Finding Friends of Wine

MANY years ago, I got an “award” from my workplace for being “The Idea Guy.” My brain has a hard time shutting off, and it keeps coming up with ideas, some of which are actually viable. Two or three years ago, I had an idea to start a local wine-tasting group that would travel near and far to enjoy the camaraderie of tasting wines together. For whatever reason, it never came to fruition. 

This June, as we emerged from a year and a half from self-imposed exile from society, we realized that with our close friends having moved away, we really wanted to find some new people to be friends with. We half-heartedly tossed around a few ideas that quickly died on the vine. Then, on June 22, Terri posted this on the Nextdoor Neighbor app:

“ Do you like wine? My husband and I are tossing around the idea of getting a group going for people who enjoy socializing over a glass of wine. We are thinking that outings tasting at local wineries, backyard gatherings, “blind” tastings, establishing new friendships, etc would be fun. Does this sound interesting to anyone else?”

Glacial erratic at Skagit Crest Vineyard

Chuck and Donna detailing all the work a vineyard takes to produce great fruit.

It did. She had 32 “neighbors” from Skagit County reply that they loved the idea … including a local winemaker who volunteered to host a tasting at his vineyard and winery. Working with Chuck and his wife Donna from Skagit Crest Winery, we came up with a plan to host around 20 people at their winery. We would taste all 11 of their wines, and they would provide a charcuterie “plate” (actually a huge table overflowing with food) for a minimal charge. We set a date, and went to work to see how this might play out in real life.

First thing we did was to either directly reply to everyone who had liked or commented on Terri’s post, or private message them asking for their email addresses, and we got 17 responses (about 32 people). We sent an invitation to the tasting to each of them, and ended up with pretty much maxing the facility out. 

Our charcuterie “plate”

And it all came together and worked. The site was incredible, with views across the Skagit Valley to the Salish Sea and Olympics. The winery building had been transformed into an elegant setting, replete with stainless steel fermenting tanks, cases of wine, and linen covered tables. Our hosts started by taking us to their vineyard, and detailing the incredible amount of work it takes to grow great grapes to make fabulous wine. I was surprised to see that half of their vines were planted to Pinot Noir, not a varietal seen often this far north and west. We moved back to the winery, where they shared their story about how the winery came to be, the wines they make, and the medals their wine has won. Then the tasting commenced, and I was impressed by nearly every one of their wines. 

But the primary reason for this gathering was to meet people and potentially make new friends. We quite enjoyed the two couples at our table, and it appeared that there was good conversation going on at the other tables as well. Once the tasting was complete, most of the attendees stayed to buy some wine, and several of us took advantage of the offer to buy a glass of wine and move to the patio for more conversation and views of the valley. We were the first to arrive, and the last to leave, thrilled by the apparent success of our first event.

How will this all end up? Who knows, but we already have almost totally filled up our next event, and have more in the works – one of which will be an evening cruise on the Salish Sea on a 70’ yacht one of our members has offered for the group to use. And maybe – just maybe – we will find another couple or two who are also looking to become great friends.

Skagit Friends of Wine at Skagit Crest Winery. (Five members at the event not shown)