Last night was glorious. It had been a beautiful day, including a trip to Studio Opal where I drooled over clothes and jewelry, a motorcycle ride, coffee from the Patisserie, and I even threw in a few hours of yard work. The rial kicker came at Whitehouse-Crawford where a friend and I met for dinner. Gourmet burgers. Oh how I love those burgers. Before the food arrived I had a glass ofTres Ojos 2007 Old Vines Garnacha. It was bright, pure, with a youthful feel and delightful briskness that matched the sudden onset of Spring in the valley.

Then the burgers arrived. Beautiful burgers with bacon, cheddar, mustard aioli, and fried sweet onions. I don’t eat red meat very often. And this time was anything but a disappointment. Juicy, but not fatty. Of course, the bacon put me a little over the edge… and I’ll be craving it for a few days now. The Garnacha went nicely with the burger. And then Avel–one of my all-time favorite bartenders–poured me a glass of the Walla Walla Vinters 2007 Merlot. That did it. I was in love.

83% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 7% Cabernet Franc. This wine was smooth, chocolate, sexy, brought out the wild side of the burger, and reminded me why I love Walla Walla. Where else could you sit at the bar next to world class winemakers (L’Ecole No. 41), have a burger made from local meat (Thundering Hooves), drink the local wine (Walla Walla Vintners), then walk a couple blocks to downtown–bumping into the Walla Walla Vinters winemaker, Gordy Venneri on the way–where streets are blocked off and there are crowds watching the Tour of Walla Walla bike races until after 10pm on a Saturday night?

It’s Spring; all is in bloom, including my appreciation for this town.

Now I need to get back out there and watch some more of the bike races! Awesome.

photos: kysela.com, www.wallawallavintners.com

As you may have read, I’m a great fan of the Balboa Candy Mountain Sangiovese. I bought all I could find. And in an uncharacteristically generous holiday spirit, I took some to our office Christmas party. Of course, surrounded in this community by winemakers and wine lovers, there was quite a collection of bottles on the counter already.

The Balboa was soon finished off, but there were more joys in the evening than I thought possible. A taste of the 2006 Va Piano Cabernet Sauvignon. Justin Wylie (owner/winemaker) hand delivered a bottle and stuck around for a few moments to chat. I look forward to trying this wine in 2010. This is one that is set up to age beautifully, so keep a few bottles around. Don’t sip it all down right now.

Several California reds were sampled. Of these the Lucas & Lewellen 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon from Santa Barbara County was the hit of the party. I actually overheard one of the doctors say it might be his favorite wine… ever. So props to Stacy from American Winery who brought the California wines.

The last of the reds opened was a Colvin 2002 Allegresse. The last bottle. Elegant nose, rich and full mouthfeel with some coffee, lots of berries and just enough spice. Good finish. Since Colvin Vineyards closed its doors there won’t be any more of this beautiful blend. It will be missed.

So the party went well, a good time was had by all, and we look forward to Christmas and the New Year. In the meantime, we’ll keep trying new wines… and sharing.

Jeremy Gonzales did a fun feature on winner of Bravo TV’s Top Chef Season 4, Stephanie Izard, and her time in Walla Walla for Barrel Tasting Weekend. She served up a mouthwatering menu for guests of Saviah Cellars, food paired with wine, of course. She said she enjoyed her time in Walla Walla, partaking in the barrel tasting festivities. Jeremy followed her to several local wineries and tasting rooms, including Sleight of Hand Cellars, one of my personal favorites.

All in all it appears that a good time was had by all. And in the end, Chef Stephanie compared Walla Walla to Vegas. Say what?! Yes, Vegas. For anyone who hasn’t experienced the marathon tastings of our big weekends, you don’t know what you’re missing.

You can view the video at the UB site by clicking on the image or link below.

UBVideo » Blog Archive » Bravo TV’s Top Chef visits Walla Walla

Final question: Is it true that what happens in Walla Walla stays in Walla Walla?

I’ll keep this brief. My question is: If I lived somewhere other than Walla Walla, might my list of staple ingredients look different from this?

But I don’t, so it doesn’t.

What’s in YOUR refrigerator?

What’s for dinner?

Have some before it’s gone! Delicious asparagus with mushrooms at T. Maccarone’s. It’s an appetizer, but I had this as a main course. An iPhone can’t do it justice.

Try it with Grüner Veltliner. Although I must confess I had vodka which paired quite nicely.

Wine. Deep, red, rich, tantalizing, delicious wine.
Chocolate. Deep, dark, rich, tantalizing, delicious chocolate.

I love chocolate! And I love wine. So, naturally, I love the two together. While I’m in the early stages of organizing a wine and chocolate pairing party (what could be more decadent?) I thought I’d share some of the amazing resources in the Walla Walla wine valley.

First of all, over at Walla Walla Wine Cellar, we are soon to feature Tertulia Cellars 2005 Les Collines Syrah. I bring this up because Petits Noirs, a company that everyone in this valley with any taste buds should know about, is working on chocolate to pair with Tertulia Cellars Syrahs. Oh wow! My mouth is actually watering now.

According to Petits Noirs, they are working on

[...] the debut of a Mole chocolate. I have been talking with Ryan at Tertulia cellars for some time about this one. It is going to be incredible. Deep. Dark. Nutty. Smoky. Spicy. Intense. MMMMMMole! Lan bought me some cool new ganache frames, so i may try and use those for this one. So it should look really different than most of our other chocolates.

To read the rest of their blog post, visit Petits Noirs: Chocolate Chat. They have many great ideas and I look forward to tasting new creations.

There’s nothing quite like a good pairing to transform my day. In fact, I think I’ll go visit Petits Noirs this week–meaning today.