Seattle Mag
A ‘Jackass Tax’ and More if Knute Berger Ran Seattle
Thought experiment: Berger lets power go to his head
I have no intention of ever entering the political arena as more than an observer. Still, I sometimes fantasize, “If I were dictator of Seattle, what would I do?” In reality, it’s a terrible idea. I believe human nature is flawed, good intentions often go awry, and that absolute power corrupts absolutely. I can imagine…
Ai Weiwei’s Sculptures to Walla Walla, Bird Lawsuit & More News
The top Seattle news stories you should be reading today
Heavy Art: According to The Seattle Times, several sculptural pieces of Ai Weiwei, a Chinese artist and activist, will be featured in Walla Walla starting next month. Eight of Weiwei’s sculptures will go up at the Foundry Vineyards. Those eight sculptures are made of steel rebar taken from demolished buildings in the Sichuan earthquake in…
Instagram Inspiration: Hooked on Books
Have you always wanted to read Murakami? Or Didion? Well, now's the time!
If you lend me a book, chances are I will finish it and return it to you within about four years. I’m great at starting books and terrible at finishing them. It’s a problem I’m working on. And as the summer draws nearer to the end, it seems like a perfect weekend to spend lazing…
Wacky Weather, Mercer Traffic & More News
The top Seattle news stories you should be reading today
Thunder rolls. Seattle got a break from its record-setting hot summer Wednesday when thunder and lightning storms struck much of Western Washington, knocking out power in nearly 5,000 homes in Rainier Valley, says KOMO News. The storm even forced an early end to outdoor practice for the Seahawks at their facility in Renton. It may…
The Must List: Blues Festival, ‘John Baxter is a Switch Hitter’ at Cornish Playhouse
What to do this weekend in Seattle
Must Laugh Cornish Playhouse Presents John Baxter is a Switch Hitter (8/18 to 9/27, times vary) Part of the Intiman Theater Festival and inspired by a true, and truly bizarre, Seattle story, this new play tackles the hairy question of how much gay is enough gay to qualify for the Gay Softball World Series. Must…
New Cocktail Book by Local Author Paul Clarke
It's helpful for bartenders of all kinds, and is overflowing with more than 200 tasty recipes
If you don’t know, Paul Clarke is one of the finest cocktail and spirit writers in the world. He’s been an observer and participant of the cocktail happenings throughout the last 10 or 15 years, starting with his legendary blog The Cocktail Chronicles, and then going on into his freelance career writing for spots like…
What to eat at the Seattle Street Food Festival
Sixty food vendors will sling everything from jambalaya to ice cream over three days
If you read our Big List of Free Things To Do in Seattle, you know that this weekend’s epic, three-day Seattle Street Food Festival is still free to attend but has moved from its original location in Capitol Hill to a roomier South Lake Union at Denny Ave & Ninth by Westlake. Hours are 3…
Winners of Seattle Magazine’s 10th Annual Washington Wine Awards
A toast to the finest wines of the year and the passionate people who continue to dazzle our senses
For 10 years now, Seattle magazine has tracked the burgeoning wine scene in Washington with an annual celebration of the best wines, people and places in the industry. When we started, there were seven American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in Washington. Today, there are 13. In 2005, wine grapes were growing on 30,000 acres in the…
2015 Washington Wine Awards Methodology and Tasting Panel
Nominations for this year’s Washington Wine Awards were solicited via survey from a panel of Washington wine and food professionals. The top vote-getters in the wineries, winemaker, vineyard and sommelier categories were selected as winners. The more than 100 wines receiving the most votes in the varietal categories qualified as finalists for a blind tasting,…
The 2015 Washington Wine-Buying List
All the delicious, award-winning wines you should be buying now
RED WINES Red Wine of the Year Winner: Abeja 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, $50 Merlot, $20 or less Winner: Waterbrook 2013 Merlot, Columbia Valley, $15 Finalists: Milbrandt 2012 Traditions Merlot, Columbia ValleyBlackSmith 2012 Merlot, Columbia ValleyThe House of Independent Producers (HIP) 2012 Merlot, Bacchus Vineyard, Columbia Valley Merlot, $21–$40 Winner: L’Ecole No 41 2012…
High-end Korean Steakhouse Girin Now Serving in Pioneer Square
Restaurateur Steven Han forges a delicious new path with a Korean steakhouse in Pioneer Square
Steven Han’s fourth restaurant, a high-end Korean steakhouse in Pioneer Square’s new Stadium Place complex, is named after a divine creature in Korean culture that marks the arrival of good luck. Han established his reputation with Japanese restaurants (Momiji, Kushibar, Umi Sake House), but Girin, a massive, 125-seater next door to CenturyLink Field, is his…
A Look at the Progress Washington’s Wine Industry has Made
Good taste holds up
For our 10th anniversary, we reached out to wineries whose wines had been declared Wine of the Year in our past tastings. We asked them to submit the current vintage, as they define it, of that same wine. A five-person panel tasted these wines openly, as opposed to blind tasting, and discussed what these flagship…