HOLIDAY WISHES!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL!!

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday season. From all your friends at Harbinger Winery

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving all. We hope you are all enjoying a fabulous Holiday weekend with loved ones.

We (meaning, of course, me) are looking forward to sharing some Harbinger wines with great friends. On the wine menu tonight: the newly released 07 Syrah (my very favorite label to date) and the 08 Rose de Mouvedre. Yum yum!!!

Dynamo White and Costco Cheese

Discovered last night that that Harbinger's Dynamo White is an excellent pairing with the Cranberry cheese at Costco. It's lovely and I think you will really enjoy it!! A perfect little appetizer for Thanksgiving. Enjoy!! You won't be disappointed.

All Soul's Day

Hope you all a fun and safe Halloween. I got a little curious regarding the History of Halloween. While I knew that it is related to the Christian All Soul's Day and the LAtin Dia De Los Muertos, I had no idea how our current Halloween evolved form the Celtic festivals.

From Wikipedia:

Historian Nicholas Rogers, exploring the origins of Halloween, notes that while "some folklorists have detected its origins in the Roman feast of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and seeds, or in the festival of the dead called Parentalia, [it is] more typically linked to the Celtic festival of Samhain or Samuin (pronouncedsow-an or sow-in)".^[1] The name is derived from Old Irish and means roughly "summer's end".^[1] A similar festival was held by the ancient Britons and is known as Calan Gaeaf (pronounced kalan-geyf).

Snap-Apple Night by Daniel Maclise showing a Halloween party in Blarney, Ireland, in 1832. The young children on the right bob for apples. A couple in the center play a variant, which involves retrieving an apple hanging from a string. The couples at left play divination games.

The festival of Samhain celebrates the end of the "lighter half" of the year and beginning of the "darker half", and is sometimes^[2] regarded as the "Celtic New Year".^[3]

The celebration has some elements of a festival of the dead. The ancient Celts believed that the border between this world and the Otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits (both harmless and harmful) to pass through. The family's ancestors were honoured and invited home whilst harmful spirits were warded off. It is believed that the need to ward off harmful spirits led to the wearing of costumes and masks. Their purpose was to disguise oneself as a harmful spirit and thus avoid harm. In Scotland the spirits were impersonated by young men dressed in white with masked, veiled or blackened faces.^[4][5] Samhain was also a time to take stock of food supplies and slaughter livestock for winter stores. Bonfires played a large part in the festivities. All other fires were doused and each home lit their hearth from the bonfire. The bones of slaughtered livestock were cast into its flames.^[6] Sometimes two bonfires would be built side-by-side, and people and their livestock would walk between them as a cleansing ritual.

Another common practise was divination, which often involved the use of food and drink.

The name 'Halloween' and many of its present-day traditions derive from the Old English era

Happy November All!

Tomato Candy

Had the most AMAZING dinner for the James Beard Foundation LA Chef Invitational at the Foundry in LA. I could go on and on about how creative this whole evening was but will not bore you with the details. I will say one of the highlights was their TOMATO CANDY!!

This fabulous little bit sized morsel was a grape tomato served on a stick with a hard candy coating and just a hint of sea salt. Sugar sweet and saltiness up front, tangy and juicy at the end. DEEEELISH!

A big Thank You to Eric Greenspan for hosting such a wonderful event.

And now we resume our regular wine postings...

Development Sketch- II

Development Sketches

Backstage with Dynamo

When I'm done with the show and winding down backstage, I like to relax with a glass of the A Point from Harbinger Winery. Mellow and smooth with hints of cardamom and vanilla. Truly delicious.

Vote for Harbinger!

Vote for us for the BEST Winery in Washington State. We'd agree and we appreciate all the votes you are willing to pass out!

http://best.king5.com/harbinger-winery/biz/128872

even if you don't care to vote, check out this site and see what lovely compliments we have been receiving. aww....

Me.

Ok, here's me. I'm the one who is blogging here with Sara feeding me lines from time to time. She'll even occasionally take over. So here are a few photos of me B.S.ing....

Top photo is one of me looking only slightly maniacal. BTW- It's not my inflated ego nor am I looking for my 15 minutes of fame. But all you Harbinger guys get to hang out and mingle while I am mostly behind the scenes stuck at a computer. Just wanted to introduce myself and say hello.

GRAPES! HARVEST! HOORAY!

Well, the Winemaker Extraordinaire (a.k.a. Sara) has returned from her trip to Eastern Washington to go retrieve our grapes. Harvest time. Which means there is a lot of stomping to do (or whatever modern techniques are used).

I will keep you updated as I am expecting to get the full report soon.

Egrets Not Regrets Extravaganza!!

The Egrets Not Regrets Extravaganza was a fabulous evening! We were thrilled to be able to participate in this wonderful event and we look forward to the next one.

We received a lot of compliments on the wines and people really enjoyed discovering this little winery in the Pacific Northwest. Attached are a few photos.

EGRETS Not Regrets Extravaganza!

Excited about our first LA event. Hopefully will meet some people with Washington connections as we do love Washington State. Word is already out that there are some SoCal peeps looking forward to meeting us as well.

I'll keep you posted and hopefully will have some photos to share.

Egrets Not Regrets Extravaganza!

Come Join us for the first ever Egrets Not Regrets Extravaganza! What, you say?? ENR Extravaganza is an environmental informational fair that will be held on September 17th, 2009 from 6-8pm at the Gaslamp REstaurant in Long Beach, CA. Harbinger Winery is proud to be involved in this great community event and we will be pouring 6 delicious wines that evening. It is our very first pouring in Southern California and we are excited to be able to share our wines. Free to attend. Wine tasting is $22 with $5 of every tasting going to one environmental group in a raffle. For more information: www.egretsnotregrets.com

Sunset Magazine listing

We are excited to be included in this month's issue of Sunset Magazine's Best things to do on the West Coast. Look for the number three listing-wineries on the Olympic Peninsula with a special nod to both Cameraderie Cellars and Harbinger Winery. There are several additional great wineries to visit while in the Sequim/Port Angeles area. Come visit! We think we are just as great a destination as many of the Twilight points of interest!

YELP Reviews

Yes- we are on Yelp! If you are not familiar with this, YELP is a website that takes reviews from the public. You can find ours here: http://www.yelp.com/c/port-angeles-wa/arts

And yes!!! We are getting great reviews. Please add yours yours and we will shamelessly beg you to write us a raving review.

And while we are at it, please visit our very most favorite YELP reviewed restaurant in Long Beach, CA: The At Last Cafe. Tell them you were sent by Harbinger Winery and are looking forward to their Harbinger Wine Dinner Soon! Date TBD, of course!

Cheers for now!

Natural Cork Recycling

We will take your corks!

Natural Cork, the kind of cork used in wine closures, is a perfect choice for recycling. It’s 100% natural, biodegradable and renewable. There is absolutely no reason natural wine corks should end up as landfill when recycled cork can become flooring tiles, building insulation, automotive gaskets, craft materials, soil conditioner and sports equipment.
Known as ReCORK America, the program is focused on obtaining used and surplus corks from winery tasting rooms, bottling lines and quality assurance laboratories. In addition, collection locations are being established with key retailers and restaurants in larger metropolitan areas. A list of current collection locations is available on this Web site. It should be emphasized that only natural cork is being accepted. No plastic or metal closures please.
So please stop by the winery and drop off your corks

Thank You Dave

Just touching base....

Yes, it has been a while since we have posted. And by "we" I mean "I". We (and by we I do now mean "we") have been swamped with a new run of label designs. We are very excited about the newly revamped Dynamo Red and Dynamo White designs! I will keep you all posted on when we will be releasing the new wines. Additionally, we have a new design for the Rose and a new design for the Vionier. All lovely wines from our beloved Washington State! Yes, the best wines on the market IMHO.

Also-we have invested in a new computer system which will hopefully streamline something, although I'm not really sure what.

Lastly, I expect to be visting the winery in person the last week of July/early August! Please stop me and say hello! I look forward to seeing many of you at the wine Club dinner on August 1st.

Cheers!

Stephanie

Perfect Wine Pairing

Having been reunited via Facebook with some old friends from grammar school (GRAMMAR school, of all things!) I felt blessed to be able to share with them a couple of great wines from Harbinger Winery as we caught up on the last oh, 20 years or so of our lives.

It made me realize that after years of searching for the ultimate paring for Harbinger Wines, I realized that the perfect pairing for our wines is Friendship! What could be better. Really.

Pairs perfectly with our great Rhone style Washington State Syrahs, our award winning Chardonnay, our unique take on Viognier, and the oh so delicious blackberry, cranberry, and raspberry wines! Share a bottle. They taste better that way.

Vintage Wine Making Equipment

Well, I used to think that Google could find me anything I wanted. Seems I'm wrong and my faith has wavered in the powers of the search engine. My search for vintage wine making equipment illsutrations turned up nothing. I may have to actually go to a library and do some research! I think that means I may need to get out of my pajamas for that trip. Strange.

But I did find these vintage Memorial Day postcards and thought I would share with you in rememberence.

San Juan Islands

So we here at the Dynamo Vine are seeking input on the BEST places to visit and to stay in the San Juan Islands. A great B&B or hotel? Something with a spectacular view? The cutest little restaurant that a definite on the list?
Let me know. I'm all ears and taking suggestions.
And yes, of course, best wine finds!

Memorial Day Weekend Events

Come visit the wineries on the Olypic Peninsula this Memorial Day Weekend. Each winery has special offers so check em out. And we are unveiling our BEER! Go Steve!

Black Diamond Winery is celebrating it's 9th anniversary and will have a four pack special at 15% off and 20% off on mixed cases.

Harbinger Winery will be releasing Blackberry Bliss, as well as doing a vertical barrel samplings of Cabernet Franc. They will also be unveiling their first of many bottled beers; the Endo IPA. This is a local ale made by Brewmaster Steve Corcoran, who will also be available to walk you through the brewing process.

Camaraderie Cellars will be having a special tasting of some reserve wines along with some recently released wines.

Olympic Cellars will continue their 30th Anniversary Year of Celebration with a featured wine each month at a 30% discount. For May it is their Double Gold 2005 Syrah. They are also participating in the NoBridgeNoProblem.com coupon program for travelers to the Peninsula during the bridge closure. Complimentary wine tasting and 20% discount on a purchase of $30 or more with the online coupon.

Lost Mountain Winery is in their 28 and final year and they will be pairing their 2005 Merlot with delectable french chocolate truffles and sampling several other red wines including their final blend "Arrivederci". See below for details.

FairWinds Winery will offer a barrel sample of a wine in progress and will give an informative demonstration on barrel construction.

Sorensen Cellars will be pouring their wines wines along with a sample of several different varieties of delicious short breads and flavored roasted nuts. A special 20% discount will be offered for full or mixed cases during the holiday weekend.

another test. please be patient.

Well the good news is that we are now good to go with mobile posting. Seems our issues have worked themselves out. Stay tuned!

Testing

OOPS!

Okay, so the mobile posting on Blogger is not doing so well as you can tell from the last two posts. I of course could easily delete the mistakes, but no, I want to leave them there. Perhaps one of you may know how to correct? I set up my phone for mobile posting but obviously there is an error SOMEwhere here! If anyone has any suggestions on how to correct, please help!

In other news, we are working on the revamping of the Dynamor series labels. I'm thinking about posting them on our FB group for a GROUP VOTE! Any thoughts?

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Northwest Wine Summit

Not all fun and games after all! Sara our fabulous winemaker spent the early part of last week at the Northwest Wine Summit. As you can tell from the photo, it can be a bit daunting to say the least. Personally, I would have been overwhelmed by the third wine! Results are yet to be announced.

CRANBERRY MEATBALL RECIPE

Here it is! The Harbinger Meatball recipe as requested by several people. Shhhh....don't tell anyone how easy it is.

HARBINGER MEATBALLS

One can whole cranberry sauce
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Harbinger Syrah (or more to taste plus a little for your glass)
2 Tbsp. Hot Chinese Mustard

Heat all together and pour over Meatballs and heat till hot.
Also may be prepared ahead in a crock pot. The frozen Italian Meatballs from Costco are an easy way to go.

Enjoy!

07 Dynamo Red Bottling

We are gearing up for our 2007 Dynamo Red bottling. It is a combo of Columbia Valley and Walla Walla fruit. And it's going to be really good and we're excited about it! Bottling is next Thursday and we'll be offering preview tasting at this weekend's wine and cheese tastings.

BEER!
We just got out beer license and our dirty blonde is now on tap at the winery and you can grab some to go too!

Our Endo IPA will be bottled on Wednesday. It is the first bottling of all 3 of our new beer releases. 22 oz bottles. We wil keep you posted as to when it is for sale.

McMenamins Edgefield Winery's Taste of Syrah

Hello and happy Saturday to all. Sara our winemaker extraordinairre is out at McMenamin's Edgefield winery for their 8th annual Taste of Syrah. We are very excited to be pouring some of Washington State's finest syrahs (okay, in our humble opinion). We wish them a very successful weekend and look forward to hearing lots of great stories of all of the fabulous syrah and wines from Oregon and Washington State.

BEER!!!

Yes, we are rolling along quite nicely with the Harbinger Brewery. We have permits so that means BEER!! I won't reveal exactly what we will be releasing, but I will say that it will most certainly be worth the wait. Stay tuned as we unroll our IPA, belgian wheat. and honey blonde. Oops, did I let that slip?

Be sure to follow our posts, or join our facebook group http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=39817149542 and we will keep you posted on the best brewery in Port Angeles, WA!

Happy St. Paddy's Day

No, I can't say that I paired a nice glass of Harbinger wine with a corned beef sandwich. I stuck with the tried and true pint of Guinness! But I did try to come up with some good pairings for corned beef. Any suggestions? Viognier? Mouvedre? Or is it like the elusive Thanksgiving feast?

But I DO know that the next holiday coming up is Easter and that means brunch! I am hoping that it's warm. In which case I think I will break out a bottle of the Blackberry Bliss (A festive northwest blackberry table wine) and sip in the sun in the warm spring air (yes, we like to push for summer here).

And don't forget: the vernal equinox is on Friday the 20th. That means SPRING IS HERE!!

(posted from Stephanie)

A look back at Mardis Gras past

Yes, it's been a while since we've posted. Our winemaker extraordinaire took a fabulous month long vacation to the Bahamas. Well, it seemed like a month. In the interim we are working our way through refining our website.

Thought we'd share a few photos of past events in homage to tonight's Mardi Gras blast. Enjoy and I can't wait to see what this evenings event will bring.

January/February Events

January is a bit of a quiet month for us at the winery.

Please note we will be closed Monday and Tuesday for the rest of this month.

Coming up in February:

Red Wine & Chocolate!

Feb 7 & 8 and 14, 15, 16.

Mardi Gras is Feb 21.

Also, Ed is offering private wine and cheese 101 classes for groups of 6-10 people at $35 per person.

Photos here are from the last winemakers dinner at Alder Wood Bistro. Be sure to join us at the next one! (TBD)