Educating for Responsible
Wine Consumption

I thought spring was late up here this year, but now we have suddenly jumped into summer! What a year. (more…)

This is the time of year when I wish we had settled in Wenatchee or Cashmere when we came here almost twenty-one years ago. While I am happy with where we live, I do get frustrated with the late arrival of spring each year. Out the front door, by the walk, three crocuses, some snowdrops and a pansy have managed to make it through the only recently melted snow. The lilac and spirea are putting out tiny tentative leaves and buds. (more…)

…this I know, ’cause the calendar tells me so. But let me run out to the garden and dig through the snow, and see if my still-sleeping perennials know this. (more…)

Here we are, only in the first week of February, and it’s beginning to look like the end of winter. I’m already thinking of fresh asparagus, salmon, and baby radishes, and perhaps a Gruner Veltliner from Austria, or a Vermentino or Verdicchio, or a Spanish Albarino, yet I know winter is not over. We had this Pork and Hominy Chili* (recipe follows) on an icy night recently, with an Estancia Zinfandel, and a salad. Estancia is one of the better Zins at a reasonable price. This was under $10. (more…)

It’s the last night of the year, and we are celebrating in our usual way, with a special dinner and very special wines at home. We just finished a Kestrel Signature Edition Old Vines Merlot 1998…thank you, Ray Sandidge. It was a worthy accompaniment to the last dinner of a most unsettling year. We started with a tiny onion, apple, apricot tartlet and a small glass of Scott Benson’s fruity Curious and ended with my own chocolate truffle and Wedge Mountain Winery’s Roses and Rubies in a small Edinburgh crystal Thistle glass. I enjoy wines and foods which engage all the senses. (more…)

Here we go again…another fall season, and the beginning of a new round of monthly wine events. This year we’ll be tasting old wines, new wines, and perhaps some unusual wines. Again, we’ll have the companionship of friends with similar interests: a love of wine and good food to complement it, and an interest in learning more about various aspects of wine and the local wine industry. (more…)