Washington State is a geographically schizophrenic state, a land of extremes with two distinct personalities. Seattle, situated along Puget Sound with the Cascade Mountains to the east and the Olympic range to the west, is more known for its annual precipitation than its well-deserved reputation as one of the most livable cities in the world.

The other Washington begins once you cross Snoqualmie Pass in the Cascade Mountains, just 54 miles east of Seattle. The lush, green Alpine landscape suddenly gives way to beige and brown hues as you travel east away from the Cascades along Interstate 90.

Actually, the metamorphosis is shocking. From rainforest-like conditions in Seattle, you enter a sun-baked, high dessert terrain where sagebrush and sand predominate, and where hot summers and bone chilling winters are the norm. The area also has one of the lowest annual rainfalls in the U.S. Welcome to eastern Washington: one of the most promising and exciting viticultural areas on this planet. It’s a place where little-known wineries such as Leonetti Cellars, Quilceda Creek, DeLille Cellars and L’Ecole 41 are making some of the finest wines anywhere. (more…)

One of the most unique individuals I’ve ever met, Kay Dillon, is proprietor of Okay’s at 222 Leon Sullivan Way in Charleston. Kay is not only one of the most informed bar-keeps I’ve ever encountered, she is also a trained psychologist (which I feel should be a pre-requisite for tending bar), caring mother, devotee of music and all the arts, and just an all around wonderful lady.

Okay’s is more than just a bar. It is a state of mind and a little oasis where you can whet your whistle, engage in some great conversation or just sit at the bar and watch Miss Kay flit from table to bar, to table greeting, hugging, serving, schmoozing and generally doing what only she can do at a pace which is at once dizzying and bewildering.

In the short time she has been associated with Okay’s (and the predessor business, Blues Barbecue), Kay has served the most comprehensive variety of beers of any place I’ve visited in this state. And her wine selections are both eclectic and well thought out with an emphasis on quality and value. Oh, by the way, her pizza is excellent too!

Unfortunately, Okay’s is in peril of closing. Through a series of personal misfortunes Kay has experienced in recent months, Okay’s is in dire need of your immediate patronage if the establishment is to survive. I hope all my readers and friends will come in to Okay’s soon, belly up to the bar, drink in the atmosphere (she has live music too), sip a beer or glass of wine and have some really good food.

Our town needs Okay’s!

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EVENT: Bridge Road Bistro Wine Dinner, Aug. 25, 2008

Those of you who enjoy the culinary artistry of Chef Paco Aceves of the Bridge Road Bistro and the lovely wines produced by locally-owned Napa Valley winery – Falcor – are in for a treat.

A special multi-course dinner with accompanying wines from Falcor will be held on Monday, Aug. 25 at 6 p.m. Ryan Bee, assistant wine maker at Falcor, will provide commentary on the wines. Check out the menu below:

Broiled Blue-point Oysters on the Half Shell, Spinach & Pickled Red Onion Salad, Bleu Cheese Foam

Spiced Duck & Porcini Mushroom Country Terrine, Baby Lola Rosa Greens with Heritage Farm Sour Cherries, Champagne Citrus Vinaigrette.

Slow Roasted Beef Short Ribs, Carrot Mousse & Smoked Asparagus, Truffled Potato Pirogue, Sauce Demi-Glace.

Chocolate Marquis, Vanilla Pear & Ginger sauce, Walnut Brittle.

SPACE IS LIMITED and reservations are required so if you’re interested in attending, you might want to call the good folks at Bridge Road at 304-720-3500.

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EVENT: Italian Heritage Festival Wine Contest

Wine has always been a part of my hometown’s (Clarksburg) Italian Heritage Festival and one event at the festival is near and dear to my heart: the home wine making contest. As a matter of fact, yours truly actually won first prize in the “dry red wine” category several years ago.

If you’re a home wine maker or if you just love the sometimes “unique” experience of tasting home made wine, you should boogey on up to C-burg for this fun event. Even if you don’t like the wine, it’s worth the trip to sample the incredible variety of Italian edibles at this wonderful fair.

The Homemade WineContest will be held Saturday, Aug. 30 at 1:00 p.m. at Washington Square on Washington Avenue. This event is sponsored by the W.Va. Department of Agriculture and Washington Square. If you want to participate in the contest, contact the Festival (304-622-7314) for details.
WEBSITE: www.wvihf.com

A 2004 Montevina Terre d’Oro Amador County Zinfandel ($22) will go great with the recipe below.

I must admit: I am a carnivore — especially when it comes to beef. Give me a piece of red meat and I’ll rub that sucker with loads of black pepper, garlic and a little Kosher salt, and then I’ll build a charcoal fire so big it will create its own micro-climate. Next, I’ll roast the meat until the red inside just starts turning pink, and then I’ll wolf it down with a big, purple wine that will make your lips pucker and your heart sing!

And while there’s nothing better in this whole wide world than any type of meat or even fish on a grill, I must admit that I do enjoy my veggies, too, particularly the ones I procure from our own farmer’s market here in Charleston. For the next six weeks, we’ll have the opportunity to choose from a cornucopia of the region’s most wonderful assortment of vegetables.

I am a fan of peppers! Green ones, red ones and especially hot ones. I have prepared peppers in more ways than the normal person can fathom. I roast them, stuff them, fry them, freeze them, can them and, above all, I consume them almost daily. One of my favorite ways to prepare red, sweet peppers combines stuffing, roasting and grilling. I think you’ll love this recipe. (more…)

The Willamette Valley is an area in Oregon that produces exceptional pinot noir.

Okay, so we all know artists are a bit “out there” or they wouldn’t be able to create the amazing works they produce. In an otherwise mundane, complex, stressful and boring existence, artists provide a break from normalcy and present unique perspectives on the world we all share. I love art- even if sometimes I don’t understand a painting, a treatise, a photograph, a bit of music and, yes, even the metaphysical ramblings of some wine makers.

At the recently completed IPNC (International Pinot Noir Celebration) in Oregon, the title and theme of this year’s event was “Sustainability Without Sacrifice.” This theme was touched on in every IPNC symposium. In layman’s terms, it means you can sustain and indeed improve the vineyard by using more organic methods of farming. For example, instead of using conventional herbicides and other man-made chemical in the vineyards, sustainability depends on using what is in nature to produce the best end product.

So far, so good. I can buy-in to the sustainability way of doing things. I can even imagine that the wine produced from a vineyard farmed in this manner can be superior. But the level after sustainability is something called biodynamics. If sustainability is a practical – if somewhat retro- manner of growing grapes, biodynamic farming is part mumbo-jumbo, part voodoo and part snake oil. I ain’t buying this sack of potatoes! (more…)

My name is John and I am a hedonist!

This is a declaration I feel compelled to make after attending – for the second consecutive year – the International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC). The event is held annually the last weekend of July in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley – the acclaimed American Viticultural Area (AVA) where pinot noir is king.

While my affection for pinot noir and its versatility was the primary catalyst for the return trip, I must admit that memories of the “incredible edibles” prepared by a host of talented chefs from all over the northwest made the decision easy.

In fact, in a few short days we participated in and consumed wine and food at three multi-course dinners, two luncheons (all outdoors in perfect weather conditions) and a Champagne brunch featuring food almost too visually appealing to eat – almost! In addition, we attended and sipped wine at four seminars and two evening receptions, featuring more than 100 wineries from Oregon, Burgundy, New Zealand and California. (more…)