3 Ways To Boost Your Summer Gatherings

In order to supply you with 3 ways to boost your summer gatherings, we have been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Charles Smith Wines. All thoughts, opinions, and photos are mine alone. The following content is intended for readers who are 21 or older. #WaWineTime #CollectiveBias

I love getting together with friends and family in the summertime! It’s so great to take advantage of the warm weather! The best part is setting up our patio and deck with food and snacks, making the ambiance as summery as possible!

Especially now that summer is almost over, I am trying to enjoy every chance we have to have friends over or spend some time with friends. Because of my father’s funeral we had a lot of family in town this weekend and it was nice to gather with them, although the circumstances weren’t ideal. However, we are hoping to plan a few more summer gatherings before the weather changes and leaves begin to fall.

Along with berry picking (shoutout to all my blackberry loving friends) and revisiting my favorite tourist spots in the PNW, we love finding and supporting local restaurants and businesses! Lucky for us, even though our home is in Oregon, we love taking advantage of everything that Washington has to offer too! That’s what’s so great about the Pacific Northwest community.

Did you know that the state of Washington has more than 900 wineries? And that August is Washington Wine Month!? This makes summer gatherings even more of a necessity. It calls on you to explore and support local award-winning brands that put Washington winemaking on the map!

Summer Gatherings with Washington Wines

I thought it would be a great idea to celebrate Washington Wine Month by showing off 3 ways to boost your Summer gatherings with Washington wines!

1 Make it Themed

I love doing this! It doesn’t have to be big and Pinterest perfect, but it can be fun! One thing we love doing is a PNW theme, even if it’s unintentional! Northwest berries, food from Portland based restaurants, and Washington apples + wine.

Eve Chardonnay from Charles Smith Wines is perfect for that! Even the label shows off their Washington apples and the purity of it’s flavor! It has a true chardonnay taste and has top scores from popular wine publications.

2 Do a wine tasting

One thing that I love to do is act like I’m super fancy even though I definitely am not. Grab a few different Washington wines from the store and set them up for everyone to taste. I love doing this, because I get overwhelmed at the store with SO many different wines to try. This way, everyone can find something they like even if it’s new to them. This leads into #3!

3 Try something new

Another way to boost up your summer gathering is to try something new. Have everyone bring one thing that they would normally NEVER try. Something exotic, something spicy, or something they can’t pronounce!

This makes for some interesting taste-testing! I love cooking new things that I’ve never tried before. It’s how I found out I LOVE Thai flavors but I hate sauerkraut! Have everyone step out of their comfort zone and try something new!

This is how I found the Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon. I don’t normally rush to a red wine, but I decided to try something new and I am so glad I did! It is full-bodied AND has blackberry notes! Another point for those PNW berries. Yum!

Charles Smith Wines

Washington is the home of the Charles Smith Wine collection. That’s what makes Washington Wine Month even better! Charles Smith is the only person to have a Winemaker of the Year award from both Wine Enthusiast AND Food & Wine.

If you are looking for wine for your summer gatherings, day or night, check out Charles Smith Wines and take advantage of my three tips above!

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