Living in wine country – there are magazines published, books written and even entire furniture lines targeted to the “lifestyle” – but what does it really mean?

We are fortunate enough to live within a couple of miles from some of Washington’s most prestigious wineries and tasting rooms so I decided that I want to get a first hand look at what the average visitor to Walla Walla experiences when they enter a tasting room here in the valley. And I want find out how they decide where to go during each visit to our “wine country.”

My first stop on this quest is Dunham Cellars. Dunham is known for their busy tasting room, their great wine club parties, a knock-out line-up of single vineyard reserve wines and of course the dogs!

I went tasting on a Thursday afternoon last week; not their busiest day of the week but what Jordan Fitzgerald, my guide during my time at Dunham, tells me is a steady day. She can expect to see about 15-20 visitors on an average weekday, but during harvest season weekends the small tasting room bursts at the seams seeing over 100 people on a given Saturday. Dunham Cellars does charge a $5 tasting fee but the day I was there they were pouring 10 wines and they offered the tasting fee back towards my purchase.

During my tasting experience, a couple small groups came through. Both happened to be ladies’ groups that were in town from the Seattle area having a “girls weekend.” They had assigned a fearless leader to chart the entire tasting weekend. And she was armed with maps, visitor guides and a legal pad full of notes. Every place they went, she said, everyone told them to make sure Dunham was on their list.

One of the misconceptions about Walla Walla wines is that we only do reds but I found that not to be the case, at least not at my first stop. Dunham Cellars provided quite the range for my tasting from a dry lightly oaked chardonnay to a full bodied, jammy single vineyard Lewis syrah. I even got a little dessert in a glass with a 2008 late harvest Riesling.

The Dunham’s have capitalized on their own family talent. Their winemaker, Eric Dunham, not only provides the artwork to decorate the World War II hanger attached to the tasting room but also designs the artwork on their single vineyard selections as well. If bringing in 18 tons of fruit on a given day in October isn’t enough Eric doubles or triples as it were as the chef at harvest lunches and occasionally for a winemaker dinner hosted at the winery.

Dunham Cellars tasting room is open daily from 11-4. They have been hosting harvest lunches earlier in the fall and will continue their Winemaker Dinner series throughout the winter. Check out their website for more information on Winemaker Dinners and area events that Dunham participates in: www.dunhamcellars.com

Dunham Cellars 2004 Syrah is featured in the Wall Street Journal video with Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher of the WSJ “Tasting” column.

In my youth, there seemed to be limited ways to prepare and present vegetables — often boiled to a mush in quarts of water and a large cup of “bland” was the only seasoning used. Or cans of condensed soup were added to disguise those rascally little vegetables in a casserole.

Remember the aluminum cans containing vegetables in our basements in preparation of surviving the 1960′s threat of nuclear annihilation? When it came to pairing wine with these ill-prepared vegetables, it wasn’t about the types of wine, but more about the quantity to wash it all down with.

Thank goodness vegetable malpractice is behind us and we have evolved with techniques to bring out the flavors in vegetables and especially making them compatible with wine.

This season, when planting our victory gardens and supporting our local Farmers Market, pay attention to fresh vegetables and think about their wine pairings. Wine pairs best when the vegetables are cooked rather than raw. However, with raw vegetables, the additions of salt, lemon juice, oil and dairy-based dips and dressings makes pairing with wine much easier.

Roasting and grilling makes vegetables more compatible with wine, especially wines that have been aged in oak. The smoky and caramelized flavors of grilled vegetables pair well with full-bodied reds. But when pairing red wines with vegetables choose wines that have some bottle age on them, as often younger wines with more tannins can overwhelm and compete with the dish.

There used to be a time when wine lovers were at wits end about what wine to pair with green vegetables such as artichokes, asparagus, green beans and broccoli. Sauvignon blanc is an excellent pairing as it has the acidity to refresh your palate and compliment the flavors, especially if these green vegetables are accented with butter. A lightly oaked chardonnay will be a match made in “dairy heaven” with a rich creamy baked vegetable gratin. And don’t forget to add a touch of chardonnay when adding the liquid to the gratin’s creamy sauce base.

Are you thinking about stir-frying with a spicy Asian flair? “Wok and roll” with an off-dry riesling. And don’t forget Walla Walla Sweet Onions! A classic-style rose is the perfect candidate for a grilled, caramelized sweet onion.

Toward the end of summer, I “collect” tomatoes, green peppers, onions, garlic and herbs to make sofrito. This well-chopped and condensed sauce can be used several ways from spreading it on slices of toasted baguettes to topping a plate of pasta. Low-acid red wines, such as a pinot noir, pair with tomatoes. Also, look for aged merlots or an Italian- inspired dolcetto to pair with tomato-based dishes and the summer’s spicy barbecue sauce.

Maybe Mom knew what she was talking about. Eat your vegetables, they’re good for you! But don’t forget the wine.

This year I am only going to remind you of three things:

1. Review, memorize and apply the poem by Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
2. Open your mind to wine. Seriously. Don’t be turning your nose up at a member of the tasting room staff when they ask if you would like to try a Chardonnay, Riesling or a pretty pink rosé. Taste it. Who knows? You might even like it. And it’s okay for real men to drink rosés. Really.
3. Have a wonderful time in our valley and make some great memories. There is so much to do this year! And for some ideas, check out the Walla Walla Wine Alliance or with Heather at Walla Walla Wine News.

Cheers!
C~

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It is wonderful with fruit, especially apples and pears. In Norway, people place a container or a piece of gjetostnear the fireplace where it can warm and soften. Then they dip slices of fruit into it and enjoy the caramellytaste that compliments the fruit. People who see gjetostfor the first time often think that it is some kind of caramel or fudge. This fudginess occurs because to make gjetost whey is simmered until the moisture evaporates and the milk sugars caramelize.

Whey is the watery part of milk which is separated from the curds or the solid part of the milk in cheese making. Whey is nutricious and may be made into “whey cheese.” And there’s plenty of material to use for making it. Twenty pounds of milk will produce about two pounds of cheese and about fifteen pounds of whey. The whey may be used to create various whey cheeses like ricotta, manouri, Sérac, and the Norwegian whey cheeses, mysost, primost, flotøst, and gjetost.

Gjetost comes in a wide range of colors, consistencies, and flavors, and it is widely produced throughout Scandinavia where it is so common that, according to one of my Norwegian friends, they call it simply, “brown cheese,” brunost.

A woman named Anne Hov is believed to have made the first gjetostas it is known today. In 1864, Hovadded cream to whey to create a richer, firmer version of the ancient recipe. Hov lived in Norway’s Gubrands Valley where Gudbrandsalsost, a very highly regarded gjetost, is still made.

I like the combination of gjetost, apple and pear slices, and Riesling or a medium-dry Chardonnay, some hazel nuts, and a rye cracker or crusty rye bread.