Noticeably absent from the blog-o-sphere, I was really busy these past few weeks getting us ready to throw open the doors at Trio Vintners for our soft 'Grande' opening. Trio Vintners took part in the 10th Annual Walla Walla Valley Holiday Barrel Tasting event. 
For us, it was a great opportunity to work out the kinks of operating a tasting room before we go full throttle in April and to give folks a sample of our yet-to-be-bottled 2004 Yakima Valley Syrah. This is a well-staged, highly-promoted affair that attracts wine-lovers from all over the Pacific Northwest to our tiny town . There's over 85 establishments that can be dipped into - all offering exquisitely hand-crafted wines. Some outfits are more polished than others, but trust me, no one offers anything less than a stellar bottle and a pretty cool experience. 
All the wine makers are on hand to meet and greet and walk people through all the particulars of their process. It's a thrill for wine geeks and very fun for the rest of us.
So how did we fare? To begin with, we hosted about 300 people at our new winery over the course of three days. The incubator wineries, as our location is referred to, is so new to everyone and not so easy to find in foggy weather so this was a great turn out. We set up an lovely display of all our future releases (once again - kudos to Therese Randall for the excellent graphics and collateral) 
Well even we sold some futures - that is we have sold the wine before it has been bottled thus guaranteeing the purchaser an allotment - so that's very good news for us. We are feeling pleased that people want this wine enough to pay up front for it. Wow! It was so fun to greet people and talk to them about our wines, wine making style, and tell our 'story'. Tim, Steve and I fell into very comfortable roles - alternately taking turns pouring and chatting. Tim and Steve are completely wonderful with people - they're both very knowledgeable and charming. I feel very lucky to have them as partners! What a blast.
Also big, huge thanks to our beloved cellar rat, Kevin Uhl. Kevin, as some of you may know, is the 'gentleman suitor' of Steve's niece, Hannah Israel. Kevin has been on hand at Trio since harvest and was particularly helpful during the opening weekend running the glass-washer, helping direct people etc. Kevin starts the enology and viticulture program at the CC in January so he's getting his practicum in early!
We will be officially opening in April so plan your visit now!
Posted by Denise
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