Wines
All for a Good Cause
Aug 29th
My husband and I like to attend charity auctions. We enjoy supporting a good cause while having the opportunity to purchase goods and services (especially travel packages and getaways) we can put to good use. I’m not talking about auctions for large foundations that bring in millions of dollars – there aren’t too many of those in our neck of the woods – generally, our churches, local schools and community foundations are the beneficiaries of the three or four auctions we attend each year.
Not only do we bid on items for these auctions; we also like to contribute something to be bid upon as well. Our go-to item is an evening of wine and food for eight to twelve in the winning bidder’s home. Over the course of our married life together, Harry and I have hosted countless parties in our home for family and friends, so we’ve developed a pretty well-honed routine and built up our repertoire of recipes. Our 500-bottle wine storage unit is always bursting at the seams, with new acquisitions never quite keeping up with our consumption. So it’s become a natural for us to replicate the format of our favorite evening with friends for someone else’s group of buddies to benefit our favorite charities.
This morning we are recovering from the labors of providing such an evening. Last spring the Rogue River High School’s FFA group held their annual Beef Feed and Auction, and a local couple bid on our wine tasting party. Last week they called, asking if, on such short notice, we might be able to pull together the event for this Saturday evening, when they would have friends in town. Well, Harry rallied and graciously said, “Yes, of course,” while I was thinking, “What? When?!!”
Harry provides the brains and talent behind these things, planning the selection of wines and doing most of the cooking. I do prep work, shopping, clean up and, most important, questioning some of Harry’s choices: “Don’t you think we should have some fruit? What about veggies? Isn’t that a lot of wine? Are you really going to cut the zucchini that way? (You can tell we’ve been married a long time.) He manages to maintain his cool, we refine the menu and, in the end, everyone has a great time.
The hosts and their guests last night tell us they indeed had a marvelous time. They enjoyed two white wines, four reds and two dessert splits. We served up a variety of cheeses and crackers followed by a host of hot and cold “heavy” hors d’oeuvres and concluded with a decadent dessert. We enjoyed ourselves, too, sharing our love of good wine and food with some lovely folks and seeing them enjoy each other’s company. But I gotta say, I am happy to be able to put my feet up today!
– Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor
A Perfect Evening
Jul 31st
I’ve written before about the Britt Festival, a great outdoor concert venue located in the quaint and historic town of Jacksonville a mere 15-minute drive from my home here in Southern Oregon. The amphitheater, located on a grassy slope surrounded by Ponderosa pines and oak trees, seats about 2,000 music lovers on a combination of fixed (reserve) seating and lawn. Begun originally as a brief classical music festival, the Britt now encompasses virtually every genre of music in a series of concerts scheduled throughout the summer months.
The setting at the Britt is lovely, but we also like it because the rules are limited and easy to live with. One can bring in any kind of food one likes, and beer and wine (and any non-alcoholic beverages) are also welcome. (No restrictions on glass containers; remember, this is Oregon, after all, so there are plenty of recycling bins placed around the grounds for your empties.) Hard liquor is prohibited, as is smoking, and there is a height limit on lawn chairs (so your neighbors can see the stage over you), but that seems to be about it.
This past Wednesday night my husband and I brought Paul and Julie, our good friends who were visiting from our previous hometown in Washington state, to the Britt to see Styx. Harry dropped me off about an hour before the gates opened so that I could stake out a good spot for our blankets and beach chairs. He and our guests arrived later with four bottles of wine, stemware and a cooler full of dinner and dessert. We began with a light white wine, a selection of cheeses I’d picked up earlier in the week from the Rogue Creamery and crackers and a baguette. During the break between the opening act and Styx’s performance, we broke out the main course: cold grilled French-cut lamb chops that had marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and rosemary; a bulgar, nectarine and watercress salad; and a fruit salad including local berries, nectarines and melon. The four of us managed, over the course of the evening, to also polish off three bottles of Washington Merlot (2001 and 2003 vintages) from a few of our favorite Walla Walla wineries — yum!! Then, after the final encore, we broke out brownies served with blueberries and a Syrah reduction sauce and let the crowd thin out before us. By the time we swallowed the last crumbs and packed up our gear, we were able to stroll right out the gates and down to our car with no delays. Did I mention my husband is a great cook??!
No, I didn’t forget that we came for the music, and Styx was just fantastic. They played for more than 90 minutes straight, including many of their great hits (“Come Sail Away,” “Mr. Robato,” “Suite Madame Blue,” “Grand Illusion” — to name just a few), with an energy that was impressive. Tommy Shaw’s voice still hits those notes in “Lady” clear and true; Lawrence Gowan was highly entertaining as he played his 360-degree rotating keyboard; Todd Sucherman on drums never seemed to take a breather; and Shaw, James Young and Ricky Phillips provided classic, hard-rocking guitar licks that were oh-so satisfying. Chuck Panozzo, one of the original founders of the Chicago band, even joined the group on bass guitar for the last several tunes.
What an amazing evening it was: great food, great wine, great friends and great rock and roll on a beautiful, warm summer night. Life doesn’t get much better than that!
– Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor
A Great Birthday Weekend
Jul 24th
Last weekend we traveled to Portland to celebrate my birthday and spend time with family and long-time friends. I’m at a point in my life where I don’t need a bunch of presents or a big event to mark the day. Give me a great dinner, a nice bottle of wine and pleasant conversation and I’ll call it a perfect celebration. My husband and I had a delicious meal at Wildwood restaurant in Northwest Portland (fresh, locally sourced ingredients prepared simply but perfectly) and brought our own bottle of wine (though Wildwood has a very nice cellar). The 2000 Leonetti Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon was lush, complex and a perfect complement to the meal.
We then stopped in at Papa Hadyn to pick up an absolutely decadent cake (they have several to choose from; choosing just one was quite a chore!) to take back to my mother-in-law’s house to share. Harry’s brother and his family were visiting from Texas, and we spent a couple of hours over dessert on the patio sharing news and old stories under a clear, warm, summer night sky.
The next morning we visited one of the best farmers markets I’ve ever been to, anywhere. The Beaverton Farmers Market covers a full city block and spills over into side streets beyond, chock full of vendors of everything from organic buffalo meat; fresh tuna, halibut and salmon; artisan cheeses and honey to herbs, perennials and fresh produce. There aren’t many crafters or artists; virtually everything on offer here can be eaten or grown — or both. I never visit without coming away with at least a few plants for the garden, some ingredients for a great meal or two and something I need to eat immediately (berries, a fresh fruit empanada, some German sausage). There’s always live music, whether it be jazz, blues, folk or country. On this particular day the group played “Galway Girl” and nearly brought daughter Jenny to tears as it transported her back to her trip through Ireland this past February.
That evening saw us gathering with our group of friends that began meeting as young married couples nearly 30 years ago over wine and good food. It is rare these days when we are all in the same town together at the same time. That evening we shared a unique and wonderful collection of wines that had been purchased about 20 years ago when jobs and moves made it impossible for us to keep up our bimonthly get-togethers. Leftover funds we had used to purchase wines for those tastings were used to buy up wines from the 1988 and 1989 vintages of Bordeaux (including Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Haut Brion). While some were certainly past their prime, all were still drinkable, and some were still amazingly balanced, complex and delightful. The entire collection, which originally cost us $835, would require an investment of well over $5,000 at retail to replace today. What made the evening most special, though, was the time spent with such dear friends. We sat overlooking the Willamette River, watching all manner of watercraft plying the waters as Mt. Hood glowed pink in the dusk and the lights of the downtown towers and bridges twinkled on. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday, without a doubt.
– Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor  Â
“Art and Wine Entwined”
Jun 27th
One of the most beautiful and unusual wineries I’ve ever visited is located about an hour’s drive north of Auckland, New Zealand. Richard and Christine Didsbury own Brick Bay Vineyard, establishing the vines in 1996 and producing some lovely wines strictly from their own grapes. We had met Richard earlier on the day we visited the winery, as he is one of the driving forces behind the village of Matakana and its well-known Farmers Market. The winery and its unique sculpture trail seem to be Christine’s special loves, and she was our gracious and knowledgeable hostess on our afternoon visit there.
One approaches Brick Bay’s tasting room dropping from the thoroughfare stretched along a hilly crest down over rolling pastureland which spills eventually into the bay and sea. Tucked into a fold in the hills about halfway down is The Glass House, the winery’s three-year-old tasting room, an elegant, one-story, all-glass building cantilevered over a small lake and its outflowing creek. We arrived as a light rain dimpled the waters of the lake, breaking up the colorful reflections of the autumn-tinged vines which climb a slope beyond. Geese and swans floated peacefully on the surface amid still-flowering water lilies. There was a timeless quality to the scene — vaguely recalling a Japanese garden while feeling very modern as well.
Joining the natural beauty were a number of sculptures scattered along the shore of the lake and even positioned on the water itself. These were just a few of the installations which make up the Brick Bay Sculpture Trail. Christine’s long-time passion for sculpture was the impetus for the 2-kilometer trail, which includes nearly 50 pieces of art selected by a curatorial panel. The Brick Bay Sculpture Trust administers surplus revenue from the operation of the trail, making funds available to artists who otherwise could not afford the expense of creating or installing works of a scale for such an outdoor exhibition.
Intermittent but sometimes heavy showers prevented us from being able to walk the entire trail, but quick forays in a number of directions exposed us to the variety of both the terrain the trail covers (alongside lakes, swamps, vineyards and native bush) and the mediums and forms of the pieces exhibited. I found it a brilliant and delightful venue in which the Didsburys provide invaluable exposure for New Zealand artists.
We also took time to sit down and sample a few Brick Bay wines, accompanied by vineyard platters boasting local cheeses, sausages and cured meats, fruit, vegetables,  pates and remoulades. The winery’s fairly small production means one can generally find it’s wines only at a limited number of fine restaurants in New Zealand, but tastes of the 2009 Pinot Gris and Pharos, a premium red blend from 2005, showed the artistry applied to their development.
I hope to return to New Zealand some day, and Brick Bay Vineyard is on my list of places I’d revisit. And rain or not, next time I’ll be sure to take in the entire Sculpture Trail and its lovely views — both natural and man-made.
– Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor
