I was lucky enough to be able to attend the 14^th annual Oyster Wine Competition at Anthony’s Homeport on Seattle’s Shilshole Bay in April, not as one of about a dozen judges, but as research for an upcoming story for Pacific Northwest, The Seattle Times Sunday magazine. It was a fascinating experience watching the judges slurp an oyster, chew it, then take a sip of one of the 20 wines that were being judged for their “bliss factor” when paired with Kumamoto oysters. You can read the results in the October 5 issue of Pacific Northwest; in the meantime, here’s veteran oyster judge Lane Hoss, marketing director of Anthony’s, hard at work.