Wine Meets the Real Housewives

I blame Seattle winos for making me watch “The Real Housewives of Orange County.”

The leading topic of conversation on Thursday night’s Washington Wine Commission‘s 20Something Wine Preview with “social media leaders” (yours truly included?) was the deranged, high-class bitches of “The Real Housewives of Orange County.”

Now I sit – still hungover from the tasting since I had to chug to prove to Marcus Pape of WineChatr.com that I was not a (gasp!) snob – watching this heinous, ridiculously highly-rated show and am completely captivated. Damn it, another show that’s sucked me in!

No worries, winos, you can still sleep at night. Your cultural and (anti)social Facebook and Twitter leaders of the greater Seattle area discussed several other keynotes including stealing a bottle of wine and drinking it in the bathroom/hallway, Michael Jackson’s children (RIP) and how to correctly spell host/sommelier Shayne Bjornholm’s name.

Just a regular night in the heavily-heated and busy 17th floor offices of the Washington Wine Commission. To broadcast their upcoming and fourth “20Something: The New Vintage” event which showcases the area’s most chichi enophobes and gastronomes, the Commission invited a handful of industry writers/Tweeters to eat, drink and talk reality TV in hopes to create a 20something buzz.

After shoveling down gourmet cheese, colossal prawns and seafood bruschetta courtesy of the Waterfront Seafood Grill, we found ourselves swallowing a whopping 17 wines over the course of the two hour tasting.

The buzz was spread via Twitter, as the first annual “Tweet Up” for the event coming Saturday, November 21st. A few posts back, I attended a “Tweet Up” and it was the oddest thing sitting in a circle of talkers and writers with nothing but silence in the air as we tweeted (or “twirted” as Bjornholm mentioned, in an attempt to afford another “twa-” word).

But when spitting and dumping actions were few and far between, the verbal social interaction was due to ensue. A few notable bottles unanimously won over the group and deterred some housewives chatter and allowed comaradery amongst because who only knew each others’ usernames prior. No wines or glassware were harmed in the duration of this event.

Below are a few excerpts to be remembered…

*tastebud1 Michael Jackson: May you rest in peace and know that a bunch of drunk people are loving your music right now.
*chatrbox Dark fruits, pepper, and a little earth on the Barnard Griffin Syrah. A little Australian Shiraz-esque.
*winepeeps Great finish to a fun evening. Red fruits and floral notes on the Syncline. Smooth, well-balanced.
*girlsguide206 Seven Hills Winery Malbec is by the best red tonight. Incredibly light, smooth, sweet. my favorite red
*winepeeps Carriage House is the best of the bunch so far. Blackberry, black cherry, smooth, well-balanced. Yum!
*KSyrah Robert Karl Claret. Great spice on the front palate, nice lingering finish. Fav so far.
*jessestrada #20wine Baer Winery ’06 Ursa. I’m not a big red wine girl but this one is phenomenal http://yfrog.com/j7fs5lj
*JessVoelker @lecole41 08 semillion. A wine with whom Ive whiled away many an evening

My favorites that I am looking forward to at the event in two weeks:
- Cote Bonneville (because I’m poor and can’t afford them regularly)
- Baer Winery (because Lisa Baer is awesome)
- Doyenne (because as much as I’d like to swear off the cult and spendy draw that DeLille prospers, the wines are damn tasty)
- L’Ecole No 41 (because they are Washington wine history)
- Syncline (because my editor just named their peanhen and I’d like to test his judgement )

End. Wine time?

Hearts and kisses and Carebears,
Erin