Valentine’s Day gets mixed reviews every year. Some of my friends hate it. Some say it is their favorite holiday. I land somewhere in the middle. Overly commercialized “moments” have never drawn me in, and yet it is fun to get a box of homemade sugar cookies and scribbled cards from my niece and nephew, and somehow rewarding to have my partner call me from work gushing about the beautiful flowers that were just delivered. The question is, am I selling out if I participate? Am I giving in to the commercial machine? Perhaps I can take a step back and think about outcomes this year.

The kids love giving gifts, writing cards, and are so proud of what they are able to present. Would I ever want to take that away from them or devalue it?

All weekend I have seen couples being kind, thoughtful, romantic, and downright cute with each other. I’m not talking about excessive PDA. I mean there has been a spirit of gentleness and caring for the most part. Do I wish to mock a holiday that has brought more of this attitude to the surface?

And finally, we get to break out the bubbly. I’ve been holding on to a couple nice bottles and this weekend has provided an excellent opportunity to pop those tops and enjoy. The day is starting out with brunch at TMacs (T. Maccarone’s), which will include delicious beverages. The rest of the activities for the day (finishing a finance paper and a PowerPoint presentation) will require a celebratory drink when completed. And I believe that there is a nice line-up of classic films tonight for which the only appropriate drinks would be Champagne or martinis.

Here is hoping you have a beautiful Sunday, regardless of your feelings about Valentine’s Day. And remember how fun it can be to add some bubbly to a Sunday morning. I think we will start off with a little Riondo Prosecco, maybe the Pink Prosecco, and we will go from there.

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

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.

Once again, the Northwest wine expert hands out some useful advice, and it comes right in time for the holiday season. Check it out.
Food & wine | Avoid the pitfalls when ordering restaurant wine | Seattle Times Newspaper

Take the time to double check the wine brought to your table. Is it what you really ordered? And don’t be afraid to ask for a second opinion if you think something might be wrong with your ordered wine. But when you’re thinking about taking in your own bottle to a restaurant, please be courteous and don’t bring something that the establishment offers.

If I were to add anything to Gregutt’s article – although it is implied – regardless of the situation, please be gracious. With these hints for the holiday season coupled with a warm spirit, we can make this a holiday season to remember.

This morning I found myself, not entirely by mistake, in Bozeman, Montana wandering through the wine section of Costco. Under the flourescent lights, next to the Christmas decorations, those white light reindeer and chintzy ornaments, crates of wrapping paper, I was surprised by the selection. I’m not entirely anti-Costco; it keeps our Bristol Bay fish-camp stocked for the summer. However, by far the most promising wine I saw today was the Dunham Cellars 2005 Trutina selling in the mid-20s. Just around the corner were stacks of Dom Perignon selling for around $150. Costco wine storage methods aside, I still think I’d go for the Trutina. Okay, it is largely because of the storage methods. I like my champagne properly cellared. And it’s not that I don’t think Dunham deserves proper cellaring, but since it was only released three months ago I’d feel alright buying it to drink in the near future. If I’m going to spend over $100 on a bottle, I’m a bit more picky. The Trutina is a good wine for under $30.

But if you’re retail wine shopping in Bozeman, I would highly recommend the CVS Pharmacy. Better selection by far, and good pricing. Thanks to Michael Schwarz of Total Layout for the fine suggestion.

If you’re wanting to have a drink in town, definitely check out Plonk. My favorite downtown spot. Their wine buyer knows what’s going on, and their ever-changing list always contains pleasant surprises. They are licensed for on- or off-premise sales. Not in the wine mood? I strongly recommend the salt & pepper martini from the excellent full bar. Heading out to get one now…

Tip #3: Don’t try to carry with you all the wine you buy. Many wineries will hold wine to be collected at the end of the day. Some will even deliver it to your hotel (if you’re visiting). As a local, I think I’d be hard-pressed to get home delivery, but you never know. The small town can-do attitude goes a long way.Tip #4: Choose your driver carefully. Our driver was kind enough to drop us off downtown where we could walk to the last few tasting rooms. And we were promised safe rides home, with wine transport included, when we were done. Safe driving is essential.

Tip #5: Eat a fantastic dinner. I can’t stress this enough, after a day of tasting a good dinner is absolutely essential. We opted for Saffron, a great new restaurant downtown offering Mediterranean cuisine. Being county fair and rodeo weekend, a corn dog was sent to our table, “Compliments of the chef.” It was a running joke amongst friends. Four courses (and four bottles of wine) later, we were exceptionally happy.

And last, but certainly not least, Tip #6: Dance! Not only had we tasted wine all afternoon, but we’d then consumed four bottles of wine with dinner. There’s only one way to make this all work out nicely, and that’s to dance. Now Walla Walla is still small, but there are rumors of some new dancing spots downtown. In the meantime, keep your ear to the ground for the underground dance parties. For those of you in the city, you know where to go.

I get home at 2:00 a.m., throw myself onto the bed, lie back, hands folded behind my head, look out the window at the Indian Summer moon and think about which wineries I want to visit next weekend. That’s more than just surviving.

Tip #2: Eat. Just like with the water, make sure you have food available, and don’t rely on or expect wineries or tasting rooms to feed you. You’ll need more than a cracker.

We returned downtown wanting to ensure we were near the cafes and restaurants. We’d already eaten our snacks, and we weren’t done tasting. A quick stop at Salumiere Cesario for bread and cheese, a slice of pizza from Sweet Basil, or sushi from Aloha, all quick and easy food fixes if needed.

The downtown area hosts more tasting rooms than I would recommend visiting in a day. That can be good or bad depending on how you feel about stumbling down Main Street at 5:00 p.m. The oldest in town, Waterbrook, is in the Land Title Plaza at the intersection of Main and First Street. Waterbrook is widely distributed and is the third largest winery in the state. Perhaps because of the valley’s love affair with boutique wineries, Waterbrook is sometimes overlooked. But there’s a treat in the tasting room. The WB Primarius line is not widely available, and you can try it in the tasting room. The 2003 Meritage is my favorite. Complex, well balanced, an expertly made wine. The tasting room is also an art gallery with excellent selections on display, generally featuring local artists.

East on Main Street you’ll find something else special. DaMa Wines is fun, just plain fun. And sexy. Dawn (Da) Kammer and Mary (Ma) Derby joined forces in make an exceptionally appealing wine venture. The labels have beautiful paintings of elegant female forms. The front display window is full of green grass. Mary and Dawn are absolutely hilarious while being totally serious about making quality wine. A portion of all profits from DaMa goes to charities helping and supporting women and children. There will be more on DaMa in later posts.

As I walked into Trey Busch’s new Sleight of Hand tasting room, he was showing some visitors a clip from YouTube where he can be seen standing at the edge of the stage at a Pearl Jam concert. If you are interested, Trey is happy to discuss his passions: wine and Pearl Jam. In Sleight of Hand Cellars he has combined them. The labels are great. The Spellbinder 2005 red blend is a great value at $18/bottle. It’s nice to see a talented winemaker who is keeping his prices low. Some, and I won’t name names, are setting pretty high prices for wineries that have yet to prove themselves. I don’t think I’m ready to pay $40/bottle on futures after only a first release. The point is, The Spellbinder is great value.

There are more tips that must wait for tomorrow.