A Taste for Wine – and Adventure

A Taste for Wine – and Adventure

By Heather Caro

Interested in savoring local sage-steppe scenery with wineglass in hand? Intrepid wine lovers might enjoy a visit to TRY – Tasting Room Yakima in Naches.

From wildlife viewing and a picnic lunch to mountain biking and rock climbing, visitors here have much to choose from to satisfy a taste for adventure as well as fine wine. The sweetest treats from TRY – aside from vintages featured from Wilridge Winery, Naches Heights Vineyard, Harlequin Wine Cellars and Mountain Dome – are the many outdoor delights available on site.

Perched near the cusp of Cowiche Canyon, the picturesque 1900s-era farmhouse and tasting room is bordered by more than 85 acres of vineyards, orchards and rugged native landscape, including Wilridge Winery’s 12-acre organic and biodynamic vineyard. There is an extensive organic herb and vegetable garden on the grounds and free-range chickens that roam the vineyard, fertilizing and naturally suppressing the bug population.

Wanderers are welcome.

As you walk, be sure to watch for artistic touches by Paul Beveridge, Wilridge Winery’s proprietor and winemaker, who is also an accomplished artist. His pottery can be found on display throughout TRY grounds … in sometimes surprising places.

Gourmet snacks are offered at the farmhouse, such as the Salumi Salami and cheese plate served with La Panzanella Croccantini flat bread. For those who prefer a pint, ales from Yakima Craft Brewing Co. are also on hand.

Sip and snack while enjoying panoramic views of the valley from the farmhouse porch – or lace up your hiking boots and make a day of it. Visitors can pair a vintage with their picnic lunch and venture down into the canyon. The newly developed half-mile Cowiche Canyon Winery Trail begins near the tasting room doors and eventually intersects the main canyon trail.

For further exploits, a rock wall with established anchors for top rope climbing is located on the south side of Wilridge Winery. The wall is a favorite among local climbers, so be sure to bring your gear.

Whatever adventure visitors decide upon, knowledgeable onsite Tasting Room managers Damon Lobato and Lori Carpenter are quick to answer questions and point guests in the right direction.

Directions: From Interstate 82, merge onto U.S. 12 toward Naches/White Pass. Turn left on Ackley Road and then right on Powerhouse Road. Stay straight onto South Naches Road and straight onto Schuller Grade Road. Turn right onto Naches Heights Road and then left on Ehler Road. Follow the signs to the Tasting Room and Wilridge Vineyard.

Tasting Room Yakima

250 Ehler Road, Yakima, WA 98908

Tasting Room Hours:

11 a.m.-7 p.m., Thursday – Monday

Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment

Phone:  509-966-0686

winesofwashington.com

 

 

Q&A with Damon Lobato

We caught up with sommelier Damon Lobato at Tasting Room Yakima during a rare quiet moment. Here’s what he had to say about wine, learning to dig in the dirt and what’s in store for TRY.

 

YM: Damon, you’ve had some amazing experiences in the food and wine industry. What brought you to TRY?

DL: My first job was in a restaurant at age 14. While attending Metro-State College in Denver, Colorado, I worked at various boutique chef-owned restaurants, which inspired me to pursue a career in the business. I started studying wine on my own, and set off for a two-year stint with the Orient Express in Europe, as a wine captain. It was a treat to have breakfast in Berlin and dinner in Paris on any given day. In 2004, I received my First Level Sommelier Certification. Shortly after, I worked at the world-renowned Broadmoor Hotel (in Colorado Springs, Colo.), where I worked as a sommelier. I then left to Boston, where I headed 28-Degrees in South End. After a year there, back in Denver I opened restaurant Shazz Café & Bar: an upscale restaurant, which emphasized the “farm to table concept.” With the struggling economy, I then looked to the Northwest to satisfy my appetite for all that it offers. I couldn’t have done better.

YM: What have been some of the surprising benefits to being part of TRY?

DL: The response that we get from every person who makes it out to TRY is great to experience on our end. It gives them an opportunity to breathe in the spectacular terrain and sunny weather – and taste through some very good wines. For me personally, though, it is being part of this land and learning what it has to offer every day. Coming from the city, it is one thing to talk about organic agriculture, viticulture, community and sustainability to others, but what really matters is that I am practicing what I preach now – living and working in the country.

YM: What are your hopes for the future of TRY?

DL: We have so much to accomplish in the near future as a business, from our renewable energy efforts (wind turbines along the canyon ridge are planned with assistance from President Obama’s Clean Energy grant), the pending Naches Heights AVA (if approved, it would be the first 100 percent organic AVA in the country), to the (visitor lodging) cabins that will be in place by next summer on the backside of the vineyard and atop the Cowiche Canyon. We will continue to practice sustainability and keep people coming out for all the recreation that we have to offer.

 

Fresh Sheet

 

 

 

 

Fresh Sheet:  A look at some of Yakima’s favorite breads

Buhrmaster Baking Co. has long been a local favorite.  You may have difficulty choosing just one loaf with freshly baked offerings such as Sicilian and Marble Rye filling bakery shelves.  117 E Third Ave., Selah, WA 509-697-5858 www.buhrmasterbakingco.com Read more

Red Velvet Cake

 

 

Red Velvet Cake

Long known for its decadence and intense color, red velvet cake was once a signature dessert at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria hotel in the 1920s.  To bring a little romance to your Valentine’s table, create a red velvet cake of your own, like the tasty one pictured from Yakima’s White House Café. Read more

The Eccentricity of Chocolate: Boehms

 

 

The Eccentricity of Chocolate: Boehms

By Heather Caro

Nestled near the lush green foothills of Issaquah, Boehms Candies has been creating the now world-famous chocolate treats for more than 50 years.  Though Yakima is lucky enough to have its own Boehms retail store, candy makers and history buffs alike may find a tour of the factory grounds delightful.
History:

Master chocolateer and Boehms founder Julius Boehm (1897-1981) was born to a wealthy family in Vienna, Austria.  As a young man he excelled in athletics, eventually participating in the 1924 Paris Olympics, and later honored with running the Olympic torch for Austria in 1936.  Boehm became a career cavalry officer for the Austrian army and lived a life of privilege surrounded by the arts with no intention of migrating to the U.S.

It was not until Hitler invaded Austria that Boehm chose to flee his homeland rather than join the tyrannous ranks.  At the age of 40, Boehm used his athletic expertise to ski over a glacier into Switzerland under cover of night with only the equivalent of $4 in his pocket.

Boehm eventually immigrated to the Pacific Northwest where he met and befriended his business partner, George Tedlock.  Together they opened the Candy Kitchen in the Rivena District of Seattle.  Slowly, Boehm reinvented himself in the craft he had learned from his grandfather, a candy maker in Austria.  Boehm would later move the growing business to Issaquah, where the landscape and mountains reminded him of his native Austria.

It was in Issaquah where Boehm oversaw construction of Edelweiss Chalet, the first alpine chalet in the Pacific Northwest.

 

 

Boehm devoted his life to his many passions, ranging from music to the arts, athleticism to candy making.  He was an avid mountaineer and would eventually summit Mount Rainier three times, the last at the age of 80.  When Boehm died at the age of 84, his plans to summit a fourth time on his 90^th birthday died with him.  Boehm lived a remarkable life by any standard and touched many lives through his zest for the extraordinary.

If You Go:

From the artwork on the factory walls to the vintage Scandinavian costumes worn by weekend staffers, no detail is too small to continue Julius Boehm’s old-world-inspired vision for Boehms Candies.  Today, more than 150 gourmet confections are created on site, using traditional techniques including their European cordial cherries (cherries dipped in brandy and aged two months before double dipping in milk or dark chocolate) and rocky road (marshmallows and almonds swirled in chocolate).  Boehms treats are hand dipped by master dippers who must intern for two years before receiving the esteemed title.

Visitors can wander the park-like grounds and peek into the large factory windows along the free self-guided tour.  Candy makers are in production Monday through Friday, 9am-2pm, though visitors are welcome during all operation hours.

To sweeten their experience chocolate lovers may want to schedule a guided tour.  The 45-minute guided tour allows visitors access to the Boehms factory, where you can witness first-hand the copper kettles and I-Love-Lucy-style conveyor belts still used to make confections, as well as watch expert dippers in action.

 

 

Visitors on the tour will also be welcomed into the chalet home of Julius Boehm to view personal photographs and his eclectic art collection – including a 1/3 scale statue of Michelangelo’s David, among other surprises.

Before heading back to the retail shop to stock up on goodies, visitors are invited to the High Alpine Chapel on the grounds. The picturesque edifice is a replica of a 12^th century chapel still standing today in Switzerland and was commissioned by Boehm as a tribute to fallen mountain climbers. The chapel interior features a recreation of Michelangelo’s famous “Creation of Man,” as well as a mural portraying a mountaineer rising into the heavens.

Today the little church is often the site of wedding ceremonies, where couples are invited to ring the chapel bell after taking their vows.  The authentic Swiss bell is engraved with the German phrase, “When this bell rings it greets the homeland of Switzerland, Austria and all the beautiful mountains.”

Guided tours are by reservation only and cost $3 per person.

Boehms Candies
255 NE Gilman Blvd. Issaquah, WA 98027

Hours of Operation:
Monday – Saturday 9:00am to 6:00pm,
Sunday 10:00am to 6:00pm
Factory Production Hours:

Monday – Friday 9:00am to 2:00pm
Phone: 425-392-6652
Email: info@boehmscandies.com

Boehms Candy of Yakima

www.boehms.com

5645 Summitview

Yakima, Wa 98908

Hours of Operation:

Monday – Friday 10:00am-6:00pm

Saturday 10:00am-5:00pm

Closed Sunday

Phone: 453-1143

Email: sharon@boehms.com

Deep Fried Turkey

From Epicurious.com

Jive Turkey Deep-Fried Turkey
5 to 8 gallons peanut oil
10 to 12 lb. turkey, thawed

Basic Dry Rub
1/3 cup salt
1/3 cup pepper
1/3 cup garlic powder

Butcher’s twine or cotton string

1. Preheat the oil to 350°F.

2. Completely thaw the turkey. Remove giblets and neck, reserve for other uses. If present, remove and discard any plastic pieces such as leg holder and pop-up timer. Rinse turkey well with cold water; drain cavity. Dry turkey completely with paper towels. Generously rub the front and back of the outside of the turkey with the dry rub. Separate the skin covering the breast and insert dry rub under the skin. Pull the neck skin to the back and twist wing tips to the back, holding the skin in place. Tuck the legs under the band of skin or tie legs to tail with cotton string or butcher’s twine.

3. Place the turkey breast side down on an upright stand designed for poultry frying. Wearing protective gloves or heavy oven mitts and using a hook or tong to hold the bird away from you, very slowly lower the turkey into hot oil. Be cautious of splattering oil. Maintain oil temperature at around 350°F. Fry turkey for 3 1/2 minutes per pound. Slowly lift from oil and place on a metal sheet pan or tray. Use caution, as hot oil will drain from the bird. Check for doneness. Insert an instant-read thermometer in the center of the breast; it is considered done when thermometer reads 170°F or above. Let rest for 15 minutes. Carefully carve with a sharp knife.

Additional tips from Epicurious:
• Do not inject your turkey with marinade, as it’s apt to pool under the skin and can cause popping when lowered into the oil. Jive Turkey’s Westbrooks only uses dry or wet rubs. Times-Picayune food columnist Marcelle Bienvenue sometimes makes slits in the breast and stuffs in pieces of bell pepper, onion, and garlic, then rubs the skin with cayenne.
• If you are frying your turkey in a basket, be sure to turn the turkey every ten minutes with a long-handled fork to prevent sticking.
• You can substitute any oil with a high smoke point for peanut oil, like safflower or canola oil. (Some South Louisianans even use lard!) However, peanut oil remains our top pick for the delicious flavor it imparts.

Epicurious
November 2005
by Aricka Westbrooks

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Enter the dinner club.

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If ever there was a holiday built upon tradition, it is Thanksgiving. For generations, family and friends have gathered annually to give thanks for their collective blessings. Each year, a grand meal is painstakingly planned, then labored over in kitchens across the country. Finally, after many hours, a table is set and loved ones dine together on a feast of flavors, which is claimed to be unsurpassed by any meal prepared in family memory. And then they watch football. Read more