At barely 5 feet tall and in stark contrast to the enormous creatures that reside at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Sangduen “Lek” (Thai for “small”) Chailert easily stands tall among them. But what she lacks in stature, she more than makes up for in passion and perseverance. The founder of Save Elephant Foundation (www.saveelephant.org ), Lek has spent the past 35 years rescuing and advocating on behalf of animals, most notably the Asian elephant.
The story of Woodinville, Washington’s Matthews Winery is a fascinating tale of growth, decline, renewal, family and some damn good wines!
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Unless you’re a resident of Washington State or a serious fan of Washington wine, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of Woodinville. Located just a 20 minute drive north of Seattle, Woodinville is a small suburb that is home to more than 140 wineries and tasting rooms featuring wines predominantly made in the Walla Walla, Columbia and Yakima Valleys in the southeastern part of the state. And while wine is the reason we discovered this somewhat hidden gem, it’s the wine combined with the outstanding food, and genuine local hospitality that keeps us coming back.
In Pursuit of Balance (“IPOB”) is the creation of rock-star sommelier and now winery owner Rajat Parr and vineyard owner Jasmine Hirsch. Just exactly what is IPOB is not easy to answer. A group of like-minded California wine-makers? A marketing collective? A wine seminar producer? An ideological movement? It is all of the foregoing, or at least it was, but 5 years after being created, and arguably at the height of its power and popularity it has suddenly, and of its own volition, decided to end its existence at the end of 2016.
Pintia is one of the creations of Spain’s (arguably) most famous winery: Vega Sicilia. The lineage of this wine is so important to how it has achieved greatness, that Pintia must be understood in the context of its forebears.
Photo: Richard Duval Images
There are few things better than drinking great wine, and without question one of those things for us is drinking great wine while simultaneously contributing to a great cause. Next month the Auction of Washington Wines (AWW) will be hosting its annual charity event in Woodinville August 18th – 20th, and regardless of whether you’re a relative newcomer to wine, a wine enthusiast or full blown oenophile, it is definitely an experience not to be missed.
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