2008 Harvest Party in Zillah
Over this past Labor Day weekend, Aaron and I had the opportunity to table at Silver Lake Winery’s tasting room in Zillah for our second year during their annual Harvest Festival - Return to Vinoritaville. Click here to read the introduction to the event.
We definitely could not have asked for better weather. It was blue skies and high 70’s all day long. The band played for most of the day while people lingered on the lawns. Silver Lake has also just completed the first stage of a major remodel, so there is a fancy new waterfall backed by a large sign that you can see from up the road.
Then there were the events: the limbo and the grape stomping.
Earlier in the day, the competition was a race where the contestants tried to squash as many grapes as fast as possible. The winner was the one who could squeeze the most juice out in a minute. Later in the day there was a group stomp in a large barrel, and the winner was the one who could stay the cleanest. This last minute wrinkle in the rules took many people by surprise and a few bailed out to save themselves from the sticky mess. BE WARNED FOR NEXT YEAR!
Wine maker Bill Ammons cooked up a kalua pig that was served for lunch, along with salads and small desert cakes. Great work with the pig, Bill!
That’s Aaron and I in the picture above. You can see we were able to find just enough shade for the chocolate to keep it from melting! The big flavors for us this weekend were the Roza Red truffle (made with Silver Lake’s Roza Red wine) and the new Italian Sea Salt truffle. Most people were surprised by the way the intense minerality of salt brought forward the natural fruit character of the chocolate, and quickly went back for a second sample. Unfortunately, we did not identify an outstanding wine paring, but it was fun trying to find one anyway.
Big thanks to the Taynea, Meridith, Vinny, and Sal for making our experience there in Zillah an enjoyable one! Also, a big thanks to Louis Strutton for providing the photos for this blog. Your camera rocks!