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.

This has been a crazy summer. It has been hot, making us ice down some summer whites to go with light summer fare. And it has been cold, causing us to dig out a sweater and a recipe for Spicy Pork and Peppers in Peanut Sauce, which goes wonderfully with Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Dry Riesling. Their white wines have been selling at great low prices this summer. Several times I found them at $5.99, with a 10% discount for buying six bottles. Grocery Outlet has had a lot of the German Struktur all season, too, at $4.99. Recently we found there a Jamieson Canyon Sangiovese and a Jamieson Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon we liked.

Most of the white wines complement such dishes as Thai Spicy Shrimp and Vegetable Soup and Spicy Shrimp and Vegetable Salad…the chief difference being in that one has liquid–hence, soup— and one doesn’t. They are quick and easy for summer dining. And if you don’t like ‘spicy’, you can omit the heat.

Today was “decorate the home winemakers’ booth at the Fair” day. John and Rose Butler joined Susan Massey, Alex and me, and while Alex set up bottles, Susan tore around like the efficient whirlwind she is, and got the whole thing done while some of us watched. Well, someone had to supervise. Rose hung a beautiful wine-themed quilt she had made and John assisted Susan. I supervised by going to the entry door and checking out the cookies. They were good.

I am sorry all this is so late. You who get it by e-mail will get it sooner. This has been a mad, mad time for all of us and Susan cannot get the letter out unless someone (mostly me this month) gets the information in.

You’ll find many fun events this coming season, and we hope to see you at most of them. I heard the Harvest Dinner is going to be a little different in a very good way. The Bonus Tasting will have a different twist, also. I am looking forward to it.

Joanne Saliby

My wife, Kathy, started something new for celebrating our anniversary between our 20th and 25th. I was to pack a bag for a surprise overnighter somewhere. She had made reservations at a nice motel in downtown Leavenworth, where we had a wonderful room overlooking Blackbird Island. It then became my turn to do something creative so for our 25th anniversary I surprised her by making reservations in Spokane at the recently remodeled Davenport Hotel without her knowledge and kept her guessing until we exited I-90.

 This summer, for our 30th anniversary, Kathy told me she had set up a two-night stay somewhere as a surprise. I didn’t figure out where until we reached White Trail Road in Quincy and she asked me what was the best route to get to Othello. I knew we wouldn’t stay there, but that direction ruled out the Yakima area and, for the most part, the Tri-cities as well, which left in my mind Walla Walla. She thought it would be fun to do some wine tasting there. Our first night was at a wonderful new bed and breakfast, Cameo Heights Mansion, which just opened last January outside of Touchet. Upon our arrival the owner took us through the home showing all of the various rooms that were decorated in themes like Spanish, Italian, Asian, etc. There were seven in all. We stayed in the Spanish room.

We then began touring wineries starting with Woodward Canyon, which is an older house on the highway to Walla Walla, in Lowden. We had decided we would share a single tasting since we planned to do several wineries. Kathy was in search of Syrahs with a peppery finish that she likes, while I was looking for flavorful Cabernet Sauvignons. We then tasted next door at L’Ecole No. 41, which is housed in an old school house. Next down the highway was the Cougar Crest Winery in their brand new facility followed by the Reininger Winery. Kathy was enjoying the conversations with the people who were pouring since that’s what she has been doing at Tsillan Cellars part-time this summer. Our last stop was at Three Rivers Winery, since we needed to be back to the bed & breakfast for dinner in our room by 6:00.

Our dinner at the bed and breakfast was nothing short of amazing. It was a fondue meal in our room that had several courses. The dinner started at 6:00 p.m., so the table was set when we got back to our room from wine tasting, and wasn’t over until 8:30 p.m. Our first course was a very simple dinner salad with vinaigrette dressing followed by a course of cheese fondue with a plate of vegetables. At this point both Kathy and I were getting full, but we pressed on. The third course had a small grill with a warming tray underneath accompanied by a plate of sautéed strips of two types of meat, shrimp, Walla Walla sweet onion slices, mushrooms and peppers. While we cooked on the top of the grill, underneath were scalloped potatoes with cheese melting over them. To top this all off we finished with, you guessed it, chocolate fondue with a plate of blueberries, strawberries, small pieces of cheesecake, and chocolate marbled marshmallows. By now we were bursting, but it was a fantastic dinner.

Our wake up call was at 8:00 am when a tray with a carafe of coffee for me, a large glass of orange juice for Kathy and a cherry danish for each of us was delivered. Then at 9:00 a.m. we had breakfast on the back deck overlooking the valley towards Walla Walla. Breakfast included more coffee/juice, fruit and yogurt in a parfait dish and a quiche that had lots of sausage. Before continuing our tasting we decided, since we had purchased several bottles of wine and were probably going to acquire more, we needed to buy some styrofoam coolers with ice to keep the wine from spoiling because the temperatures were in the upper 90s to 100s while we were there.

Needless to say we were fortified well for tasting the second day as we visited three wineries in downtown Walla Walla (Canoe Ridge Vineyard, Amavi Cellars Winery and Whitman’s Cellars) and two out by the airport (Dunham Cellars and Patit Creek Cellars). The second night we stayed at the Marcus Whitman downtown.

Most of the wineries had tasting fees, but as we found out, since Kathy has been working at Tsillan Cellars we had our tasting fees waived, as well as receiving various discount on the wines we purchased. Oh, by the way Kathy didn’t find her peppery Syrah at the wineries we visited, but we did come home with several bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon. I’m not sure what I will be doing to top this for our next anniversary adventure; she has definitely raised the bar.

Bruce Campbell