Food & Wine

Located out in the far reaches of the Horse Heaven Hills is a vineyard named Alder Ridge. It is a beautiful place, although remote, where wine grapes are able to become all that they need to be in order to make great wines. Next door to the most highly-acclaimed Champoux vineyards, where some of the Northwest’s most prestigious grapes are grown, Alder Ridge may not have the same geneology, but it isn’t bad either. 

This year as I was preparing to serve up my smoked turkey, cranberry chutney and cornbread stuffing, I reached for my some of my usual wines.

Robert Smasne, the iconic winemaker who hand-crafts his wines in eastern Washington, recently won the Best of Show award at the annual Tri-Cities Wine Festival with his 2007 Block #3 Syrah. 

I don’t know where the old saying “ignorance is bliss” came from. I do know that in some areas of life, ignorance is probably better. A great example of that was during my college days when I worked in a doughnut shop. Once you figure out what goes into an apple fritter, it pretty well fixes you for eating them ever again. I’m sure the same goes for working in a hot dog plant. On the other hand, working around wine, and the education involved in making, selling and enjoying wine, has yet to produce a “yuck” result in my life. Actually, quite the opposite. Every time I learn a little more about the wine business, I get that much more excited and can’t wait to taste what I’ve learned.

I’m not one to get into political debates. I don’t even like talking to people about my voting preferences. However, a bill is coming up to be voted on in Washington that may greatly affect your wine buying and I think you should simply be aware of its impacts.

One of the great and complicated things about wine is it is two complete fields of business all wrapped into one product. On one hand you have the winemaking, which is so incredibly artisan in its approach. The winemaker and his assistants spend weeks, months and years perfecting the fermentation, aging and blending.

WALLA WALLA — Visitor activity was so hot through the summer that Walla Walla is on track for a record-breaking year for room sales, Tourism Walla Walla officials said. 

This weekend is truly one of my favorites here in eastern Washington and Oregon. The mornings are brisk, with the sun warming you through the day just in time for a beautiful red-orange sunset.

If you read my articles, and you think I write a little too simple, then I have the perfect blog for you: Palate Press. A little above my caliber, this blog has writers who have a much more intellectual slant on wines, winemaking and the wine business.