With purple stained hands and grapes still stuck to our shoes, we arrived in Seattle only days after putting to rest the 2013 harvest. This was our third trip to Washington in as many years. We have learned to take these few days away to create the time to get few things done; a Fundraiser, a friends winery visit, office work to catch up on and time with family.
We arrived in what turned out to be Fogmageddon in Seattle. A blanket of fog covering the city for days. You could almost see…1 block ahead of us. Coming from Northern California, home of the mighty summer fogs of San Francisco, we knew how to handle such a predicament; hide out in the hotel room with lap tops, invoices from all sorts of mediums, a gallery of music from now to yester years, mega cups of coffee (we are in Seattle) and a few bottles of Idle. With curtains open, a visual of Friday in Seattle was our background TV from our 39th floors hotel room over looking downtown. Watching the fog come and go through the city streets, building window cleaners polishing windows hit every floor of the 50 plus floor building, as coffee was guzzled, wine books updated we sipped from past vintages as the day turned to night.
The following day was the fundraiser for Schools for Salone, an organization dedicated to building schools in Sierra Leone. After most civil wars, (Sierra Leone’s ended in 2002), the people and their way of life are forgotten. Schools for Salone has built 16 schools and continues to raise money to keep the schools running and build more. This is the 3rd time pouring Idle Cellars at this fundraiser. It’s nice to be able to recognize some faces from the years before and meet new people who are not only interested in helping a human cause but are not afraid to drink a few glasses of wine while doing so. The main speaker was Steve Zakuani, a soccer player from the Seattle Sounders. Hearing his story from birth in a small village in Congo, moving to London as a small child then hearing how he was able to play soccer and go to school in Ohio eventually becoming a mega force for the Seattle Sounders was an amazing tale. His speech illustrated the importance of schools in places that are not on a map and how teachers who care are the most important influence on the youth.
As with most tours, a stop at a buddy’s winery in Woodinville was a must. Desmodus Vena Winery is operated by Mike and Pasha who have been making wine for almost 10 years now. This year was their largest harvest. With a community of friends, family, and followers, they have been cranking out some killer wine having a blast while they do it. With each season they grow and build in areas they want to play. They continuously educate themselves and want to improve from the year before. Tasting through what felt like all of their barrels was an experience and an honor. Even though we are climates away, it is nice to belong to a community of guerrilla artists who make wine under their terms and for their community to enjoy.
Another whirlwind adventure in Seattle under the belt. We wish we had more time to visit with other friends. To be able to live through a coffee soaked Fogmageddon, coercing with Seattleits and Sierra Leonians for the reasons of building schools, and to get dirty with some Woodinville independent wineries, is what makes Idle idle.
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