I am a party animal – Part Deux

November 23, 2010 by Erin Thomas  

My social calendar has finally decompressed, mostly due to this snow thing and that holiday deal, but let me tell you – it was needed.

Now conflicted by guilt for not chronicling something sooner, I will now reflect on my wine and food induced coma that I have been residing in since two Saturdays ago.

Thursday night brought myself and two girlfriends to Seattle Magazine’s Party of the Decade at the Seattle Design Center. With the exception of our Georgetown location and the undeniable fact that we stumbled out of a van cab from behind a bush, I nearly felt like we were at a grandiose affair on the Sunset strip. Ke$ha pumping from the outdoor speakers, a purple carpet, a line at the door – this was as Hollywood as Seattle gets.

Once in the door, we were greeted with a glass of Nicolas Feuillate Champagne and a plethora of chichi dressed ladies and dapper gentlemen, cluttered in their finest bling and designer labels. The main floor had decor in the highest fashion from the restaurants and wineries on show to the stage in the center of the room with the hipster band setting up their instruments. And that was just the beginning – this building went on for literal miles with three different floors of gorgeous furniture showrooms all featuring different wineries, different restaurants, different performance stages and a nightclub at the top.

It was unreal, it felt like I had been transported to another town. However, this party was very much this city, brought to you solely by the people that make it up from Tom Douglas to the Presidents of the United States of America to Teatro Zinzanni performers.

Best of Seattle food noted in scribble form on my paperpad:

Best of Seattle wines noted in scribble form on my now stained paperpad:

I rounded the night out with an appearance/blog plug on “Seen” by Team Photogenic’s UStream broadcast with Count Kody, I then left in style with a 35 minute coat check wait and cramming into an SUV next to a set of skis for a free ride home.

One day rest, next day back to the party – this time was Saturday’s 20something – the new vintage, an event put on by the Washington Wine Commission and targeted at young people who like “hip to sip/spin/taste/geek/win/connect.” Somehow I fall into that category enough to have been invited for my third year at this event!

20something featured more than 75 Washington wineries pouring their prized possessions next to the city’s hottest chefs serving up their fanciest morsels at Fremont Studios. KEXP DJs were spinning the beats in the background and Seattle Wine Gal was hostessing with the mostest (ing?) throughout the night.

Highlight of the party: the Geek lounge. A bar full of Merlots (like 18 of them) was killer including Dunham Cellars‘ anti-ode to “Sideways” Lewis Vineyard Merlot and Laurelhurts Cellars‘ Klipsun and Boushey vineyards Merlot. The food from the Muckleshoot Casino was an experience in its own rights – you got to savor five separate mostly seafaring offerings from the “biggest and best in the northwest.”

Also tucked into the designated wine nerd zone was the relieving ales of Pike Brewery and a sensory evaluation lead by the South Seattle Community College’s Northwest Wine Academy students and instructors.

Another battle at the coat-check line (you’d think I’d learn?) and my girlfriend and I were out the door and onto meeting a group of winos we had successfully convinced to go to LTD Bar & Grill one block away for ginormo plastic steins of Rainier.

And Mom, you’d be so proud of me, I declined another liquor event offer for Monday night because I was afraid of my liver packing up and moving out on protest from over-activity.

Thank you to the people who made these events not only triumphantly happen but for inviting me and believing I wouldn’t ruin them. I had a blasty blast. Now it’s time for bed.

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