Thomas.

by Jill St. George on May 31, 2010

At Home: Herb Garden.

by Jill St. George on May 31, 2010

As I had previously mentioned, I was neglecting my poor herbs.  A dear friend of mine kindly added curry, spearmint, and oregano to my garden, which was great inspiration to get planting.  My herbs are finally at home now, planted in old clay pots, and placed in a nice, sunny window.

New Meets Old. Uh-Oh.

by Jill St. George on May 31, 2010

Julie P. – “Art is art. Some people like it, some don’t. Either way, I’m all for sprucing up Yakima. And the people who see it as sexual….puh-leeze.”

Berry-Good Recipes

by Heather Caro on May 26, 2010

Spring showers bring green gardens – and plenty of berries -  if you live in the Yakima Valley.  Here are two of our favorite recipes for sweet treats that are good for you too!

OTB # 16 Up to the Plate – Steppe Cellars 2007 Tempranillo/Grenache/Mourvedre Wahluke Slope

by Chris on May 26, 2010

The WBC Buster Bus will rollercoaster up and down Independence Road for a couple of miles, then take a right onto Outlook Road; DuBrul Vineyard is at the end. Along the way, you may see a sign or two for Steppe Cellars. In fact, just before you reach DuBrul, a right onto Chaffee Road will take you directly to Steppe. Steppe is my favorite winery in the whole world. There I’ve said it, and that is out of the way.

I’ve written about Steppe Cellars and their wines a couple of times. And about the friendly atmosphere we’ve experienced every time we’ve visited the tasting room or run into the Garrisons somewhere in town. But the atmosphere and the hospitality, while important for a winery, really only get you so far. It’s really about the juice. And after almost two years of sampling hundreds of wines from all over the place, I can safely say if I were forced tomorrow to choose one winery to drink for the rest of my wine drinking days, that winery would be Steppe Cellars. How do I know this? Well, I’ve sucked down a lot of it of all stripes in the past two years and have never been disappointed. We’ve shared it with family and friends and it’s always a winner.

Also, a few weeks ago during the Yakima Valley Spring Barrel Weekend, we attended their winemaker’s dinner where Steppe wines were showcased with gourmet foods, and again, while the company was great and the food was delicious, I could have just as easily just sampled the wine line-up alone and gone home happy. (Barb may disagree with this sentiment since she met some very nice folks and they talked about shoes and shopping.)

Anyway, the winemaker’s dinner was an elegant affair held inside the winery, and was catered by Bon Vino of Sunnyside. White wines included their estate Riesling, sometimes bone dry, sometimes a little sweeter, this time it was an off-dry version. The reds included Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, a Spanish inspired Tempranillo/Grenache/Mourvedre blend, and my favorite wine prior to this night, Steppe’s flagship and a Bordeaux-style blend, Artemisia.

On the hospitality side, the Steppe owners Susan, Gabrielle, Mike, and Tom took a few minutes between each course to greet their guests and explain a little about the wine being served and food pairings Chefs Roger and Joreen had prepared. This was a nice touch and in addition to these four speaking publicly, they all spent time throughout the evening going table to table, getting to know everyone who had taken time to come to their event. At one point, I noticed Tom was sitting on a stool in a corner and I suspect he was in a time-out; other than that, no disturbances or upsets. Toward the end of the evening, Neil, Susan and Tom’s son, and chief bottle counter and all around slave for the winery, announced some special deals and asked everyone to settle up at the cash register before journeying out into the night.

We brought home more bottles of Artemisia that night since it is the hardest wine to keep in our cellar. I’ve even blamed our cat, Frank, for some of the empty bottles.  We also got our first taste and chance to purchase the Tempranillo/Grenache/Mourvedre blend.

Wow, what a delicious wine! We opened a bottle tonight with dinner. I paired it with caramel covered popcorn and Swiss cheese while I waited for the quiche to bake. What was left went very well with the ham and asparagus quiche then the strawberry pie we had for dessert. The night of the winemaker’s dinner it was paired with beef tenderloin and chicken and this wine stand up to heavy dishes and compliments rather than overpowers. The wine opens with juicy fruit notes of raspberry, blackberry, and plum with flavors of cassis, cocoa, cola, and black cherry on the palate. The finish is a rush of white pepper, cinnamon, and strawberry Twizzlers. All perfectly balanced and integrated and as of this moment, my favorite wine ever.

Since I’ve told Steppe they’re my favorite winery and this wine is now my favorite, let me make them one request. Please create a different name for this Tempranillo/Grenache/Mourvedre blend.  Do you know how hard it is to type all those words after a glass or two? My personal suggestion is the Latin species name for coyote, the dominant carnivore of the shrub Steppe environment, Latrans.

So Tom, you stepping up to the plate?

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OTB Fun Fact – The Yakima Valley, along with much of eastern Washington is a desert climate getting fewer than 10 inches of rain per year.   To support the tremendous agricultural base, irrigation water from a network of canals that are fed by the major rivers were built by the early settlers to the area.  These have been updates and expanded over the decades. In the Yak, the Sunnyside Valley Irrigiation District maintains and controls the flow though canals that irrigate close to 100,000 acres of land.