A recent press release from the good folks at Wine Yakima Valley touted their new “Grown to Greatness: Wine and Food Summer Escape.”

This self-paced, eight-week event highlights the four Yakima Valley growing and wine-producing communities in two-week successions throughout July and August: Zillah, Yakima, Red Mountain and Prosser.

Visitors can take part by visiting the tasting rooms for special offers, enjoying two community events, or by taking the bounty home with them in the form of recipe decks.

“Food and wine go hand-in-hand ,” the press release says. “And along with this taste tour comes culinary experiences and take-home recipe cards you won’t find elsewhere.”

Guests can purchase a recipe deck complete with over 30 original recipes paired with featured wines from Wine Yakima Valley wineries. The deck is available for $15 and comes stocked with winery cards detailing features of each wine community, location, wines, hours, etc.

Ambitious wine lovers can visit all of the wineries over the eight-week promotion to taste their featured wines and get their recipe deck stamped.

Those who get at least 15 wineries to stamp their deck from July-August will be entered to win a VIP pass that gains them access to all 2012 events including Red Wine & Chocolate, Spring Barrel Tasting, Wine & Summer Food Escape, and Catch the Crush.

Those who present their recipe deck in hand will also receive special offers from the featured community wineries during their corresponding two weeks, including special reserve tastings, case discounts, or additional food pairings.

During their featured weeks each winery will also offer a local Yakima Valley-grown or -produced food item paired with their wines.

Yakima Valley’s extensive local bounty includes some of the best items in the state such as peppers, peaches, cherries, cheeses, and beef.

Food-and-wine pairings include: Peach Habanero Chutney with Riesling at Mercer Estates and Fries Family Apple Cake with Riesling from Desert Wind Winery.

Schedule of Events

July 1-15, Zillah

Named after the daughter of the town founder, Zillah is 18 miles south of Yakima on the north end of the Yakima Valley. This agricultural ‘bread-basket’ has been recognized as a producer of high-value, award-winning wines.

Grown to Greatness event: Zillah’s Chuck Wagon Party. Saturday, July 9, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Mosey over to the Knight Hill Winery barn for a chuck wagon-style dinner from Longhorn Cattle Co. which brings its 1870’s chuck wagon to the party with beef brisket, cowboy beans, salad, sourdough biscuits and wild mountain mixed berry cobbler with crunch top. This highly unique, multi-course, Dutch oven dinner is $90 per person and includes wine pairings from Agate Field Vineyard, Claar Cellars, Cultura Wine, Knight Hill Winery, Severino Cellars, Two Mountain Winery and Wineglass Cellars. After dinner enjoy music and try your hand at line dancing.

July 16-31, Yakima

Most wineries here are small family operations where unpretentious hospitality is the norm. Many are located within a rural countryside with unparalleled beauty. Enjoy a glass of wine while gazing at the beautiful snow capped Mt. Adams or overlook the diverse agricultural abundance of the Yakima Valley.

Grown to Greatness event: Yakima Barrel Cave Dinner. Friday, July 29, 7 p.m. Dinner with Chef Chris Peterson of Kirkland’s Milagro Cantina at the Cave at Gilbert Cellars. This cocktail party and wine pairing dinner at one long communal table in the Cave features Yakima’s own bounty of produce, meat and fish. Each of the five-courses is paired with a different Yakima winery, including AntoLin Cellars, Gilbert Cellars, Kana Winery, Naches Heights Vineyard, Southard Winery, Treveri Sparkling Wines and Wilridge Vineyard. $75 per person.

Concerts: Hey Marseille will perform on July 28 at Gilbert Cellars and Portland-based Blitzen Trapper will perform on July 30 providing additional entertainment during the two-week Yakima promotion.

Aug. 1-14, Red Mountain and Community

Located between Benton City and Richland, the Red Mountain American Viticultural Area, a subset of the Yakima Valley AVA, is the smallest in the state. The reputation of the wines produced in this appellation–Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc and Syrah–has brought the Red Mountain AVA worldwide acclaim.

Aug. 15-31, Prosser

Prosser offers one of the fastest growing wine villages in the lower Yakima Valley. It boasts many of Washington’s well known labels and has become a destination for wine lovers. It is also one of the more agriculturally diverse areas in the state.

Yakima and Zillah event tickets can be purchased online.

With just about every chef and restaurateur in Seattle opening second “small-bite/casual” restaurants and/or offering up killer deals for cheap eats during daily happy hours, sometimes I wonder if fine-dining is dead in our fair city.

So a couple of weeks ago, I made a Saturday-night-at-eight-p.m. reservation at The Georgian, the stunning main dining room in the venerable Fairmont Olympic Hotel to find out.

As we settled in with a glass of bubbly (me) and a gin martini (Spencer) and perused the menu, we were (frankly) amazed at the reasonable price points for such a glamorous setting, with soaring ceilings, a live-music duo of pan flute and upright bass, extensive wine list, etc.

We could have ordered à la carte or opted for the three-course prix-fixe dinner ($69 per person with wine pairings; $49 without), but decided to go all out.

We chose the five-course dinner (including a dessert soufflé!), plus wine pairings, for $99 per person ($69 sans vino).

Here’s the gorgeous bread-and-butter set-up–with four flavors of butter and spiky strips of crunchy lavash cracker–that set the tone for a tone-y meal to come.

After a bit of a wait, the lovely first course came out–Tempura Morel Mushrooms with Truffle Camembert and Morel Shooters (light and lovely mushroom juice in test-tube-like shooters!).

Toothsome and gooey-good, the tempura morels paired perfectly with Domaine Schönheitz 2008 Pinot Gris from Alsace.

Gotta love that sterling-silver skewer and swipe of mushroom dust that makes this plate presentation so pretty.

The second course was another visual knock-out and tasted just as good. Deadliest Catch included razor-thin shavings of the sweetest Alaskan King Crab along with Dungeness Crab Fritters, artistically topped with Arugula Salad. It also went well with the Alsatian Pinot Gris.

Inspired!

I adore beets in just about any form, so was super-pleased with the third course, Roasted Baby-Beet Salad with Candied Pecans (like the best fruit-and-nut bar I’ve ever tasted, probably due to lots of added butter), Goat Cheese, and Walnut Vinaigrette.

The goat cheese is the white blob on the right-hand side and was done molecular gastronomy-style–it was light and fluffy in texture and simply the essence of chèvre.

Unlike me, hubby hates beets, so our server graciously substituted the Olympic Caesar Salad from the three-course prix-fixe dinner and didn’t even charge anything extra.

Both salads were paired with Poet’s Leap Winery 2008 Riesling, one of our all-time fave off-dry Rieslings, and another thoughtful pairing from The Georgian’s long-time (seven years) sommelier–Joseph Linder.

After so much good food, we could hardly believe that entrées were yet to come!

Here’s my gorgeous Smoked Alaskan Wild King Salmon. It was served with Shaved Granny-Smith Apples, Locally Foraged Morel Mushrooms, Yukon-Gold Potato Balls (fun to eat!), and a rather sweetish-sauve containing Olympic Rooftop Honey.

Rex Hill 2008 Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley was a truly wonderful wine for this perfect pairing.

We both gasped in wonder when we saw the artistic shapes, dots, and lattice-work on Spencer’s gorgeously plated Roasted Rack of Lamb with Tomato Crust, Kalamata Olives, Sweet-Pea Quinoa, and Grilled Spring Onion.

The lamb was flavorful without being too gamey; the pea quinoa is something I’d like to make at home; and the lattice work grating is something I’ll gladly leave to Georgian Executive Chef Gavin Stephenson to prepare.

Spencer was more than happy with his entrée’s wine pairing: Château de Clairvoy 2005 Côtes de Bourg from Bordeaux.

Sad to say, but because they are labor-intensive and temperamental to cook, few restaurants bother with making soufflés any more. Lucky for us, The Georgian still turns out a stellar daily-changing version.

Ours was called the “Black and White,” served with Crème Anglaise and a chocolate-covered strawberry, but they also offered up Chocolate Mint. Hard to go wrong with either one!

Although there were occasional service gaffes (a long delay between aperitifs/cocktails and the first course, being seated at a table facing away from the musical duo, the hostess setting up our table after we had been seated), we left thinking that, at least when it comes to its food-and-wine offerings, The Georgian still offers up very fine dining in Seattle.

We were very remiss on making a visit to our buddy David LeClaire’s wonderful new Wine World warehouse, a whopping 23,000-square-feet of everything wine and wine-related that opened last December after a whirlwind six weeks of renovation and remodeling.

Wine World boasts 500 Washington labels alone!

Not to mention Oregon wines. . .

Even Idaho!

Of course, foreign wines are widely available. . .

As is a whole section of Sustainable/Earth Friendly vino.

The massive space is centered by two spacious tasting bars with plenty of room to spread out, sip, and savor during one of the DAILY wine tastings!

There’s a big specialty-food section with cheeses, crackers, chocolates. charcuterie. . .

Such as these beauties.

There’s plenty of cold bubbly and white wine. . .

And microbrews from local favorites such as our good buddies Rose Ann and Charles Finkel of  The Pike Brewing Co.

There are wine-lovers’ gifts galore. . .

Including the latest and greatest books. . .

And magazines including Wine Press Northwest, where I’ve been a columnist the past 11 years (!). J

You can build your own basket. . .

Choose wines that have received ratings of 90 points or higher from leading publications, yet still cost less than $20!

Towards the back of the shop, along long the rear wall, you’ll find Wine World’s Staff Picks. . .

And a lovely seating area with recipe from the Celebrated Chefs Cookbook conveniently paired with reasonably priced wines.

Recipes are ready for the taking!

Two gorgeous event spaces have views of downtown Seattle, Mount Rainier, and Interstate 5, which David told me looks like a sea of lights come nightfall.

A serving bar and changing artwork displays make for a sophisticated and welcoming place for a glass of wine or three!

Special events and classes are offered frequently. . .

Heck, even the ladies’ restroom is pretty!

Wine World’s Explorers Club offers great discounts and Explorers-Club-member-only events. And there are always Hot Buys just waiting to be snapped up. And most recent news on Wine World’s blog.

So don’t wait another minute. . .Wine World is like nirvana for oenophiles serious and casual.

Bravo, David and team!

Be on the look out for DRY Soda’s jaunty new “tasting truck” at your local supermarket and around the Northwest.

The truck debuted at DRY’s Pioneer Square headquarters early last month with a lively Kick-off Party in honor of its upcoming Savor-the-Flavor Tour.

First stop? Portland, with other West Coast cities soon t0 follow.

You can savor DRY Soda in six flavors: Lavender, Lemongrass, Blood Orange, Rhubarb, Cucumber, and Juniper Berry. It’s available in grocery stores, restaurants, luxury hotels, and boutiques in the United States and Canada and even in select international locations.

And, of course, from the tasting truck!

Soft Tail Spirits, which I wrote about for The Seattle Times Pacific Northwest magazine, has some exciting news: the opening of its second location.

Within the Woodinville Tourist District, Soft Tail is located on the south roundabout, across from the popular Brian Carter Cellars tasting room.

Visitors to Woodinville are invited to come by and sample award-winning spirits, as well as their new creations, while checking out Soft Tail’s Tasting Room and Distillery.

Reportedly, the second location boasts a little more room than the first location, with two decks, tables and chairs, and a fire pit for when it gets chilly.

Both locations will be open normal hours 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, with plans to have later hours in the summer months.

Since its launch in 2007, Pacific Rim has been extolling Riesling’s virtues–versatility, purity of vineyard expression, and the varietal’s ability to inspire all manner of culinary exploration.

Since Monday, May 16, the winery has passed the torch to its 12,000-plus Facebook fans and a nation of passionate Riesling zealots. Pacific Rim fans and all lovers of this most noble of wine varietals have enjoyed the opportunity to lead the Riesling conversation by sharing their personal “Riesling for Being” on the Pacific Rim Facebook page.

www.facebook.com/pacificrimwine

www.twitter.com/rieslingrules

Each week until July 24, fans will vote to award $1,000 to the author of the most popular weekly submission. Entries are limited to 20 words or less and will be accepted from Monday through Friday.

Voting will occur on Saturday and Sunday. The contest is open to United States residents aged 21 and older in all states except California. Riesling fans can learn more and enter by visiting Pacific Rim’s Facebook page.

Brand Development Director and Co-Founder, Shawn Barvaresco, explains: “We want to inspire our fans to openly express their love for this glorious grape through personal connections and passionate proverbs. We’ve been singing Riesling’s praises for nearly five years… It’s now time for our fans to voice their love of Riesling. All personal anecdotes, creative puns and jokes are welcome–as long as the submissions are relatively tasteful and pertain to Riesling.”

Pacific Rim has over 12,000 Facebook fans. The brand’s fan base of Riesling loyalists was built through several innovative social-media programs launched in the past few years, including the RIESLING RULES BOOK and SAVE WATER/DRINK RIESLING sustainability program (a conservation awareness program promoting the preservation of wild salmon ecosystems). To date, Pacific Rim has distributed over 40,000 complimentary copies of its RIESLING RULES BOOK, which is also available online.

Pacific Rim makes 10 different Rieslings in 10 different styles (from bone-dry to medium-sweet to dessert sweet… and everything in between).

www.rieslingrules.com |

A press release from our friends at Watershed Communications in Portland, including Lota LaMontagne and Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival (PIWFF) founder Lisa Donoughe, shared the following news:

“At this year’s Portland Indie Wine & Food Festival (PIWFF) where the Grand Tasting takes place Saturday, May 14, from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. at The Bison Building (419 NE 10th Ave, Portland), Indie winemaker alumni are taking center stage and pouring their wines, including Oregon’s highly lauded 2008 vintage.

“Returning winemakers will be joined by new wineries (some releasing their first-ever vintages at the festival) that are selected at a blind tasting organized in collaboration with Cole Danehower, author of “Essential Wines and Wineries of the Pacific Northwest,” published by Timber Press.

“Now in its seventh year, PIWFF 2011 will feature an all-star line-up of wineries that participated in the festival from 2005 – 2010, mixed with officially selected new wineries, set alongside Portland’s top chefs in a cool industrial space.

“PIWFF is a once-a-year opportunity to mingle with wineries that have been integral in building the craft winemaking movement in Oregon… and more importantly, to taste and buy their hard-to-find wines direct in one stop. Think of a quality-controlled, winemaker farmers market.

“Since the competition and festival began in 2005, we’ve seen many of our undiscovered wineries earn top scores from major wine media and grow into some of Oregon’s most talked about wine brands,” Donoughe said. “With Oregon’s 2008 vintage being touted as one of the state’s best ever, we thought it would be valuable to invite all alumni back (first-come, first-served!) to show off their best stuff.”

“Past PIWFF chef partners have included local chef luminaries such as James Beard nominated chef Cathy Whims of Nostrana and chef/butcher Adam Sappington of The Country Cat Dinnerhouse & Bar. Just as the winemakers are on site to pour their wines, so too are the chefs to prepare and serve their food.”

Details:

The PIWFF Grand Tasting takes place Saturday, May 14, 2011 from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. at The Bison Building (419 NE 10th Ave, Portland).

Tickets are on sale now for $75, and $125 for VIP early entry (1 p.m.). General-admission tickets include a commemorative festival tasting glass, pours from all wineries, and food from top Oregon chefs who share the same craftsmanship and values as the artisan wineries.

A complete list of participating wineries and chefs is now online.

We’re embarrassed to admit it’s been a full two months since we had our first tantalizing taste of a fabulous new tequila that’s just been introduced to Washington State and elsewhere throughout the country–Familia Camarena Tequila–at downtown Seattle’s tony Alexis Hotel.

But more than a tasting, this event was billed as a “Home Mixology Happy Hour,” where my fellow journalists and I got to mix it up, as it were, by making our own cocktail.

Each cocktail showcased one of Familia Camarena’s two grades of Tequila–Silver (unaged) and Reposado (aged two months in new and used American oak), made from 100-percent blue agave.

Both are expertly crafted by the Camarenas, a family that’s been in the tequila business in Mexico since the early 1700s, opened its first distillery in 1938, and bottled its first tequila almost 75 years ago.

Today, the family’s pure, smooth (very!), easy-drinking spirits are stylishly packaged and very reasonably priced at $20 for a 750-milliliter bottle.

Just this week I learned that one of the well-crafted cocktails we mixed that heady evening–Copa de Arandas–won the Chairman’s Trophy as the best original tequila cocktail of 2011 at the nationally recognized Ultimate Cocktail Competition held in New York City.

With Cinco de Mayo fast approaching, I thought it would be fun to share the award-winning recipe with you. It will make the perfect party sipper for the big day. . .something that stretches geographical boundaries and taste buds beyond the more-common Margarita.

Copa de Arandas

2 ounces Camarena Silver Tequila

1/2 ounce Blanc (white) Vermouth

1/2 ounce Sweet Vermouth

1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 ounce Italian Amaro

3 ounces ginger ale

Fresh mint leaves, for garnish

1. Combine the Tequila, Blanc Vermouth, Sweet Vermouth, lemon juice and Italian Amaro in a highball glass. Mix well.

2. Fill the glass to the brim with ice.

3. Top with ginger ale, and stir gently with a bar spoon. Garnish with mint.

My latest Northwest Edge column for the for the spring issue of Wine Press Northwest features URBAN enoteca, a totally cool new “wine center” just south of downtown Seattle.

In the mood for a little weekend travel?

The third annual North Willamette Wine Trail Weekend is set for this Saturday and Sunday, April 9 and 10.

The self-guided weekend tour is hosted by North Willamette Vintners, a nonprofit organization comprised of wineries, vineyards, and other wine-tourism partners in Oregon’s North Willamette Valley.

With stops on the tour in and around Washington County (just minutes from Portland), the weekend’s events are designed to appeal to wine enthusiasts of every level.

Twenty-four wineries will host tastings exclusive to the Wine Trail Weekend, including offerings of reserve labels, new releases, and barrel tastings. And in keeping with Oregon’s food (and foodie) culture, wine pairings with food will be a major emphasis of the event.

Just a few of the many event highlights that will occur alongside wine (and food) tastings include: an exhibition of canvas paintings by Robert Schlegel at Apollini Vineyards, concerts by “Portland’s French Troubadour” Eric John Kaiser at Montinore Estate, “Mystery of the Bottle” discussions at Oak Knoll Winery that discern why certain bottles are used for different varietals, and cooking demonstrations at Helvetia Vineyards hosted by Chef Dave Clark.

The event is priced at $45 ($10 for designated drivers). All guests will receive a reusable wine tote filled with a commemorative wine glass and a variety of special discounts and offers. Designated drivers will receive the same tote–with a stainless steel water bottle instead of the wine glass–along with snacks and non-alcoholic beverages.

Tickets for the North Willamette Wine Trail Weekend are available online at the North Willamette Vintners website until the event sells out, and in the tasting rooms of participating wineries through March 28. When purchasing tickets, guests are asked to decide at which winery their tour will begin, and then are instructed to bring their receipt to that location on April 9 or 10 to pick up their ticket, wine glass or water bottle, and their map/brochure.

Click here to download an online brochure, the perfect starting point to help plan your weekend journey.

Photo courtesy of North Willamette Vintners