Summer 2014 Newsletter just was sent out via email. In case you missed it or are not on our mailing list... Greetings from the gorgeous Walla Walla Valley! This newsletter is packed with info regarding our current releases (killer scores included), some future releases (Black Circle and Flip Side plus wine club info), availability of the Magician’s Lair guest house for the rest of the Summer and Fall (we have some dates that opened up), some great events and wine dinners we are attending, and as always, the best advice in music appreciation money can buy (and we give it away for free!). Global warming, or no global warming, it has been a hot summer so far here in Eastern WA. The grapes are a few weeks ahead of “normal” (whatever that is these days), but our terrific farmers and vineyard crews have taken extra care to make sure our vines are hydrated and shaded from this intense sunshine! Crop levels look to be about where we were last year, and the winemaking team at Sleight of Hand is super excited about the upcoming harvest of 2014! We get to pull fruit from one of our newest Estate vineyards, Elene’s Block at Phinny Hill Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills, not to mention that we planted 8 acres right here in the Walla Walla Valley at Blue Mtn. Vineyard (Block name TBD). As we expand our “Estate” program, focusing on expansion within vineyard sites that form the core of our existing wines, we are confident our wines will get better and better with each vintage. Having long term control of our fruit will guarantee production and consistency for our wines down the road. Speaking of wines, we have received some AMAZING press in the past month, from the Wine Advocate (WA) as well as Wine Enthusiast (WE) and Wine Spectator (WS). 2013 Magician Riesling 90 pts WA 91 pts WE (editor’s choice) 2013 Magician’s Assistant Cab Franc Rose’ 89 pts WA 90 pts WE (editor’s choice) 2012 Enchantress Chard 89 pts WA 90 pts WE 2012 Conjurer Red Blend 90 pts WA 91 pts WE 2011 Archimage Red Blend 91 pts WA 91 pts WE 2011 Illusionist Cabernet Sauvignon 92 pts WA 94 pts WE (cellar selection) 2011 Levitation Syrah (SOLD OUT) 92 pts WS 92 pts WA 2011 Funkadelic Syrah (SOLD OUT) 94 pts WS 92 pts WA 2012 Sorceress Grenache (Sept 2014 Wine Club release) 92 pts WA 92 pts WE 2012 Archimage Red Blend (March 2015 Wine Club release) 92-94 pts WA 2012 Illusionist Cabernet Sauvignon (March 2015 Wine Club release) 92-94 pts WA 2012 Levitation Syrah (Sept 2014 Wine Club release) 94 pts WA 2012 Black Circle Phinny Hill Vineyard Cabernet (Sept 2014 release) 93-95 pts WA 2012 Flip Side Lewis Vineyard Syrah (Sept 2014 release) 93-95 pts WA It’s always gratifying to receive such positive reviews for our wines, although we have never made wines for the critics. We make wines that we like to drink, and that our awesome customers (that would be YOU) enjoy to drink as well! You are the critics that really count! Now is a great time to stock up on several of these wines before they truly disappear. Make special note of the new vintages of the Black Circle Cabernet and Flip Side Syrah, these were bottled in magnums only, and will be offered to Wine Illusionist Society members at the beginning of August as futures, for a Sept 12/13th pickup or ship date to coincide with our First Annual Wine Club party here in Walla Walla—the Magical Mystery Pour (all hail the fab four). We only produced 300 magnums of each, and we have way more wine club members than wine, so when you get your official okay, time to order in August hit that reply button fast! Along with the aforementioned Wine Club Release Party (which is going to be our best party yet—and that is saying a lot!), we have a bunch of events coming up over the next couple of months. Mark your calanders! 8/9 SAT – AQUA by El Gauchos 2014 Hootenanny 3-5:30pm This is a killer food and wine event on the waterfront in Seattle, with 30 great wineries, plus beer and spirits, and of course, awesome food. Come and enjoy the Seattle weather in August at Aqua! Call 206-956-9171 for reservations. 8/12 TUE - Trey will be heading north of the border to Alberta to host a 5 course wine dinner at the Cellar Wine Store. This is our first trip to Calgary, so Trey will be bringing the thunder to make sure to impress! Call Rebecca at 403-503-0730 or email rebecca@cellarwinestore for reservations. Seating is limited due to space. 8/14-8/16 - Auction of Washington Wines in Woodinville. We are participating in the barrel auction on Thursday (first chance to try the new limited production Malbec), a wine dinner on Friday night, and of course, the Saturday night auction that benefits Seattle Children’s Hospital Uncompensated Care program. 8/29 FRI – Wine Dinner at Teatro Zinzanni in Seattle. Call the box office 206-802-0015 for reservations. This will be a really fun night. If you have not seen a show at Teatro, you are missing out! Limited seating for the wine dinner portion. 9/12-9/14 - “The Magical Mystery Pour” weekend here in Walla Walla. As mentioned, this is our first Annual Wine Club party and you will NOT want to miss it. In the words of our favorite Conjurer, it is going to be legen………..dary. We will send a separate email to our wine club members with info on the entire weekend the beginning of next week. Wine, music, great food, and more wine! We are really hoping for a huge turnout, so book your rooms now. 11/16-17 Stax Music Academy wine dinner and fundraiser in Memphis at The Napa Cafe’. This is one of Trey’s favorite events to participate in. If you are in or around Memphis, we hope you can make it. Call The Napa Café’ 901-683-0441 for reservations. And for our Wine Illusionist Society, we have some open dates for the Magician’s Lair here in WW if you are contemplating a trip! The weekends we have open are 7/25-27; 8/1-3; Labor Day Weekend is open as well 8/29-9/1. We have plenty of weekdays open also. As a reminder, the Lair is a 3 BR, 2 BA home with full kitchen, grill, etc. here on our property. It is $200/night. Please email Trey@sofhcellars or Lori@sofhcellars or call us here at the winery 509-525-3661 to book it. Remember, it is not too late to get in on the fun of the Wine Illusionist Society. Sign up online or give one of us a call (or shoot us an email) and we will set you up. A special shout-out to the Rudolphs who just joined at our case club level. Kenny was the chef at the first wine dinner Trey ever did at Sandy and Jerrys in Sun Valley, and they were with Jerry and Sandy on that fateful first trip to Walla Walla that ended with the birth of Sleight of Hand. And finally, Trey’s recs for your listening pleasure! Something new and something old… “So, my friend Tim Bierman and I were in Occidental Park in Pioneer Square heading to lunch earlier this month, and there was this outdoor concert, called The Mill Street Sessions, in the middle of the park. This band, Lemolo was playing, just 2 girls, a keyboard, drums, and a jam man loop machine. They were terrific and mesmerizing; dreamy pop music with great melodies. Haunting and hypnotic. I can’t recommend this album highly enough. I just can’t believe I hadn’t heard of them yet! And for my vinyl junkie friends out there, if you haven’t purchased the re-release of Led Zeppelin Officials first 3 albums do yourselves a favor and rediscover how great these are, on vinyl! The re-mastered versions are so clean, and it shows off how amazingly loud and dynamic Zep was (and is)! Finally, mark your calendar for 2 new releases coming up later this summer. On 8/26, the new J Mascis album “Tied to a Star” on Sub Pop Records will be released! Wooop!!!! The new single is available to listen to, and you can pre-order it here! And on 9/22, Alt-J is releasing their sophmore album titled This Is All Yours. You can pre-order it here. Stay tuned about alt-Js Seattle concert on October 15th at the Paramount. We will partner with them to get our wine club members the best seats in the house again, as well as early entry for a wine tasting! ROCK ON! Cheers from Team Sleight of Hand!
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 21:49:02 +0000
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