By LUCIANO MARANO
Kitsap Week
Good music plus good wine equals good times.
You don’t have to be Stephen Hawking to figure that one out.
One Bainbridge Island winery has perfected the equation and is now consolidating the necessary ingredients into one great event. Eleven Winery’s “Winery Weekend” concert series boasts a lineup of intriguing local talent and expertly made island wines 1-4 p.m. every Saturday in April.
The concerts are organized by winery owner and head winemaker Matt Albee, who said the series will continue into May and beyond to become a regular spot for local music lovers to catch a show.
The winery’s hours on Bainbridge and entertainment offerings had recently expanded, he explained, after the closing of the company’s tasting room in Poulsbo last September.
“We’re open there every weekend and we have music every weekend,” he said.
For now, concerts are presented on Saturdays, but Albee anticipates expanding the calendar in the summer.
When selecting musical acts, Albee said his main focus was keeping things local, with an eye toward stylings that would compliment the winery’s intimate venue.
“They’re pretty much local,” he said. “It’s a very small space up there, so they’re either one or two-person [acts], relatively low-key.”
Upcoming acts include:
Kareem Kandi, a performer, composer and educator who is artist in residence at The Tacoma School of the Arts. Kandi conducts master classes and workshops at schools in the Puget Sound area.
Zach Fleury, a producer and professional session player. His work includes collaborations with Noah Gundersen, Hot Bodies in Motion, Allen Stone, Macklemore, and some film scoring for Lionsgate Film.
Gina Belliveau, a Seattle-based musician who plays solo percussive-acoustic folk, with an Achilles heel for hilarious pop cover tunes.
Eleven Winery is a small, family-run winery dedicated to producing great wine and making sure that customers have a great time drinking it, without the intimidating studiousness that so often frustrates casual or novice wine lovers.
“Anyone who tells you that wine tasting is serious business or tries to make you feel bad about your level of wine knowledge is just plain missing the point,” Albee wrote on the winery’s website. “And we’ll be more than happy to straighten them out for you. We’ll also be happy to answer all your questions so that you can hold your own in party conversation with the snobbiest wine geek.”
Eleven’s production lineup currently includes Malbec, Syrah, Mourvedre, Petit Verdot, Pinot Grigio, Roussanne, Viognier, a dry rose, as well as white and red Ports (about 2,000 cases altogether), from some of the best grapes that Washington has to offer.
“Our winemaking processes are risky, dangerous and often painful, but the wine is worth it. OK, it’s not actually all that risky or dangerous, but it is challenging and exciting,” Albee wrote. “We’re thrilled to be able to share the results with you.”
Samples of the winery’s offerings stand as a compliment to the weekend concert series musical entertainment, Albee said, with a universal emphasis on relaxed fun and quality local talent, both in the wine and the music.
Visit www.elevenwinery.com for more information about the wines and upcoming concert events.
Eleven Winery is one of seven island-based wineries that make up the Winery Alliance of Bainbridge Island. Members say they adhere to simpler techniques and less machinery, so their wines are similar to the way wine has always been made. Though each winery is independent, they help each other with equipment and share resources and knowledge.
Member wineries include Amelia Wynn Winery, Bainbridge Vineyards, Eagle Harbor Winery, Eleven Winery, Fletcher Bay Winery, Perennial Vitners, Rolling Bay Winery, and the Island Vintners Tasting Room, which offers samplings from several island wineries in its downtown Winslow tasting room.
Visit www.bainbridge wineries.com to learn more and plan a wine tasting trip.
