There’s a lot going on at Waterbrook.  Not only will you find an extensive list of wines for every palate and pocketbook, but on weekends you can enjoy the comfortable surroundings with a glass of wine and  small appetizer plates that are large on flavors.   Also available are goodies-to-go for an impromptu picnic, such as an assortment of gourmet crackers, cheeses, cured meats and local chocolates.

Ceil Blaine, Executive Chef of Waterbrook Winery has recently announced Wednesday Night Cooking Classes at the winery’s tasting room.  It’s all about home cooking that has been kicked up a notch and of course, food that is wine friendly.  From now until June 2, Waterbrook winery will offer a variety of classes from soup, flatbreads, crackers, brunch, Italian, Tapas, Thai, Cioppino and even how to infuse lavender in your menus.  Ceil says the space is limited, so contact the winery for more information at  (509) 522-1262.

Now,  this is the way to learn with food and wine at such a beautiful setting. Waterbrook Winery really does have it all and what a way to make an entrance to Walla Walla for  the wine lover who is planning a wine get-away.

Organizers of foodie festival Feast Walla Walla are getting tongues wagging for the third annual event, signing the largest number of food participants yet.

Fourteen food purveyors — from longtime chefs to culinary arts students — will serve everything from pub grub to fancy fare at the April 10 event, according to an announcement from the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation.

The $45 tickets are on sale now for participants 21 and older. The three-hour event starts at 1 p.m. that Saturday. Here’s how it works: Guests at the entrance of a 400-foot heated tent on First Avenue between Main and Alder streets trade their tickets for 10 event tokens and a commemorative wine glass. The tokens are exchanged at stations set up throughout the tent for samples of food and wine.

With restaurants and wineries — not to mention a brewery and cidery this year — under one roof, the event is a chance to dine from multiple menus and pair the food with Walla Walla’s renowned wines. Works from four local artists will also be on display throughout the tent and live music will be performed by local musicians, said Jennifer Northam, marketing and events manager for the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation.

Among the newcomers to this year’s Feast are Isaacs Avenue bar The Green Lantern, known for its fish tacos; Main Street bakery Walla Walla Bread Co., the recently opened Olive Marketplace & Café, Waitsburg’s Laht Neppur Brewery and Milton-Freewater’s Blue Mountain Cider Co.

Northam said the event, a cooperative endeavor that also includes Tourism Walla Walla and the restaurant and wine industries, is a fundraiser for the downtown foundation.

The costs of the tent rental, tables, linens and more are generally covered by the event’s sponsor, Banner Bank. Ticket sales help offset permitting and insurance costs. But the main fundraiser comes from retail wine sales that result during the event.

Guests can purchase bottles of wine poured by the local wineries. A portion of those sales goes to the downtown foundation, Northam said.

She said this year’s event already promises more food purveyors than the past two years.

Feast Walla Walla opened two years ago with 12 eateries.

One of those was a coffee shop. Last year 11 food purveyors signed on. One of those occupied two spaces. As in years past, participants are coming from as far as the Pendleton area with representation from Plateau, Wildhorse Resort & Casino’s fine-dining establishment.
feast walla walla

To buy tickets, go to FeastWallaWalla.com .

Check out video from Feast Walla Walla 2009 below.

A partial list of participants:

Dining

• Aloha Sushi
• Bright’s Candies
• Cheese Louise
• CreekTown Café
• CrossRoads Steakhouse
• Fat Duck Inn
• The Green Lantern
• Olive Market
• Plateau
• Salumiere Cesario
• T. Maccarone’s
• The Marc Restaurant
• Walla Walla Bread Co.
• Walla Walla Community College Culinary Arts Program

Drinking

• Ash Hollow
• Balboa Winery
• Basel Cellars
• Blue Mountain Cider Co.
• Cadaretta Winery
• DaMa Wines
• Dunham Cellars
• Dusted Valley Vintnes
• El Corazon Winery
• Flying Trout Winery
• Laht Neppur Brewing Co.
• Locati Cellars
• Mannina Cellars
• Morrison Lane Vineyards
• Nicholas Cole Cellars
• Northstar Winery
• Otis Kenyon Winery
• Patrick M. Paul Vineyards
• Stephenson Cellars
• Sweet Valley wines
• Three Rivers Winery
• Trio Vintners
• Va Piano Vineyards
• Walla Faces
• Walla Walla Village Winery

The ideal time for a glass of wine is with dinner. In many European countries, wine is food, and part of daily culture and traditions. As we look into the history of wine and today’s science, there is plenty to say about the proven health benefits of moderate wine drinking.

The Mayo Clinic has reported that red wines such as cabernet sauvignon, merlot, sangiovese and syrah have long been thought of as being heart-healthy when drunk in moderation. The alcohol and antioxidants in red wine may help prevent heart disease. Antioxidants such as f lavonoids and resveratrol are widely found in the skin, stem and seeds of grapes. Red wines have more antioxidants since red grapes are fermented with the skins, stems and seeds, while white grapes are pressed, extracting juice with the skins, stems and seeds eliminated, and the juice is fermented by itself.

Flavonoids can strengthen capillary walls as well as corral cell-damaging free radicals contributing to the reduced risk of cancer, heart disease and stroke. They may even play a special role in protecting our brains from memory-loss. Resveratrol might be a key ingredient, as it appears to prevent arteries from fatty blockages while assisting in preventing damage to blood vessels, reducing bad cholesterol and preventing blood clots.

Consider the studies of the “French Paradox.” The French dine on almost four times more butter and three times more lard products, resulting in higher cholesterol levels and blood pressure than Americans. Yet, the French are 2.5 times less likely than Americans to die of heart disease. Could this be due to liberal wine consumption by the French?

Let’s not forget that chardonnay, semillon, riesling, pinot grigio and other white wines also have health benefits. White wines are also heart-healthy — showing the same antioxidants as red wine, but in less amounts. A recent study presented by the American Thoracic Society found that people possessed overall better lung function by drinking white wine than those who drank red wine, or other alcoholic beverages.

Finally, let’s tackle the sulfite issue. Many people complain that they are allergic to wines, especially red wines, because of their sulfite content. Since the 1986 mandatory warning label regarding sulfites in wine, the FDA, University of California at Davis and Harvard School of Medicine have announced that only one percent of the population in the United States is allergic to sulfites, and that one percent is that with severe asthma and sulfite oxidase deficiency.

Now, it’s important to know that I am not a doctor, and though I’d love to play one on TV, especially on the soap opera “The Young & Restless” or “Law & Order – SVU,” if you have any questions regarding wine and your health you should check with your physician.

And as Mark Twain said, “All things in moderation, including moderation.”

Cheers to your health!

After selling their Sacramento home and putting all their belongings in storage, the two packed their infant son, Sam, and an “antisocial” shelter dog, into a Volkswagen van and hit the road for nearly two months. The challenge: Find a new place to call home.

After checking out Northwest towns from Billings to Bellingham – with plenty of “quality time” to debrief each other and debate each locale – Walla Walla was chosen as their final resting stop.

John, a former teacher, and Becca, a hair stylist, parked their temporary “home on wheels” and began unpacking their new life. Pursuing his lifelong dream of working with food, John launched Graze Catering in September 2006. Since that fateful autumn, Graze has catered nearly 350 events, serving more than 24,000 guests.

Ready for more adventure, John added a second arm to his catering business in November, opening GRAZE: ‘a place to eat.’ More than a sandwich shop but less fussy than a café, the compact Colville Street eatery serves reasonably priced sandwiches, soups and salads for lunch and dinner. Wine and beer are available at prices John calls “downright silly” (beers under $2.50, wines less than $6 a glass).

LIFESTYLES: You haven’t been open long, but I’m not getting that hectic “new business” vibe.

CHEF JOHN: Well, we’ve had some practice. Part of the idea for this came from doing the Walla Walla Farmers Market. We wanted to get our name out there so we started selling our panini sandwiches at the market. We went from selling 50 the first week to about 120 a month later. People really liked them and kept coming back for more.

LIFESTYLES: What’s your food background?

CHEF JOHN: I always cooked in college, mainly just because I was poor. Then I started cooking in a large student cafeteria, a brewpub and eventually at a great restaurant in Sacramento where I met Becca. It was a lot of fun. We didn’t go to movies, we didn’t go to plays or art shows – we went out to eat.

LIFESTYLES: But eventually you started teaching, right?

CHEF JOHN: I taught junior high and high school science for eight years. But I had my summers off, so I’d spend one summer working for the best catering company in Sacramento; another summer interning as a chef at the best restaurant. I mean, sometimes I was just picking parsley, but I was learning a lot.

LIFESTYLES: How do you describe your cooking style?

CHEF JOHN: It’s just real food. We use as much local stuff as we can and try to cook as in-season as we can. Everything should be wholesome and look honest on the plate.

LIFESTYLES: What is your favorite ingredient?

CHEF JOHN: Time.

LIFESTYLES: Like, the herb or the thing we all wish we had more of?

CHEF JOHN: Actual time (tapping on his watch). When we do turkey, we brine it for 24 hours. When we do prime rib, we salt and tie it for three days. Everything we do has days in front of it, whereas a lot of people just pull something out of the fridge and throw it on the grill. Our pastrami takes, on average, about 22 days.

LIFESTYLES: Wow. So what do you do for fun (when you’re not brining)?

CHEF JOHN: Well, I have two kids now, so … I try to do as little as possible on a day off. Let me rephrase that: If a day off ever comes up, I will try and do as little as possible.

LIFESTYLES: Favorite part of the day?

CHEF JOHN: The second we drive away from the kitchen to cater an event. It’s actually the calmest time. The only thing to do is drive there, and if you’ve forgotten something you know you’re just going to have to figure it out later. I’m so peaceful and calm the second we shut the barn door and head to the event.

LIFESTYLES: Like the quiet before the storm?

CHEF JOHN: More like the eye of the hurricane (laughs).

LIFESTYLES: Are you enjoying this addition to your business?

CHEF JOHN: Definitely. I mean, it’s an education, but somehow this is what we always thought we’d be doing.

LIFESTYLES: Living the dream?

CHEF JOHN: Living the dream! Sometimes I’m washing dishes at four in the morning, but I’m definitely living the dream.

Brisket and Brine

• 1 beef brisket (about 5 lbs)
• 12 cups water
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons Morton’s Kosher Salt
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• ¾ teaspoon pink salt (a curing salt)
• 1½ tablespoons whole peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic
• 2 teaspoons whole juniper berries
• 6 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon liquid smoke

Dry Rub

• 2 tablespoons medium ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

Method:

1. Trim brisket of external fat.
2. Bring water and all spices to a boil and then remove from heat. Let water and spices come to room temperature, and then chill in fridge until 40 degrees or lower.
3. Place beef brisket, brine and liquid smoke in a non-reactive container. Make sure brisket is submerged in brine by weighing down with aplate. Place in back corner of fridge and let sit for 20 days.
4. Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees (275 if non-convection). Remove brisket from brine, rinse thoroughly under cold water and pat dry. Place brisket on a wire rack set on a sheet pan. Evenly spread dry rub over the top of brisket, sprinkle with liquid smoke and canola oil, and rub into brisket.
5. Roast in oven for 3½ hours. Remove (try not to eat it all now), chill and slice thinly.

Enjoy three weeks worth of anticipation.

Sauerkraut

• 5 lbs cabbage sliced to 1/8 inch thickness
• 3 tablespoons Morton’s Kosher Salt

Method:

Knead cabbage and salt together for a bit until cabbage starts to release water. Put in a clean, non-reactive crock or glass container. Weigh cabbage with a plate or a baggie filled with water. Cover crock with cheesecloth. As long as the temperature is between 50 degrees and 75 degrees, and the cabbage is covered with the brining liquid, your kraut will be done somewhere between six days and 30 days. I like my kraut around day eight from my kitchen. Refrigerate and enjoy. (After making your own you may never eat jarred sauerkraut again.)

The first time I was introduced to Caleb Foster was in a viticulture class. The focus of the lecture was the importance of the relationship between vineyard owner and winemaker and Caleb was our speaker for the evening. Caleb obviously left an impression on me because I can still remember the class, and after visiting with Caleb recently and drinking his wines with him, Caleb is a man of his word. His wines express the importance of the relationship between vineyard owner and winemaker. The wines of Buty indeed stay true to the vineyards.

Caleb Foster’s winemaking career started in 1991 as a winemaking assistant for Woodward Canyon. In 1999, he moved on to become an enologist for Chateau Ste Michelle. The start of the new millennium was a significant one as Caleb traveled down to Marlborough, New Zealand as a production assistant for Foxes Island and Seven Tarraces wines during their 2000 crush. In 2001, the married team of Nina Buty Foster and Caleb Foster created Buty Winery in Walla Walla. Buty Winery produces small cuvees of white and red single vineyard blends from Washington State. Their accolades are many, including two times named as “Wine of the Year” by Seattle Magazine and also by Food & Wine Magazine.

The selection of Buty wines are impressive. Caleb poured a classic Bordeaux-style white blend of Buty 69% Sémillon, 26% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Muscadelle. I believe this was the first time I had ever tasted a Washington State wine with Muscadelle and I believe this is the first Muscadelle produced in Walla Walla. Caleb described the vineyards that grew these white grapes and from his descriptions I felt as if I was part of the journey. I could even see in my mind’s eye the Muscadelle from the Lonesome Springs Ranch and how the fruit was kept fully shaded from the summer sun. The nose on this 2008 white wine was of honeysuckle and the palate was clean, fresh and dry with taste of melons, lemon and a bit of honey.

The cool desert nights created a bright and acidic wine for the Buty Winery Conner Lee Vineyard Chardonnay – 2008. Notes of peaches and green apples picked from the orchard were alive and yet eased into a soft citrus finish. This was my style of Chardonnay – the style that shows off its fruit without being overoaked and cloying of butter.

Phinny Hill in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA holds the secret to the Buty Columbia Rediviva, a blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Syrah. This 2006 estate blend showcases that Buty was the first Washington state winery to focus a Cabernet Sauvignon/Syrah blends as “deluxe” wines.

The Phinny Hill Vineyard is one of the warmest sites in the state. It’s layers of ancient cobblestones and sandy silt-loam soil sits high above the Columbia River, but the chosen blocks remain protected from the high and piercing winds. Cherries, berries, caramel and pepper greeted my nose and palate. This rich inky blend is definitely an age-worthy wine.

The thoughtful name, “Columbia Rediviva” was the name of Captain Robert Gray’s ship, the first non-Native American navigator who entered an unnamed river. It was in 1792 Gray gave this powerful river its name, The Columbia. It is the same majestic Columbia River that connects and has contributed to all of the vineyards that Caleb has crafted into his wines.

Enter the BEAST! The BEAST label is the alter ego of Buty. It’s that “second self” that allows Buty to explore special one of a kind releases. Every year on Halloween and sometimes on April Fool’s Day, the BEAST releases wines that are not typically in Buty’s wine portfolio. To catch a BEAST, you must join the Friends of the BEAST Club. Since BEASTS are known to be elusive and difficult to control, these very limited single vineyard wines move fast! I had a rare opportunity to sample three of the BEASTS – a Syrah, Malbec and a Grenache. Since my tasting, I understand that two of the BEASTS have been tamed and left the building. BEAST Phinny Hill Syrah – 2008 is still available to catch.

What is “netiquette,” you ask mon cheri? Why “netiquette” is network etiquette — the etiquette of cyberspace.

Like any culture, cyberspace also has its own etiquette. If you were dining in Japan or a guest at the Rabbi’s Passover Seder, I mean, we wouldn’t stick chopsticks in our nose to imitate a walrus nor would we bring a bacon cheeseburger to the Rabbi’s house now, would we? So, should we behave any different when we are in cyberspace?

Of all of the cyberspace groups I have been a part of, I think wine bloggers really give it their best – they are the best. Now let me say, I am not perfect in my netiquette. What you see on my blog, mouth and all, is pretty much my personality. What you read is what you get. But in spite of it all, I still remember the golden rules my parents and kindergarten teacher taught me and I really treasure Robert Fulghum’s, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten.

Share everything, play fair, don’t hit people, say you are sorry when you hurt people, wash your hands before you eat, flush, hold hands and stick together, cookies and milk are good for you …

In fact, I think these rules should be a wine tourist’s motto, of course trading out the milk for wine.

In the crazy, fast and free world of cyberspace, I think there should be one important rule: remember the human. We need to remember, what we pound out on the keyboard, would we be willing to say it to the person’s face? I probably would, but I also have to remember the mischief in my eyes, my scrunched up smirk, and the smart aleck tone in my voice (and even me sticking out my tongue like a juvenile) doesn’t always convey to everyone, only after they know me (So I apologize to anybody I may have offended this week – but, just this week).

Recently, I was seeking journalistic advice on an online message board. I was “told” by one of the journalists that my messages on that particular board needed some polish. I was told I was nothing but an amateur writer. I was told my sentences were clunky and often didn’t make sense.

Yeah, I know – sometimes. Again, I am not perfect, but nobody is harder on me – than me! Sometimes I even talk “clunky.” Sometimes I stutter, twist words and cannot finish complete trains of thought. I forget. I’ve had a few head injuries in my youth and developed adult dyslexia. There are times I cannot read a newspaper article without it being a struggle. I use to be able to read a book in one night and now it can take me almost a month to process a book. Writing and blogging has helped. I think it has kept my noggin’ from getting worse. I am grateful to my readers and editors who put up with my foibles.

So, did the criticism from this person hurt my feelings? Naahh. I considered the source. Was I surprised by the brazen tact? A little. But later it got me to thinking, wonder if that person said the same criticism to a very sensitive person whose feelings would be hurt or had a severe challenge? And in the end, what did this miserable source of criticism really hope to gain? Was it from their own source of insecurities? And if they had an opportunity to be with me in person, as well as with all of the people in the message board, would they have been able to say that to my face in front of all of these people?

Last year, some of the wine bloggers had a few heated debates in cyberspace with editors and wine enthusiasts, Robert Parker and Anthony Dias Blue. Sure, an emoticon of (sticking out tongue) and a (_x_) (kiss my a … well you get the message) was thrown around here and there. But hey, it was a debate of sorts – a disagreement. There is no doubt in my mind the same words would have been slung around even if the debate was face to face in a wine bar. But in my opinion, Parker and Dias Blue lost the debates, even with their best and most reasonable points.

They lost when they called the wine bloggers names in a magazine editorial and online. If either of these public speakers were addressing a group of wine bloggers at a seminar and a comment was made they didn’t agree with, would Parker and Dias Blue address the group as “blobbers and bitter carping gadflies” for retaliation? I would hope not. It might stifle their careers a bit. So why should it be any different from the keyboard?

Two days ago I received an email from a woman who is a retired English teacher, recipe blogger and a wine lover. As a fun hobby, or she may even believe it is her calling from the Goddess of Grammar, she sends emails to owners of wine websites about their incorrect spelling and grammar. So, my offense was that I had used the word “compliment” instead of “complement.” Now this woman didn’t introduce herself and her approach was just, “You misspelled a word. Common error and you need to correct it.”

Was I offended? Hell no! (I mean, “Heck no!”) Was I surprised. Well, yeah because of the intrusion, so to speak, and without an introduction. My response? Like a playful cat, I knew I had a mouse I could bat around and have some fun with. After I got ahold of my uncontrollable giggling from daydreaming about Machiavellian tactics I could use, I looked her up on the web. I read her recipes and sent her an email. I asked her if she was the Chief of Spelling and will I be arrested if I didn’t correct my spelling error?

I asked her if she typically spent her time correcting websites without any kind of introductions? I mean, approach and style is everything, right? I also pointed out she had several errors on her own blog, such as run-on sentences, over use of commas, and some sentences needing proper punctuation, but I would never dream of pointing out her errors without a proper introduction – -

Hello my name is Catie …

She wrote me back and said I didn’t need to be so defensive and there was nothing wrong with her written grammar. She said I should have been more appreciative of her wanting to help me, because everyone else is. To make a long story short, she apologized, I accepted her apology and we parted well with her leaving me a compliment (or was it a complement?)

It’s nice to see young people taking the initiative to make something of themselves.

Now, what would I say to her if I ever meet her in person? I would introduce myself, give her a hug, and ask if she thought I made some thing of myself. Also, I would remind her to be cautious about using too many contractions in a sentence and that she should have put a period at the end of “It’s important to whip your cream until it’s stiff and let your meatloaf rest “

They did it again! Tom Maccarone and Chef Jake Crenshaw, co-owners of the popular T. Maccarone’s restaurant in Walla Walla purchased one of downtown’s beloved landmarks, the 34-year old Merchants Ltd Deli. Tonight was the premiere opening for the Olive Marketplace & Cafe. It proved to be a grand evening of good food, good wine and visiting with many familiar faces, besides being the first ones to see the new design.

Yes Walla Walla Peeps, in many ways it is still the same Merchants LTD but even better with the same casual feel; adding a new paint job, furniture, art, kitchen and restrooms. The balcony area has new furniture and even niches for studying and meetings. In fact, it looks even bigger in spite of the sea of growing people who were there tonight to celebrate.

The Olive Marketplace will be opened daily from 6am to 9pm and 10pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Breakfast from 6-11am and the lunch and evening menus will feature their flat bread pizza, sandwiches, soups and other items. I can tell you first hand the flat bread pizza was luscious and so many toppings to choose from. Espresso, tea, local and imported wines and beer on tap are available.

And no. T Maccarones is not closing. It will still be down the street featuring the same popular menu with its contemporary approach to authentic Italian cuisine.

Check out the Downtown Buzz video sneak peak and photos below: