Off the Cliffe

Before Christmas season launched its merry, festive face, we were working to revamp the Cave B Webstore, making it more user-friendly with different wine and gift categories, and more production information.  But knowing that product info alone is not enough; after all, we all want products we desire, right?–So we also stocked the store with a whole bevy of new offerings and great holiday deals:  First we added a Nov. 1-Dec. 31 wine shipping and handling special (free shipping on 6+ bottles sent anywhere in WA State!-see webstore for details), 10% off on all wine gift baskets, bonus gifts and discounts on SageCliffe Gift Cards, and an entire array of SageCliffe Experience Gifts. 

What exactly are Experience Gifts?  We’ve found through the years that those who visit SageCliffe often wish they could come back with a spouse, best friend, their mother, their children….they wish to share the experience of the winery, the Inn, the Spa, Tendrils and the amazing landscape, with others.  Experiences Gifts are packages we’ve put together to allow you to do just that:  you can purchase a winery a la carte activity for your loved one, like a wine blending activity, a Stump the Chump Experience, or personal barrel tasting.  Or, for the foodie in your life, there’s the opportunity to purchase admittance to this spring’s SageCliffe Chef’s Weekends (think Iron Chef-type competition and working side by side with some of the Northwest’s best chefs!) And the Experiences Gifts go on….with SageCliffe Gift Cards another way to purchase the SageCliffe Experience while letting the recipient put together their very own kind of SageCliffe visit.

 And last but most certainly not least, we have the tremendous Cave B and SageCliffe wines available, along with quality wine accessories that you will use again and again.  With full tasting notes available in the store for every wine, we’ve taken the mystery out of your wine-buying decision:  you can find just the right wine for your loved ones, your holiday celebration (Ice Wine or Blanc de Blanc, anyone?) or for your boss or coworkers. (How about the Seattle Wine Awards Gold-winning 2008 Cave B Riesling?)

 We love what we do here at Cave B, and doing what we can to make your Cave B & SageCliffe experience as easy, relaxing and enjoyable is what we’re all about.  We welcome you to visit our Cave B Webstore, click on the pages, browse at your leisure and enjoy the fruits of your search…the smiles on the faces of those who receive your Cave B gifts!  A very happy holiday to each and every one of you.  ~The Cave B Family.

The Cellar, our small and dynamic music venue adjacent to the Cave B Estate Winery tasting room, is ready for Kim Virant! A veteran singer/songwriter from the Seattle area, Kim will perform a lively acoustic rock show, accompanied by Cellar-returnee guitarist Gary Westlake, on Friday, June 12. 

Show time is 8:30 p.m., with tasting room doors open beforehand, and the beautiful grounds to lure you outdoors for a walk among the vineyards or a view of the stunning gorge laid out before you.  When you hear the instruments warming up, come on inside to our room that’s been blasted out of gigantic basalt boulders–it’s not a room you’ll soon forget, and neither will you forget the music!  Kim has a way of connecting with her audience that is truly special. 

Charting her course

ERNEST A. JASMIN; ernest.jasmin@thenewstribune.com
In Vicci Martinez’s world, creative freedom and long-term happiness always trumps shortcuts to stardom. That’s why the singer-songwriter opted out of an appearance on the inaugural season of “American Idol,” wary of the hit show’s contractual restrictions. (And she returned to reality TV in 2003, anyway, with a pair of appearances on “Star Search.”)

In 2007, Martinez was seemingly on the brink of a commercial breakthrough again when she signed with manager Bill Leopold. His most high-profile client is Melissa Etheridge, a rock star who Martinez often drew comparisons with when she was getting started.

But Martinez walked away from that deal last year, too, instead opting for the creative freedom that recording new CD, “From the Outside In,” on her own dime afforded.

“It’s kind of that story again of I could have been on ‘American Idol,’ but I said no,” said Martinez, 24. “And I’m happier that way.”

Martinez said she and Leopold had different ideas on what she needed to record to get to the next level. Ultimately, Martinez and her band – drummer Darin Watkins, bassist Jeff Leonard, guitarist Rod Cook and keyboard player Eric Roberts – parted ways with Leopold, determined to record songs they had written and were passionate about.

“The band and I have gotten closer now by doing this project alone,” Martinez said. “The guys are excited for me to take it on and be confident enough that we can do it. They definitely were excited about the management deal, but they wanted to see progress. But they weren’t seeing any, and neither was I.”

The new album showcases an increasingly eclectic sound, with soul, blues, country and even a bit of reggae incorporated into its rootsy tapestry.

“Everybody got to put their little flavor in it as the songs were being written,” Martinez said. “I can do my stuff solo or whatever. But I always go back to Dave Matthews, and I love his unit that he’s got goin’ on right there. And I just wanted to apply that to my band and give them the opportunity to showcase their style.”

Among the songs that are most personal to Martinez are “Rain,” an acoustic ballad that closes the CD. Martinez said she sang it at her father’s bedside when he was dying of cancer in 2005 but lost the lyrics and didn’t return to it again until last summer.

“I think I kind of put them away subconsciously on purpose,” Martinez said. “I just didn’t want to go back to it. It was kind of an intense song. Like, I could never sing it and not cry, so I just didn’t even want to go there. And then I felt when I decided to let go of that myself, things that were hindering me, it just came into my head. So I just rewrote some of the lyrics, and used some of the ones I used with him.”

Martinez unveiled the new songs for Tacoma fans on Friday at Jazzbones (many having been set staples for two years.) Her next Tacoma performances are schedule for March 25 and April 8 at The Swiss downtown.

And don’t be surprised if you hear her on the big screen in the near future, too. Martinez recently returned from a songwriting jaunt to San Francisco, where she collaborated with Bay Area performer Blair Hansen on material that may appear in “Mosquito y Mari,” an independent film directed by Aurora Guerrero.

Chardonnay French Toast