How do you celebrate?

With wine, duh.  And mythical eagle/lion creatures.

Here at WestToast, we’re firm advocates of the philosophy that you really don’t need a special occasion to open that special bottle of wine; opening the bottle is occasion enough.

That said, let’s be honest…there are always going to be those bottles that you pass over on the rack waiting for that moment of celebration, be it because the particular wine has sentimental value, ratings value, or just plain dollar value that scream “hooray!” when you touch it.

We’ve had plenty of cause to celebrate lately, so as a public service to you here’s a rundown of what we pour when things are going really well:

• Col Solare: We’ve profiled this red Bordeaux blend a few times on The Oregon Wine Blog, and it truly is the default celebratory wine. Intended to be the best red blend in the state of Washington, Rick and I first experienced the 2005 vintage in honor of a new job, new roommates, and friendship (awwww). We’ve enjoyed the 2006 subsequently as a housewarming celebration and when Rick got a new job in Portland last year.
• The Griffin: Moving down South to the Rogue Valley, The Griffin is another Bordeaux style blend produced by Willamette Valley Vineyards when they feel like they have the right fruit for it. You may remember this from the magnum birthday celebration of 2010; and more recently it had a leading role in celebration part 1 for Rick’s recent promotion.
• Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon: This is one of those highly rated, expensive, hard to get wines that my Mom put under the Festivus tree this past year, apt timing as I had just gotten an awesome new job and was moving to Seattle shortly thereafter. Rick and I cracked open this 2005 vintage for my first night in Seattle and the bottle is still sitting on my bookshelf.
• Woodward Canyon Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon: We were sold on this wine after our visit to the winery back in March, and it made the journey to Pullman, Washington in honor of the pending launch of WestToast.com and, hell, because we were seeing Ludacris in concert. It’s Luda, come on!
• Woodward Canyon Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon: Rick’s promotion celebration part 2 called for a special bottle, and since I wasn’t there to enjoy The Griffin with him this 2007 vintage was the one. As I write this article, I’m sitting on the rooftop deck of my building still recovering from it’s awesomeness.
• Willamette Valley Vineyards Estate Pinot Noir: Specifically, the 2006 vintage. For some reason, ’06 Oregon Pinot has a special place on my palate and this bottle was the perfect match with some grilled salmon to celebrate a friend’s recent move to California. It’s one of the wines that got me into wine.

Now, as you read through this I can see the dollar signs flicker in your eyes, and you’re right; this shit ain’t cheap, yo. To not give you a skewed view of the privileged lives of bloggers, there have been many, many, many $10 and $15 bottles to counterbalance the moments of celebration. We realize how lucky we are to have so many reasons to celebrate and the perfect wines to do so. At the end of the day, though, it’s the people and experiences that make a wine special, and these bottles are no exception.

What’s in your glass when you have something super special going on?