Tasting Washington Through the Lense

Taste Washington is in full swing in South Downtown Seattle.  If you didn't make it down -- you can still participate tomorrow thanks to this year's new collaboration between Washington Wine Commission (@WineCommission) and Seattle Visitor and Convention Bureau (@SeattleMaven) making the annual daily event into two days of tasting and eating delight (check out the press release about the partnership here).

Here's a look at a bit of what I've tried so far.

Hope to see you on the tasting floor tomorrow!  Don't forget to bring a camera and a smart phone if you have one to track what you've tried and to tweet using #TasteWA and #WAwine plus @WestToast of course.

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The Place To Be

There’s a Tavern in Seattle that’s packed every night, not surprising, it’s a Tom Douglas* place.

Brave Horse Tavern opened up in South Lake Union a year ago (April 7, 2011) and it’s the place to be right now in this up and coming neighborhood.  I took an out of town friend there last night (ran into local friends who had also brought out of town friends) and we both were in heaven.  He loved it because of the soft pretzel and sides the Tavern is now famous for. 

(photo courtesy: Rob Davis)

I loved it because they served me New Belgium La Folie on tap (which I hadn’t had since the Brewery tasting tour in December).

They’ve got Monday Brewer Nights (with places like Elysian, Boulevard and Rogue on the April schedule) from 4 to 7, Beer Club ($10 for a year which gives you discounts, deals and a subscription to Beer West Magazine) and always have Brick Oven Pretzels (malt boiled, hearth roasted).

If you are looking to head out in Seattle this weekend try Brave Horse (on Harrison & Terry) and take some out of town friends, it’s obviously the cool thing to do.

Douglas will be at Taste Washington doing a demo (with the demo dish being served at the Dahlia Lounge booth). 
Date: Sunday, April 1st
Time: 2:30pm: Tom's Demo on the Viking Chef's Stage
Where: Taste Washington is a two day extravaganza this year!  And if 200 wineries weren't enough, Tom Douglas will be on site at 2:30 when he gets on the Viking Chef's Stage to make leg of lamb with preserved lemon aioli and griddled olive bread.

*Douglas is a Seattle based chef, restaurant owner and James Beard winner who’s all about local ingredients.  He and his wife even have a farm over in Prosser, Washington helping to serve up local food at all of his restaurants.

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Adventures in Beerland Part I

I have mentioned before that one of my colleagues, Christopher, is very into coffee. He is also very into beer. When given the chance to combine the two, well, it can be inferred that he will be a very happy person.

Upon a recent trip to Southern Oregon, as Josh wrote about a while ago, one of the things Erik, Josh, and I did was to stop by Harry & David's: Country Village. While there I picked up a couple of bottles of various local, Northwest beers that I thought Chris would enjoy. A couple of the bottles I picked up were of various combinations of beer and coffee. I was incredibly intrigued by the possibility of how these would come out, and I was hoping that my colleague would be as well.

On a recent Thursday, we made plans to watch "Community." If you have never seen it, it is by far, one of the best television shows out there, and you should take a break from reading this and check out an episode or two online. Don't worry, I will sit here and I will wait...

...

So while making plans to watch "Community," I thought this would be a great time to begin ADVENTURES IN BEERLAND (queue dramatic music). I brought over a couple of options, and

we decided on the Laurelwood Organic Roast Espresso Stout.

While I did not take any pictures of this beer, both Chris and I were struck by the very deep dark colour of this beer. It poured like all of the properties of a stout - dark and rich, with one minor exception. While pouring the glasses, the aroma of coffee and espresso were quite obvious, but not in an overbearing way.

When I bought my pint to my mouth to drink, I almost thought that I should blow on it to cool it off a bit, but then I realized how silly that would be. Upon drinking this Espresso Stout, I definitely could taste the coffee with the combination of the beer. It was actually kind of cool. I liked it a bit, and it appeared to meet Chris's seal of approval as well.

We will have to see where Adventures in Beerland take us next.

Until next time...

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Beer for writing papers...

Happy finals y'all!

This finals week I had what I THOUGHT was going to be a simple assignment...a reflection paper.  Yep - no research, no citations, just answer questions and be sure you demonstrate you understood the concepts.

Have you ever heard of a double-bind?  It's a term within family therapy where a person gives you two contradictory messages, you need to made a choice, and you are screwed either way you go.  Often times when this happens regularly in a family system, it can contribute to the development of schizophrenia.  No, this reflection paper was not one of those.  I knew I had to do it, and I knew it would be pretty long.  But hey, now you are one step closer to being a MFT.  I know that is totally the reason you clicked the link to read my review.

Unlike my usual time out and about at the bar with my schoolwork, I opted for dinner and beer on my study break.  I'd answered 15 of the 25 requisite reflection questions, and it was time for something tasty.  By the way, have you heard of an emotional divorce?  It's when two people who are married separate themselves from one another emotionally, often before they get an actual divorce.  Before divorce was as common as it is now, it was often the only way people could divorce.  Oh reading about marriage therapy is soo uplifting is it not?

I picked Double Jack (Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Paso Robles, CA) because I was feeling the hops, as well as I thought perhaps I could make some kind of clever play on words with the double-bind thing.  Then I realized family therapy isn't funny - or at least I have had trouble making it so.

The beer was not funny either - rather it was delicious.  Hoppy and herbal on the nose with strong hints of citrus, this beer was incredibly malty through the start and middle of the taste, ending with a delightful nip of VERY hoppy bitterness that would put even the most challenging family clients to shame.  I pondered Whitaker's "therapy of the absurd," where all members of a family (as many generations as are living) can sit in group session all at once, and savored the strong grapefruit and, dare I say, orange flavors.  I highly recommend this beer.  It was crisp, refreshing, and had enough hops to satisfy even the toughest Pacific Northwest palette.

The paper - it ended up being 46 pages long. 

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A Barrage of Awesome at SWFE

On February, Andrea and I spent a day at Seattle Center enjoying one of the most delicious charitable events I've ever attended:  the Seattle Wine and Food Experience.

Known as #SWFE to those in the know on Twitter, the event brought together more than a dozen breweries and ciderhouses, fifteen distilleries, forty local chefs, and what I'd estimate to be a hundred wineries.

One of my favorite movies, Super Troopers, described it best:

Yeah, that's a lot of booze!

Oftentimes when engaging in the post-weekend ritual at the office of sharing what we did over the previous two days, I have tales of some wine event or another. Knowing that I write about wine in my other life, my colleagues often will ask what exactly I'm looking for at a wine event.

What distinguishes one from another? What makes an event special? Aren't they all just big old boozefests a la Super Troopers or the post Jesse made a few weeks ago?

As I respond, I find myself using words that we value here on WestToast: experience, relationships, local, and culture; all positive aspects of #SWFE. While there are many similarities between the large-scale wine events, there are also some pretty unique facets and as I approach an event, I seek to find the hidden treasure, the pot at the end of the rainbow, if you will.

At #SWFE, beyond the obvious benefit of all the mini-donuts I could eat, the hidden treasure came to me upon recommendation of my friend Denise who was pouring wine for Pend d'Oreille Winery at the event. As I was walking down one of the aisles at the festival, she literally grabbed me and said, "You HAVE to go try Barrage Cellars."

Not one to turn down that kind of recommendation, off we went. It's actually pretty difficult to find information about Barrage online, and, the notes I took at the event are non-existent so I turned to a feature Sean Sullivan wrote in 2010 for some background.

Launched in 2005 in Woodinville, Barrage Cellars offers limited production wines from some of the finest vineyard in Washington. A retirement project of winemaker Kevin Correll, the name comes directly from the roots of the winery. Founded in a BARn, the winery soon outgrew the original location and moved into the gaRAGE. Barrage Cellars was born.

In creating varietal-specific bordeaux wines, Kevin blends vineyards to create the stylist differences among his wines. With Connor Lee and Boushey in his portfolio, among others, he has a nice playground to work with.

At #SWFE, I tasted three wines from Barrage: Nuclear Blonde Chardonnay, Trifecta Merlot, and the Double Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon. All were nice wines, but the highlight of the tasting for me was the Double Barrel. A big, dry wine, this Cabernet exemplified the best Eastern Washington has to offer. An even more compelling highlight of Barrage was the great conversation and the kindness of the staff; even at the end of a long day.

So, next time you're at an event like the Seattle Wine and Food Experience, take a step back and seek out a winery you haven't tried before. Or, listen to Denise. She will not lead you astray.

I, for one, now have a new winery to visit in Woodinville.

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Wendy's Wine Wednesday

You may have read about my recent adventure in the Rogue Valley; a journey culminating on a Thursday that Erik, Micheal, and I enjoyed the finest dining the greater Ashland area had to offer.

We love fine food. And booze. I've never met a top-cut steak that I didn't enjoy. It can't be caviar and Santana Champagne all the time, though, even highfaluting bloggers such as us have more nefarious cravings.

Urges. Desires. Needs.

The Wednesday before our perfect day in the Rogue Valley was one of those days. Having just finished a 5-day conference, the three introverts were tired. Exhausted. Hungry. And, lazy. A case of wine sitting on the table, we started kicking around ideas for a quick dinner that would pair well with the beverages of the evening.

Like a streak of genius, it hit me.

Fresh, never frozen 100% real North American beef, hot off the grill.

Crinkle-cut pickles, sweet red onions, and thick hand-sliced tomato.

Soft, warm buttered, toasted buns with real butter.

Dave's Hot 'N Juicy.

It's hot, it's juicy, and if that wasn't enough, natural-cut fries with sea-salt sealed the deal.

It was the inaugural Wendy's Wine Wednesday.

A nice Rogue Valley red wine, three bags of finest Wendy's has to offer, and three dudes...hanging out...on a Wednesday night.  What could go wrong?

Well, half of a bottle of wine spilled on the carpet for one thing.  A lack of a grade A milk and rich cream Frosty for another.  I digress.

With full bellies, rosy cheeks, and the happy glow of a good bottle of wine, we cleaned up the wine off the carpet and called it a night...committing to continue the tradition of Wendy's Wine Wednesday, and with that, we share it with all of you.

It's almost Wednesday, who's going to join?

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Rhone Rangers SF 2012 - March 24-25

Thank you all who entered. I used a random number generator to get the winner. Congratulations to Alvin Nguyen who would take three bottles of Rhone to Alcatraz Island. Alvin, please send me an email at jesse@westtoast.com with an email address you can be registered.

While Julie Andrews may consider raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens a few of her favorite things, I consider Rhone-style wine and the City by the Bay a few of MY favorite things. That is why I am absurdly excited for the upcoming Rhone Rangers event in San Francisco on March 24-25. A weekend celebration of American Rhone wines, Rhone Rangers brings together over 500 wines from more than 100 American Rhone producers. Sound good? Keep reading for discount codes and a chance to win a pair of tickets to the Grand Tasting.

What wines are Rhone anyway?

 You have probably heard of a couple, but may not know they were Rhone grapes. For example, Syrah is a more common red Rhone grape and Viognier a white Rhone grape that is growing in popularity. Other Rhones you may have had but are not seen as single-varietal wines as much, such as Grenache (pronounced “gruh-NOSH”), Mourvedre (“more-VEHD-ruh”), Carignane (“car-in-YAWN”), Cinsault (“sahn-soh”), Marsenne (“mar-SAWN”), Roussane (“roo-SAWN”), and Grenache Blanc (“gruh-NOSH blahnk”), to name a few.

Thanks for the pronunciation lesson, but I don’t recognize any of those; can’t I just stick with my Merlot?

Sure you could, but why not branch out a little bit? I have fallen in love with Rhone because of their uniqueness. With some being more fruit forward and others offering spice, pepper, earth, and other great flavors, Rhone wines complement each other so well and can be enjoyed in blends or on their own. 

Okay, I’m convinced; tell me a little about this event.

Gladly! Over the two days you have plenty of opportunities to try wines, learn about wines, and new this year, even buy the wines at the Grand Tasting. Here is an overview of the events:

Saturday, March 24

Seminar #1: Rare Wines, Come Taste the Unusual (12:00pm, Tickets $45)

Come and meet the rare Rhone wines that you may have never heard of before. 

Seminar #2: Wine and Swine, A Pairing of Rhone Varieties with Bacon (2:00pm, Tickets $65)

Comedian Jim Gaffigan says that the way we make food better is by wrapping it in bacon. Think of dates, or the water chestnut... without bacon you would probably have never eaten them. Come find out if bacon can have the same effect on wine at this unique seminar.

Winemaker Dinner (6:00pm, Tickets $150)

17 wineries will each host a table and will provide the wine to pair with dinner by Girl and the Fig. A truly special evening to close out day 1.

Sunday, March 25

Seminar #3: American Syrah from a Variety of Regions (11:00am, Tickets $55)

You’ve seen it in the store, now come taste Syrah from a wide range of regions across the country.

Grand Tasting (2:00-5:00pm, Tickets $45)

More than 100 Rhone producers will be on hand to let you try their wines. Extra special this year is that 60 of these wineries will be selling their wine on hand. These tables will be specially marked and there will be two drop off locations at the event. Wineries are coming in from all over the country so this may be your only chance to easily purchase the wines you love!

Okay, okay, I want to go....where do I buy tickets?

Great question! You can buy tickets here, and for being a fan of WestToast, we are pleased to offer some discounted tickets. Enter the code SDKGT312 to get $5 off your tickets to the Grand Tasting or use the code SDKWP312 to get $10 off your full weekend pass.

 

You said you had a pair of tickets to give away... how do I get those?

I sure do. I have a pair of tickets to the Grand Tasting on Sunday 3/25 to give away. Entering the contest is easy! In fact, I’m going to make it so easy on you that you should just be embarrassed if you don’t enter this contest. To enter all you have to do is pair up my favorite things; Rhone and San Francisco. Leave a comment telling me your favorite American Rhone-style wine and where in San Francisco you would enjoy that bottle. For the sake of this contest (and only this contest), feel free to ignore all liquor laws and don’t be afraid to drink in public. For example, I might grab a bottle of Two Shepherds Syrah/Mourvedre blend and go walk the Golden Gate Bridge. Or I might uncork a bottle of Frick Cinsault while watching street performers near Fisherman’s Wharf.

The contest will end on Friday, March 16 at 5:00pm PST. Winner will be announced back here on the post. You must be at least 21 years old to win.

So, where would you Rhone?

Cheers!

Jesse

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Millennials: The Next Generation

Most of my posts tend to be reviews of events I was fortunate enough to attend or wines I was able to taste. Today I hope you will allow me to diverge just a little bit to discuss a subject that has me in a tizzy...that’s right, a tizzy!

The subject of this post is all about the negative reputation of young wine drinkers. Here in Sonoma County there are a multitude of events where participants purchase an all-access pass to participating wineries. Right now we are in the middle of the Wine Road Barrel Tasting event. Taking place over two weekends, March 2-4 and March 9-11, this event features the chance to visit plenty of wineries, taste barrel samples, and even purchase those future releases. Each of the two years I have been around this event, the potential over-consumption by some participants has stirred controversy.

In a recent blog post by Peg Melnik on the local Press Democrat, the “largest newspaper between San Francisco and the Oregon border”, the behavior of young wine drinkers participating in Barrel Tasting was addressed. Criticism over their arrival to wineries in buses with a non-wine beverage in their glass was central to the article. Additionally, the co-owner of Armida Winery was interviewed and complained over the large number of young wine drinkers participating because it deterred more “serious wine buyers” from stopping by the winery. In contrast to 500-600 participants last year, Armida saw close to 1000 participants this year, noting the surge in younger visitors. As a blog dedicated to the 20-30 something audience, I feel a bit of an obligation to address these criticisms and the overall opinion of the Millennial consumer. 

Not being present at this particular winery, I can’t argue that a group of young wine drinkers got off a bus with something other than wine in their glass. But it is frustrating to see so much emphasis put on what is arguably a small percentage of the participants at this amazing event. There are far more participants, both young and old, who appreciate the opportunity to try a large number of world class wines in an easy format like Barrel Tasting. Focusing on the small number of negative incidents is a misrepresentation of the event and of young wine drinkers. Furthermore, negative incidents like this are just as likely to be caused by a group of older wine consumers who have more disposable income to rent limos and buses, thus not having to be concerned with their intake.

It is a shame that seeing 400-500 more participants at the winery this year was such a burden. Perhaps the sales this year were lower, I wasn’t there so I don’t know, but to not see the additional 500 visitors as anything but a blessing in this economy astounds me. Why not try and make these new, younger visitors “serious wine buyers” instead of shunning them? Why not focus on giving them an experience they will enjoy? And why not treat them with a little respect that will make them want to come back? The reality is the millennial generation IS the next generation of wine buyers and contrary to popular belief, they do have disposable income. Millennials want to feel important and expand their knowledge base...if you can do these two things; you are on your way to securing your future.

So why is this important to discuss and why bring more attention to this blog post? Well, there are really two reasons. First, I am concerned that the Wine Road Barrel Tasting event is being misrepresented.  There will, of course, be a few “sour grapes” of all ages, in an event that attracts 20,000 attendees from all over the country. To focus only on those few is not fair to the event and may actually deter more people from going than the crowds. Second, to focus only on the Millennial subset of those sour grapes is a misrepresentation of a large and growing demographic of wine consumers. From reading her post about last year’s event, it is clear Ms. Melnik is not fond of the Millennial generation as legitimate wine consumers. I urge you all to not let this characterization be proved correct. Continue to be good stewards of the wine industry and show everyone, including Ms. Melnik, why Millennials truly are the future of the wine industry.

Cheers!

Jesse

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A Day in the Rogue Valley

I'm lucky in that my profession has allowed the opportunity to travel throughout the Pacific Northwest, visiting some of the nooks and crannies of Washington and Oregon that I might not otherwise see. Often in these areas I find some of the best food and drink experiences I've had.

Recently, Micheal and I spent a week in Ashland, Oregon attending a conference; we played hooky from work for a few days afterwards. One of those days was such a perfect representation of what WestToast is all about, I'm sharing it in it's near entirety as you absolutely want to recreate it at your the earliest possible opportunity. First, some background.

About Ashland, Oregon

According to our friends at Wikipedia,

Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, near Interstate 5 and the California border, and located in the south end of the Rogue Valley. It was named after Ashland County, Ohio, point of origin of Abel Helman and other founders, and secondarily for Ashland, Kentucky, where other founders had family connections. It officially became a town with the name Ashland Mills in 1855. As of July 1, 2011, the city had a total population of 20,255. It is the home of Southern Oregon University and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Conveniently, Ashland is located in the Rogue Valley American Viticulture Area so there's plenty of wine to go around. Additionally, the Shakespeare Festival brings 400,000 tourists per year to Ashland so there's probably 100 restaurants in the town; every one I ate at was simply outstanding.

Oh yea, everything in Ashland is "historic", so be sure to add the word to your vocabulary prior to hitting city limits.

One Day in the Rogue Valley

Step 1 - Sleep and Eat

A block off of the main drag in Ashland, you'll find the gorgeous historic Winchester Inn. Stay here. Billed as the finest lodging in Ashland, I'd have to concur and also add that each room is unique, comfortable as all get out, and the staff are fantastic. Reserve one of the suites and you'll likely end up with a whirlpool tub and fireplace in the room, and you'll be pleasantly surprised each afternoon upon returning to your room to find a house-made pastry treat waiting for you.

Each morning, guests are treated to a complimentary European continental breakfast, or, for a $10 up charge a full hot breakfast. The full breakfast is fantastic, but the continental is unlike any free breakfast I've ever gotten. It's for real, folks.

Step 2 - Pamper Yourself

The perfect way to start your day in paradise is a little bit of self-care, and Erik, Micheal, and I did so after a long and busy conference. Two block from the Winchester is the historic Waterstone Spa and Salon. You want the spa. A 30-minute foot treatment is incredibly indulgent and cost-effective. Exfoliation...scrubbing...massaging. Rawr!

Oh, for all the dudes out there, trust us when we say this is worth it. You really don't know how much abuse your feet take until you give them a little TLC.

Step 3 - Cheese, of course.

A quick 18 miles from Ashland in the town of Central Point, the next stop is the historic Rogue Creamery. Located inside an unassuming cinderblock building, Rogue is a world-class producer of blue and cheddar cheeses. Cheese? Great. Even better? Unlimited samples. The knowledgable staff will taste anything in the shop for you.

Buy cheese here. We picked up an aged gouda, a blue, a white cheddar, some cheese curds, a crusty baguette, and some capicolla. If, like us, you didn't plan ahead properly - they have a nice selection of $6 cheese knives so you can cut the cheese.

Step 4 - Chocolate, my dear.

Conveniently located mere feet from Rogue, historic Lillie Belle Artisan Chocolates is the ultimate in indulgence. Plenty of samples to be had here as well, you'll find a fantastic selection of ganache, bon bons, truffles, bars, chocolate covered bacon, and a passionate chocolatier named Jeff.

Buy chocolate here. I picked out 6 pieces ranging from a blueberry bon bon to a chocolate covered pear with ginger, and was pleasantly surprise that Jeff hand-wrapped my selections in a very cute box.

Step 5 - Combine Step 4 and 5 with Wine

Six miles from Central Point is the historic town of Jacksonville. Located in a historic 1865 building in the heart of Jacksonville is South Stage Cellars, Oregon's only vineyard-based wine garden and tasting room. Sashay into the tasting room, go through their flight, and select a bottle for purchase. We fell in love with the 2009 South Stage Cellars Grenache.

Take your bottle, cheese, and chocolate out back into the wine garden and have a feast fit for kings. Seriously. It was a rare sunny day for us in February and the nice folks at South Stage even provided plates and napkins for us. The perfect lunch picnic.

Step 6 - Nap

I don't need to teach you how to do that, do I?

Step 7 - Dinner and a Beer

Back in Ashland and ready to put some closure on the day, the historic Standing Stone Brewery is a family owned full-service brewpub offering craft beer and delicious food. I had a nice burger with an oak-aged barley wine. Delicious.

Standing Stone apparently also has a thing for bikes, as evidenced by the cool shirt I picked up. Bikes and beer? I'm in.

What are you waiting for?

Sure, historic Ashland will still be there in a few months...but so will a mob of unruly Shakespearians. Although, you may be in to that kind of thing...

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Papyrus: Please Stop Using This Font

I'm taking a break from our usual format of writing about specific beverages or restaurants to talk about something just as important; fonts. Fonts are everywhere and go hand-in-hand with how we process written information. Why talk about fonts? Because one font in particular is closely tied to everything this online publication is about and sometimes it makes me want to cry.

If you've ever been to a wine shop, visited a nicer restaurant, looked at anything trying to portray itself as ethnic, gone to a yoga or art studio, watched the beginning of "Avatar" or "Grimm", picked up a greeting card, gone to church, been to a coffee shop, or any number of activities, you've seen what I consider the herpes of fonts; Papyrus. Don't know what I'm talking about? This should ring a bell:
See! This gem of a font is called Papyrus and for the love of everything you hold dear, please stop using it. For anybody who does anything remotely related to design work, seeing this font feels equivalent to scouring ones eyeballs out with a rusty SOS pad. It's so bad that there are entire blogs dedicated to how awful it is.

Before we get to why you should delete this from your machine and shun those who use it, let's consult Wikipedia and learn a little bit about its history:

The font was created in 1982 and released the next year to foundry Letraset. It was hand-drawn over a period of six months by means of calligraphy pen and textured paper. Costello described his goal as a font that would represent what English language texts would have looked like if written on papyrus 2000 years ago. Papyrus has a number of distinctive characteristics, including rough edges, irregular curves, and high horizontal strokes in the capitals. ITC, the current owner of the typeface, describes it as an "unusual roman typeface [that] effectively merges the elegance of a traditional roman letterform with the hand-crafted look of highly skilled calligraphy."

The intent sounds harmless enough and I can appreciate the effort put into hand-drawing a font. That said, it just plain looks awful. WebDesignerDepot.com's list of 10 Iconic Fonts and Why You Should Never Use Them put it best:

Papyrus is the king of bad fonts. Equal parts childish, kitschy and irritating, this ugly piece of typography has found its way into everything from film posters (Avatar, anyone?) to logos for credit unions.

As with Comic Sans, avoid this typeface if you want to be taken seriously. Unlike other reviled typefaces, though, Papyrus isn’t bad because it is overused: it’s bad because it just doesn’t look good. Kitschy, cheap and vile, Papyrus has no place in your designs.

I realize all I've stated at this point is that I don't like it an it's ugly, but there are very real reasons why you will want to avoid using Papyrus:

It Makes Your Branding Generic
With a trillion different businesses using the same font for their logos, yours isn't going to stand out. If one were to type anything in the same fonts used for Star Wars, ESPN, or Walt Disney, most people would immediately associate that font with its respective company. With Papyrus, your logo will either completely get lost in the fold or become associated with something you've never heard of. If I'm releasing $100+ wines (I won't point fingers, but you know who you are), the last thing I want my brand associated with is a restaurant, yoga studio, or extremist church I've never heard of that a customer might have had a bad experience at. If a potential customer's first reaction is to cringe, that's lost money.

It Makes You Look Lazy
With Helvetica being the only exception to this rule, most people know the difference between designed logos and what fonts are available on their home computer. If somebody sees a logo or label that they can make at home, their next assumption is going to be that you're either an amateur operation or you have no design department. I suppose this is OK if both of these are true, but my assumption is this is generally something you want to steer clear of. With so many options for customers to drink or eat at, this could imply that you're also lazy with how you make your product.

There Are Thousands Of Free Alternatives
Do a Google search for "free fonts" and literally thousands are available for no or little licensing fees. My personal favorite is DaFont.com. Take a look around and find something you like. If you're going to use it for commercial purposes, take a moment to understand its licensing agreement. Most are absolutely free and you can do whatever you want with them.

Legibility Is Questionable
If you sell your product over seas or to non-English speaking populations, nobody will be able to read your font. Writing a language while trying to make it aesthetically look like another language doesn't typically translate well.

If you are an avid user of Papyrus, I hope this helps persuade you to at least look for another font. Craft beers, wine, spirits, and great dining take countless amounts of effort and passion to produce. At the very least, make how you present yourself show the same. At most, delete the font all together and rebrand your wine labels, menus, glassware, signs, business cards, wedding invitations, pizza boxes, ren fair posters, romance novels...

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