RIDGEFIELD — Vancouver friends Belinda Cochran and CeCe Tangocci have been all over rural Clark County in search of flavorful wines, but the nearly 8-year-old Confluence Vineyards & Winery had eluded them.
That is, until Tangocci recently discovered the Ridgefield winery on Facebook. The duo, who joked that they sometimes go by “Tweedle B and Tweedle CeCe” while on their winery adventures, decided to visit Confluence on Sunday during day two of the winery’s Harvest in the Vineyard event, which featured wine-tasting, plus art vendors, live music and food.
“We started really liking the wine once we got to the malbec,” Cochran said as she tried out another wine called Red Velvet.
The good friends prefer red wines to whites, and they go wine-tasting about once a week.
“I like the notes, the flavor, the aroma,” Cochran said of wine.
For Cochran, it’s a hobby she hopes to turn into a profession. She’s taking online classes to become a sommelier, or wine steward. Her dream is to travel the country with her boyfriend, who’s a truck driver, and offer her wine-pairing expertise to restaurants.
“I can get paid to drink wine and taste food,” she said.
The friends sat at a table under a tent where art, candles, jewelry and wine glass markers were for sale. A man nearby played the guitar and sang into a microphone in French.
Outside the covered seating area, some visitors stood overlooking a pasture with wine in hand, while others took advantage of wine samples in the tasting room or ordered Mexican cuisine from the Mario’s Salsa food stand.
“The food is phenomenal,” Tangocci said.
Although it might seem like an odd combination, Cochran tried a chicken enchilada while sampling a merlot. It wasn’t a perfect wine-and-food pairing, she said, “but it was still pretty good.”
Tangocci and Cochran said that the winery’s staff was kind and answered all of their questions during the tasting.
“I would come back,” Cochran said. “I like the scenery. I like the atmosphere.”
“It’s a better way to socialize than going to the bar,” Tangocci said, adding that the bar scene can get “loud and obnoxious.”
About 35 visitors were at the winery and vineyard on Sunday afternoon. On Saturday, a couple of hundred people stopped by throughout the afternoon and early evening.
Jae Weber, co-owner of Confluence, said the annual Harvest in the Vineyard is a way to celebrate fall and feature some of the company’s newest wines. Each year, the winery hosts a few community events, which also showcase local artists, Weber said.
“It’s a fun way to get people together,” she said.
