CÔTE BONNEVILLE AND TOMMY THOMPSON’S MUST-HAVE TASTE OF TULALIP WINE BLEND
Tulalip Resort Casino’s wine guy, Tommy Thompson, and Taste of Tulalip’s honorary winemaker, Kerry Shiels, have announced their epoch-making collaboration for the 7th anniversary Taste of Tulalip Wine Blend. Creating a unique blend of wine that showcases the remarkable grapes of DuBrul Vineyard and exceptional winemaking of Côte Bonneville was the driving force, in partnership with the aesthetic expression of the Tulalip culture—conveying a sense of place, time and teamwork.
This celebratory wine is made from 100% DuBrul Vineyard fruit, blended specifically for the 2-day event by Shiels and the Tulalip wine team. It is composed of traditional Bordeaux grapes — 80% Cabernet from various terroir within the 45 acre DuBrul Vineyard, 10% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc. It is matured in French oak (50% new) for 10 months and is approachable now, but will continue to improve with time.
The exclusive blend will be introduced during the Friday, November 13 Celebration Dinner. It will be available for purchase in the event wine shop during the festival weekend.
“The creation of the 7th anniversary Cabernet was a fun, relaxing opportunity for our team to submerge themselves in the complex world of winemaking with Kerry Shiels. It was nice to spend the entire day learning Kerry’s style and having the chance to add our touch to the final blending. In the end it came down to day of tasting, swirling, and more tasting along with a bit of artistry,” Thompson said.
After earning her Engineering degree, Shiels worked for two years in Torino, Italy, and then moved on to Case New Holland’s world headquarters in Chicago for 18 months before entering the world of wine. From there, Kerry worked the 2006 vintage at Joseph Phelps Vineyards, 2007 harvest at Australia’s Tahbilk, and then went on to work the 2007 vintage at Folio—Michael Mondavi’s Napa winery. During the 2008 harvest, Shiels served as the assistant white winemaker to Rich Arnold at Robert Mondavi Winery, followed by the antipodal 2010 harvest at Tapiz in Argentina, and then finally returning home to work full-time at Côte Bonneville.
Mike Gobin, honored artist for the 7th annual Taste of Tulalip, explained his inspiration for this year’s signature artwork, which is featured on the front of the commemorative wine bottle.
“My father’s Indian name means ‘Man soars with Eagles’ and my twin sister loved hummingbirds, and her Indian name means ‘Aunty to all’. They have both gone to be with our lord and the design depicts my father embracing my twin sister in heaven and is entitled ‘A father’s heavenly embrace’. The salmon represents our Tribal People….’People of the Salmon,’” he said.
The 7th annual Taste of Tulalip takes place November 13-14, 2015. All Access and Grand Taste tickets, went on sale in August. For more information, please visit www.tasteoftulalip.com.
About Côte Bonneville
Hugh and Kathy Shiels planted DuBrul Vineyard in 1992 in the heart of the Yakima Valley. They believe great wine is made in the vineyard. The Shiels founded Côte Bonneville in 2001 to express their spectacular site. In 2009, their daughter and UC Davis trained winemaker, Kerry Shiels, returned to the Yakima Valley to assume the head winemaking duties. Côte Bonneville has grown into one of the most respected wineries in Washington, attracting visitors from around the world.
About Tulalip Resort Casino
Award winning Tulalip Resort Casino is the most distinctive gaming, dining, meeting, entertainment and shopping destination in Washington state. The AAA Four Diamond resort’s world class amenities have ensured its place on the Condé Nast Traveler Gold and Traveler Top 100 Resorts lists, as well as Preferred Hotel & Resorts membership. The property includes 192,000 square feet of gaming excitement; a luxury hotel featuring 370 guest rooms and suites; 30,000 square feet of premier meeting, convention and wedding space; the full-service T Spa; and 6 dining venues, including the AAA Four Diamond Tulalip Bay Restaurant. It also showcases the intimate Canoes Cabaret; a 3,000-seat amphitheater. Nearby, find the Hibulb Cultural Center and Natural History Preserve, Cabela’s; and Seattle Premium Outlets, featuring more than 110 name brand retail discount shops. The Resort Casino is conveniently located between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. just off Interstate-5 at exit 200. It is an enterprise of the Tulalip Tribes. For reservations please call (866) 716-7162.
