August 2015

Winners of Seattle Magazine's 10th Annual Washington Wine Awards

Winners of Seattle Magazine’s 10th Annual Washington Wine Awards

A toast to the finest wines of the year and the passionate people who continue to dazzle our senses

For 10 years now, Seattle magazine has tracked the burgeoning wine scene in Washington with an annual celebration of the best wines, people and places in the industry. When we started, there were seven American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in Washington. Today, there are 13. In 2005, wine grapes were growing on 30,000 acres in the…

2015 Washington Wine Awards Methodology and Tasting Panel

2015 Washington Wine Awards Methodology and Tasting Panel

Nominations for this year’s Washington Wine Awards were solicited via survey from a panel of Washington wine and food professionals. The top vote-getters in the wineries, winemaker, vineyard and sommelier categories were selected as winners. The more than 100 wines receiving the most votes in the varietal categories qualified as finalists for a blind tasting,…

The 2015 Washington Wine-Buying List

All the delicious, award-winning wines you should be buying now

RED WINES  Red Wine of the Year  Winner: Abeja 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, $50  Merlot, $20 or less  Winner: Waterbrook 2013 Merlot, Columbia Valley, $15 Finalists: Milbrandt 2012 Traditions Merlot, Columbia ValleyBlackSmith 2012 Merlot, Columbia ValleyThe House of Independent Producers (HIP) 2012 Merlot, Bacchus Vineyard, Columbia Valley  Merlot, $21–$40 Winner: L’Ecole No 41 2012…

A Look at the Progress Washington's Wine Industry has Made

A Look at the Progress Washington’s Wine Industry has Made

Good taste holds up

For our 10th anniversary, we reached out to wineries whose wines had been declared Wine of the Year in our past tastings. We asked them to submit the current vintage, as they define it, of that same wine. A five-person panel tasted these wines openly, as opposed to blind tasting, and discussed what these flagship…

Duwamish Revealed: A Celebration of Seattle's Only River

Duwamish Revealed: A Celebration of Seattle’s Only River

The Duwamish gets an arts and culture festival devoted to its revival

Standing in a pretty park on the west bank of the Duwamish River on an unseasonably warm day in June, it’s impossible to ignore a tremendous crashing sound coming from the abutting industrial area. It’s as if iron chains are being tossed into an empty shipping container, or maybe tons of rocks are being poured…

11 Perfect Weekend Getaways Near Seattle

11 Perfect Weekend Getaways Near Seattle

From small towns to luxe resorts, trek to these nearby spots to recharge in 48 hours

From farm stays in the San Juan Islands and deluxe pampering at heritage resorts to small-town exploring and more, we pack plenty of pleasure—but zero stress—into your precious weekend. So, get going! 1. Destination: San Juan IslandsIn some hot and humid archipelagos, “island cuisine” is shorthand for frozen fish flown in from far away and…

Flavors Galore at Coyle's Bakeshop in Greenwood

Flavors Galore at Coyle’s Bakeshop in Greenwood

Both sweet and savory shine at Coyle’s long-awaited brick-and-mortar bakery

I confess. I’m not wild about cretzels. When pastry chef Rachael Coyle (The Herbfarm, Le Pichet) launched her pop-up at Book Larder in 2013, her signature extra-crunchy croissant-pretzel hybrid was the talk of the town. I found them too hard and one-note in flavor. It was Coyle’s rich, handmade desserts that captured my attention. Happily,…

Kevin Zelko's Climb of a Lifetime

Kevin Zelko’s Climb of a Lifetime

This notorious cancer survivor plans to climb Mt. Rainier with a 46-lb. MLS trophy in tow

Four years ago, he gained notoriety for using Twitter (@Msbeervendor) to sell beer at Safeco Field. Three years later, he was back in the news for raising $25,000 to buy Seahawks jerseys for every kid at Seattle’s Kimball Elementary, where he taught special education. But now, Kevin Zelko is raising money for a much more…

A Taste of The Tropics at Hotel Albatross

A Taste of The Tropics at Hotel Albatross

Set sail with spirited tiki drinks and kicky street food at this Ballard hangout

Ever since Coleridge’s famed “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” the albatross has been seen as an unwelcome weight. But Hotel Albatross, on the west end of Ballard’s Market Street (2319 NW Market St.; 206.566.6181; Facebook, “Hotel Albatross Ballard”), is so full of exuberant and spirituous fun, it quickly alleviates any burdens. But, first, know it’s…

Digital Artist Chiho Aoshima's Adorable Apocalypse

Digital Artist Chiho Aoshima’s Adorable Apocalypse

Digital artist Chiho Aoshima creates dreamy dystopias in a new SAM exhibit

The environmental apocalypse is coming—but at least it’s awash in Technicolor. In the new show at the SAM Asian Art Museum, Chiho Aoshima: Rebirth of the World, the Japanese pop artist shares her vision of the future, where skyscrapers have minds (and bodies) of their own, red-eyed ghost girls drift along washed-out beaches, and puffy…

Nikol Nakamura: The Mad Scientist of Desserts

Nikol Nakamura: The Mad Scientist of Desserts

Peek inside this pastry chef's over-the-top dessert tent at the Auction of Washington Wines

Some pastry chefs are famous for cakes. Others build a following on confections. Nikol Nakamura, the executive pastry chef of Tulalip Casino Resort in Marysville for the past seven years, is known for her mad-scientist approach to sweets. While she is a pro at inventing extravagant experiences that are a casino’s signature, her ultimate lab…

Is Nextdoor.com Becoming a Home for Racial Profiling?

Is Nextdoor.com Becoming a Home for Racial Profiling?

Friendly/interfering neighbors in our inbox--thanks, Nextdoor.com

Nextdoor,  the social media network that connects neighbors with each other, didn’t set out to be the go-to site for crime and safety news. In fact, when it launched in 2011—the same year it started in Seattle—its founders envisioned the company as a sort of virtual forum: a place where neighbors could share information about…