Tower Club Release Party and Tasting
Last week we had the pleasure of hosting close to 600 guests over three days at our quarterly members-only tasting. We were graced by unseasonably gorgeous spring weather and held the event on the North patio of the Visitor Center. Tower Club members tasted six newly released wines and enjoyed some delightful nibbles prepared by Sous Chef Sean Winder, including Manchego and Quince Bruschetta with Pistachios, Salmon Cakes with Remoulade, and Pork Belly and Rouge River Blue Cheese Arancini with Roasted Tomato Aioli. Many members also opted to stay for dinner in our fine-dining restaurant.
Invitations to these private tastings are extended exclusively to Tower Club members. Along with this benefit, members also receive limited-production wines, discounts on wine purchases, and complimentary tasting at the wine bar.
For more information about membership, please contact Tower Club Manager Elizabeth Allcott at towerclub@kingestate.com or 541-942-9874, ext. 102.
Coverage of January’s Crab Fest & Registration For The March Encore
Here at King Estate, we think that Dungeness Crab and Pinot Gris are a perfect match, and our guests at this year’s Crab Fest surely agree. This year, we were able to source the 3,000 lbs of fresh Oregon Dungeness Crab from our restaurant’s fisherman Jacob Farrens of Oregon Pride Seafood, who fishes out of Charleston, Oregon. The 2013 Dungeness Crab season started late, but is proving to be bountiful and delicious, and a late start means a late finish which lends itself to an encore presentation in March.
Crab Fest 2013 sold out quickly, leaving many hungry would-be-patrons disappointed, so we have decided to host an encore event in March! Mark your calendar for March 9-10 and 16-17, and enjoy unlimited Dungeness Crab and Pinot Gris. We’ve added an oyster bar and bubbly Blanc de Gris to the menu. Make sure to reserve your spot online, because this special event will once again sell out quickly.
King Estate Hosts Cascades Raptor Center’s Annual Fundraising Event
On the evening of September 29th, King Estate winery hosted Cascades Raptor Center’s 2nd Annual Benefit Dinner. The benefit’s 93 guests enjoyed a 5 course meal with wine pairings, and got the opportunity to get up close and personal with a few of CRC’s resident birds of prey, like Dmitri the Eagle Owl.
This year, the focus of the event was to introduce CRC’s Flight Training Arena Project and to raise funds towards construction costs. CRC regularly receives phone calls from the public inquiring about flight shows, which, without a dedicated space, they are currently unable to provide. Regular flight opportunities would not only attract more visitors to their nature center (which already sees 15,000+ general public visitors annually) and greatly enhance the visitor experience, it would also provide irreplaceable enrichment and training benefits to the wildlife hospital’s resident education birds.
Photos & More from the 2012 Tower Club Harvest Moon Celebration
In the company of good friends, the King Estate Tower Club celebrated the season’s bounty at the 7th Annual Harvest Moon Celebration on Friday, September 14th, 2012. Once again we gathered en masse for an evening of fine food & wine, live music by Liesl Brooks, and the company of CEO Ed King and our head winemaker Jeff Kandarian.
The celebration’s menu featured fresh produce from our estate orchards, gardens, charcuterie kitchen, and bakery, supplemented by the high quality ingredients of three key vendors: fisherman Jacob Farrens of Oregon Pride Seafood, artisan cheesemaker Mariano Battro of La Mariposa, and rancher John Neumeister of Cattail Creek Lamb. These vendors gave special tastes of their products at the reception, and joined us for dinner.
Each of the evening’s courses, designed by Chef Benjamin Nadolny, was carefully considered and paired with a selection from our wine library.
Coverage of the 2012 King Estate Wine Club Barbecue
On a perfect summer evening in late July, we had the pleasure of hosting just over 300 wine club members for our annual summer BBQ. Each year we feature a fantastic menu of food and wine, and this year was no exception. Paying tribute to the different styles of BBQ across the country, we served regional specialties from the Pacific Northwest, the Carolinas, Texas and – with a nod to the King Family roots – Kansas.
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PACIFIC NORTHWEST Salmon with Raspberry Pinot Noir Glaze
TEXAS Tri Tip with Estate BBQ Sauce |
NORTH CAROLINA Pulled Pork with Estate BBQ Sauce
KANSAS Kansas City Style BBQ Ribs |
Making their second straight appearance at this event, Portland band “Five Guys Named Moe” rocked hits from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s while club members danced the night away. This 12-piece, horn-driven show band is one of our favorites for live entertainment. A good time was had by all and we expect next year to be no different. It sells out every year, so contact Elizabeth Allcott at 541-942-9874 or towerclub@kingestate.com to make advanced reservations for 2013.
King Estate Winery at the 2012 Wine Bloggers Conference
Over the past few years we were in touch with the organizers of the International Wine Bloggers’ Conference and the North America Wine Bloggers’ Conference, trying to persuade them to bring the latter to Oregon for the first time. When they announced that Portland had been selected as the host city for the 2012 conference, we were ecstatic. We knew that it would likely be quite some time before the conference returned to Oregon, so we made a decision to go all out, take a major contingent from our team up North to Portland and show those bloggers what we do. On the day of the event, we loaded up the vans with lots of people, wine, and all of the ingredients for a 5 course epicurean experience King Estate style. The evening was a runaway success; the hashtag #WBC12 even turned out to be the #1 trending topic worldwide on twitter for the entire duration of the dinner!
The meal we produced was the results of months of planning. We realized that it would be a challenge for many of the bloggers to make it the 2+ hours down to our estate (though some did), so we wanted to do our best to bring the estate experience to Portland. We produced a really cool video presentation to play before dinner that introduced the bloggers to the estate, to our chef, and to the proprietors of the local sustainable farms and ranches that provided many of the ingredients for the evening. We also produced video demonstrations of each and every course, and provided all the video and written recipes the microsite wbc.kingestate.com. The project was virtually a winery wide effort with creativity and work contributed from all corners.
Here’s the video we played to great response:
The meal was 5 courses each with an exquisitely matched wine pairing compliments of Executive Chef Michael Landsberg, Sous Chef Benjamin Nadolny, and the King Estate culinary team. Here are shots of the dishes we served:
As the influence of blogs and social media grow, wine bloggers play an increasingly important role in the wine industry. King Estate was not the only Oregon winery to take advantage of the chance to get to know bloggers and show off our Oregon wines. It would be safe to say that the visiting bloggers are now much more familiar with Oregon Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris across the board. There were so many great wines from so many great Oregon wineries and beyond included at the conference.
King Estate Solar Array Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
With the help of SolarCity, Lane Electric Co-op, and Advanced Energy Systems representatives, King Estate Winery officially welcomed our four acre solar array with a ceremonial ribbon cutting on Saturday, July 14th. The array is one of the largest solar arrays ever in the Pacific Northwest and certainly the largest at a winery in the region.
The four acre solar patch translates to 1-megawatt of power generation, or enough to power 100 local homes. While addressing the crowd, CEO and Founder Ed King III expressed his gratitude to everyone involved in moving the project forward and emphasized his ambitious vision of seeing the state of Oregon become the first carbon neutral state.
The project took 5 years to plan and fund, but was built in only four months. See photos of it’s construction here. The panels went online in March 2012. In the next 25 years the 4,144 panel array is projected to offset at least 38-million pounds of CO2. According to estimates provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, this amount is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 3,381 passenger cars or 1.9 million gallons of gasoline.
Registration for the King Estate 2012 Tower Club Summer BBQ Now Open
Registration is now open for one of our most popular Tower Club events of the year. Reservations are required and this event will sell out so members are encouraged to register ASAP.
This year’s member-only BBQ, taking place on Friday, July 27th at 6:00 PM, pays tribute to regional BBQ specialties from different parts of the country. The buffet menu features Pacific Northwest salmon, Carolina pulled pork, Texas tri-tip and, as a nod to the King family roots, Kansas City BBQ ribs.
Charcuterie Wars: King Estate Winery vs. The Commons Brewery
King Estate was invited by 16 Tons to participate in a delicious battle at their South Eugene location (Supreme Bean) on May 11th. The 5 courses of charcuterie were provided by Falling Sky Brewery, while King Estate and The Commons Brewery (from SE Portland) battled head to head to determine the best charcuterie pairing. Each course was carefully paired with a different wine and beer, and each participant was encouraged to take tasting notes and discuss which pairing they enjoyed most. Representatives from The Commons Brewery and King Estate gave educational insight into beer and winemaking as well as the delicate art of food pairing.