each sunny Sunday afternoon through Memorial Day, the winery invites folks to bring their pets for a two-hour afternoon socialization session. Water bowls are provided. Wine is available for purchase for owners over 21.
Each critter must be on a leash, and they are welcome in the garden and on the patio but not in the tasting room. I'm guessing they don't want Bowser lifting a leg on their lighthouse, either.
That said, these folks contribute to several pet causes. A portion of Ancient Mariner's Pear Wine sales go to the Coastal Animal Rescue and Adoption. Jetty Cat Red benefits the Harbor Association of Volunteers for Animals. Message in a Bottle helps feed the West Coast Search Dogs of Washington. And the blush True North has North Beach PAWS as a friend. Sniff around at westportwinery.org.
4. Celebrating Oregon's Fruit Loop. One of the Northwest's top winemakers, Charlie Hoppes, told us that if a region grows quality orchard fruit, it can do the same with wine grapes. The Columbia Gorge AVA is another example, and Hood River County honors that with its third annual Fruit Loop Wine Celebration.
On June 19-20, several Oregon winemakers throw open their doors to tourists. The Gorge White House - a 1910 Dutch Colonial house on the National Registry of Historic Places - serves as the headquarters. The proprietors pour wines from both sides of the Columbia Gorge. Along the loop are Cathedral Ridge, Marchesi Vineyards, Mount Hood Winery Pheasant Valley, Phelps Creek and Wy'east Vineyards. For maps and information, pick through hoodriverfruitloop.com.
5. Primos and Port. Ron Bitner led the Idaho Grape Growers and Wine Commission for years, and he helped push legislation that paved the way for the pouring of Port-style wines in the Gem State.
Now, he's able to savor that success from the deck of his tasting room, the site for a cigar and Port seminar June 27. One of the fortified wines to be sampled will be his Syrah-based Sevana Red Dessert wine.
Sturman's Smoke Shop in Boise will bring an assortment of cigars and go over cigar etiquette. Cost is $35, and seating is limited. Make reservations via bitnervineyards.com. Long ashes to you.
6. Feasting in the fields. This marks the second year of the Okanagan Feast of the Fields, one of three celebrations staged throughout British Columbia by the Farm Folk/City Folk group.
Inspiration for the Aug. 22 event emerged from a movement in Ontario when a respected chef wanted people in cities to visit and support the people who grow their food.
In 1995, Domaine de Chaberton in Langley played host to the first B.C. event.
Last year's debut in the Okanagan Valley was a sellout, thanks in part to coordinator Rhys Pender - at age 35 the Northwest's latest, and youngest, Master of Wine. Folks visited a Summer-land farm where they enjoyed a 20-course tasting menu. Regional chefs will be back to pair dishes with wine and other adult beverages from the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys. Tickets cost about $90 for an adult, and $15 for children ages 7-15. Those younger eat for free.
For the farm location and updates, go to feastoffields.com.
7. Just swing it. Wine festivals seem to pop up at any moment, sometimes when you least expect it - kind of like that bottle of sparkling wine right after you removed the cage. It's better to act fast.
A young one keeps catching my attention, the second annual Best of Oregon Food & Wine Festival. Proceeds continue to be earmarked for the Doernbecher Children's Hospital Foundation. This time, it will be held Aug. 14 at The Reserve Vineyards & Golf Club in Aloha, and there will be a limited-field tournament held earlier in the day. Entry fee is $150, which gives you total access to that night's festival. Tickets to the festival only are $35.
Wonder if they allow night putting? Go to bestoforegonfoodandwine.com.
8. Tomatoes and grapes. Heirloom tomato growers of Grant County unite again for the sixth annual Tomato Fare at White Heron Cellars in Quincy, Wash., bringing their fascinating fruit for tasting and selling.
On Sept. 4, chefs from the Wenatchee Valley and beyond will prepare dishes featuring these handpicked, vine-ripened beauties. Two bands will supply live music; one with South American roots and the other plays the blues. The event at Cameron Fries' grass amphitheater begins at 4 p.m., and cost is $25. Visit whiteheronwine.com.
9. A toast to recycling and repurposing. Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden, a young and certified biodynamic operation in Jacksonville, Ore., is earning praise for more than its Rhone-influenced wines.
Co-owner Barbara Steele says it's about "closing all the loops" with responsible use of wine packaging. For example, the Applegate Valley winery recently shipped 1,000 used bottles to The Green Glass Co. in Wisconsin, which transforms them into a series of items - dining table glasses, pitchers, vases and votives - and sends them back to Cowhorn for retail.
Cowhorn also joined up with the Ashland Food Co-op to gather used corks for Western Pulp's recycled packing and planter business in Corvallis. And Cowhorn goes another step by offering to consolidate discarded foil capsules. That material is bound for Rogue Disposal & Recycling in White City, Ore. Get green and go to cowhornwine.com.
10. Sommelier turns into aqua-man. David LeClaire organizes wine events throughout the Northwest, and one of his biggest is Debuts & Discoveries, a fundraiser for the Seattle Aquarium.
On June 24, from 7-9:30 p.m., he's gathered 44 of the region's younger boutique wineries for a seventh annual pouring at the Emerald City's tourist attraction on Pier 59. Three chocolatiers and a handful of creameries - including the canned cheese folks from Washington State University - will provide samples. Seattle-based jazz band Ambiance is scheduled to perform.
Cost is $40. Swim around at vinolover.com and seattleaquarium.com.
What is your favorite thing to do in Northwest wine country? Send your ideas to edegerman@winepressnw.com. e Have a Northwest wine item to post on our free online Wine Events calendar? Go to winepressnw.com/events.
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