When Thunderbolt Strikes Seafood

I recently took some time after a conference and spent the weekend in Seattle. Josh made note of our adventures in one of his recent posts. On that trip, with Josh, Kyle, and some alums from the places I have worked, we stopped at Airfield.

I was first introduced to Airfield last winter when we took the now infamous trip to Prosser, Washington area. While Rick made a great post about the experience there, I left there with several

bottles of wine, and the trip to Woodenville, Washington a couple of months ago was no different. Since Josh was gracious enough to be the DD, I took advantage and did the full tasting that was filled with both their whites and reds. Elise, Tara, Neil, and Stacey (the alums who were joining us), also participated in full tasting. That Saturday I would leave Airfield with 10 bottles - some would say "Why not just do a full case?" While I think about it, I just cannot answer that question with a decent response...shame on me!

I fancy myself a fairly decent cook. I am always willing to try new dishes, and frequently do with varying degrees of success, and I have a few staples, which I am sure you all do. I also LOVE seafood, I grew up on it. Now that I live in the Pacific Northwest, I usually have seafood several times a week. One of the dishes I have been experimenting with are spicy stir-fryes.

After coming back from Seattle, I decided I would try out another stir-fry for a recent dinner guest I had. I made a spicy shrimp stir fry that was had red, green, and orange bell peppers and asparagus. The stir-fry was then placed over rotini pasta. I am still fine tuning my rice cooking skills. Not going to lie - cooking rice still intimidates me a bit with the rice to water ratio and such. Anyway, I digress.

In deciding what to drink with dinner, I decided to open the bottle of 2009 Airfield Thunderbolt Sauvignon Blanc. This was one of the bottles I had just procured during the above mentioned trip to Seattle. I could not have done a better pairing for this dinner! Both my dinner guest and I found that the balance between the chilled, dry, lightly sweet Sauv Blanc with the warm and spicy stir-fry dish was perfect.

The Sauvignon Blanc was crisp and refreshing with hints of tropical fruit including lemon seemed to enhance the flavoring for the spices used in the stir-fry. The way it landed on the palate provided an alternative to the stir-fry. The Thunderbird was really just very enjoyable. I don't recall buying more than one bottle, but by the end of dinner, I definitely wished I had several. You will too after you give this bottle a try.

Until next time...

Diving Headfirst into Woodinville

I have a good friend who grew up in Snohomish, Washington.  When we were in college back in the day, we took a spring break journey to the Westside one year and a highlight of that trip was a tour of the Redhook Brewery in Woodinville.  Two freshly minted 21 year old dudes, $1 tour, an amusing guide with an Australian accent, and all the samples we could drink?  Um, OK!  Well, for years after that I associated Woodinville with beer and it wasn't until I became a wino many years later that I realized there was more to Woodinville than met the eye back then.  Much more. It actually went down more like this:

Clive: The shit is real up here in Woodinville, yo.
Josh: OK.

Fortuitously, as many of you know, I just moved to Seattle and my condo is a short short 17 miles from this wonderland of wine and this weekend I had the opportunity to make my first appearance. Nestled in the Sammamish River Valley, wine has been in Woodinville since 1976 when Chateau Ste. Michelle set up shop there. In the years since, the small community has become home to over 70 wineries and tasting rooms. The majority of fruit you'll find in Woodinville comes from Eastern Washington, with a good mix of winemakers that produce in Woodinville balanced with Columbia Valley wineries who have opened a second tasting room. It's going to take a long time to hit all 70, woe is me.

Micheal was in town visiting after a non-wine conference and we made plans to meet some of his former students in the wine mecca. After texting Clive for some suggestions resulting in, "There are too many good wineries to pick one.", the party we were meeting suggested starting out at Columbia Winery. I think I twitched a little when Micheal announced that was where we were headed, but not one to rock the boat, off we went. Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with Columbia, it's just so big and probably crowded and I was hoping to hit some boutique wineries that weren't out on every grocery store shelf. Luckily, the second winery would provide that opportunity. Columbia was as anticipated; a large impressive tasting facility with a bunch of people coming in by the busload and high production wines on the tasting menu. Regardless, we had a nice tasting, good conversation, and settled on old favorite for our next venture: Airfield Estates.

Rick profiled Airfield about a year ago after our visit to Prosser; if you recall we had a simply amazing experience at their main facility. I was excited to check out the digs a little closer to my new home, would this be my new backyard tasting room? Perhaps. We arrived at the tasting room and to my chagrin, it too was packed to the gills. I noticed immediately that they had done a great job of sticking with the aviation motive present in the Prosser winery. Don't worry, I quickly elbowed my way up to the bar and was greeted with a tasting list with many of my old favorites. I'm a sucker for their blends and jumped right into the reds (I was driving after all), and the Spitfire, Mustang, and Aviator were just how I remembered them -- awesome. In fact, I want to crack open a bottle right now. I'm a sucker for unique red blends and to refresh your memory, here's the rundown on two of them:

2008 Mustang: 53% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 8% Cinsault, 2% Counoise, 2% Mourvèdre

2008 Spitfire: 60% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 5% Malbec, 5% Petite Verdot

Delicious.  A nice unanticipated surprise was the bonus pour of 2009 Tempranillo, a recent gold medal winner at the San Francisco wine competition. I'd actually had this wine at a local wine bar a few times recently, but was taken by it in the tasting room. We closed down the place, and as we walked to the car our stomachs were growling. Where should all good trips to wine country end? A hot dog cart. Luckily there was one right across the street at DeLille and we bought everything they had left.

So, there's a start. I have a feeling that I'll be making my way to Woodinville quite a bit in the future and look forward to sharing it's wonders with my Oregon friends.

Airfield Estates Winery

Remember a couple months ago when Josh posted a two part article about our mind-blowingly awesome dinner at Picazo 7Seventeen in Prosser, WA? Mmmm...firecracker prawns...

While we've ranted on and on about how great dinner was, I've completely neglected to write about what we were up to right before we hit up Picazo 7Seventeen. Gwynne had just made it to town, so Clive, Josh, Michael, and I met up with her to scope out some wineries for dinner. Clive had been communicating a bit with the folks at Airfield Estates Winery, so we set forth and decided to check it out. Like any visit to a winery, we all expected the usual stop in for a bit and chit chatting over a few pours. What we ended up with was another one of those experiences that completely transcends anything we imagined.

I have to admit that I didn't do any research before coming to Airfield, but wow, they take their name very seriously. The entire establishment looks like a hangar and it really sucks you into a 1940s WWII airbase feel - probably because the property actually used to be a WWII airbase. They even take this so far as to paint lines in the parking lot as if you're driving on a runway.

The airbase feel extends even more upon entering the hangar/tasting room. I'll go on record saying that Airfield's tasting room is both one of the most creative as well as beautiful tasting rooms I've seen. Plenty of comfortable seating is spread about the room with various pieces of merchandise, WWII artifacts, and bottles of wine adoring the outer perimeter. This isn't The Oregon Interior Decorating Blog, though, so we put that aside and bellied up to the bar.


At this time I'd also like to point out that we were those guys that showed up about 20-30 minutes before closing. We also tend to talk whoever is pouring's ear off, so I was tentative in expecting an especially warm welcoming. This, however, was not the case when we were greeted by Mike Miller - owner, grape grower, and the man with some of the best pours in the industry. Our timing didn't seem to matter at all as Mike went well out of his way to pour almost everything in their inventory, explain each wine, and answer every question we had.

Airfield's wines are divided about two thirds between single varietals and blends. While their single varietals are phenomenal (and easily identifiable by their screen-printed labels), I was personally blown away by their take on blends. Take these for instance:

2008 Mustang: 53% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 8% Cinsault, 2% Counoise, 2% Mourvèdre

2008 Spitfire: 60% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot, 5% Malbec, 5% Petite Verdot

2008 Lightning: 50% Viognier, 25% Roussanne, 20% Chardonnay, 5% Marsanne

Did your eyes just light up a bit like mine did? I'm a huge fan of blends and get incredibly excited when I see wine makers in the Northwest experiment outside of the relatively safe and proven Rhone varietals. Even more impressive is the huge difference between the blends themselves. Mustang, for example, is a bold and spicy wine that would be perfect to pair with something like a steak. Spitfire, however, is more subtle and refined, which makes it an incredible wine to sip by itself.

After tasting almost their entire inventory and staying way past closing time, we thought we were set to leave. That is, until we were offered a tour of the tower. What I figured would have been a quick trip to the top of the observation tower visible from the outside and back down ended up being something much more. We entered into their production facility and were lead past the usual wine making equipment until we reached a door to their Officer's Wine Club. This is the first thing we saw:


What is this magical place and why don't we have one at home? Airfield's Officer's Wine Club (or The Bat Cave as we have began calling it), makes homage to Airfield's creations as well as providing a place to conduct business. Think of it as part museum and part board room.


It's also home to the coolest chandelier ever:


To say we were all impressed with Airfield is a gross understatement. Not only are the wines original and delicious, but the staff is incredible as well. Definitely make Airfield a destination if you're in the Prosser/Yakima area and tell them we said to stop by. Who knows? It might get you into the Bat Cave.

Picazo 7Seventeen Part 2: Food, Wine, and Fullness

On Friday, we shared the first in this two-part series on our experience at Picazo 7Seventeen,  a casual fine dining wine bar and restaurant in Prosser, Washington.  See that article to read all about how our wagon got hitched to the Picazo post, Chef/Owner Frank Magana, and the philosophy of the restaurant.  Now it's time for the food and wine, yo.  As a refresher, or for those who didn't read Part 1, the orgasmic experience that will soon be described consisted of a 7-course meal presented by Chef Magana for the staff of The Oregon Wine Blog, each course paired perfectly with a local wine by General Manager Trina Cortez.

Josh Gana (that's me) from The Oregon Wine Blog (this very publication), described dinner at Picazo in a unique way:

...[a] grab on to the headboard and hang on for the ride type of culinary experience.

Come along for the ride!  Oh, and I fully acknowledge that  I may fall into that snobby, food and wine writer tone.  Sorry if that's the case.  We really aren't snooty, I promise.

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First Course

After we had been seated, Trina and Frank approached our table and inquired as to whether there were any food dislikes or allergies, as they had "prepared a little bit of everything to put on the table." Luckily, we're an easy group in that respect and love a chef's surprise. They had prepared 7 courses, and hoped we didn't mind. No, indeed, we didn't mind at all.

The Wine:  2008 Alexandria Nicole Cellars Horse Heaven Hills Marsanne (pre-release)

The Food:  Sweet onion and squash stuffed calimari on a bed of greens with a tarragon balsamic vinaigrette made from a chardonnay/vanilla pressed oil and a grilled pepper.

The Assessment:  This course was our preview of greatness to come.  We found that the puree literally melted in our mouths and the produce was fresh and vibrant.  The tarragon added a wonderful complexity, and the simple unassuming pepper was to die for.  On the wine, we found a hint of residual sugar and were lucky that Trina had shared the pre-release wine with us.  It was simply an outstanding pairing, with the Marsanne perfectly complementing the calimari.  As Gwynn put it,

Would it be in poor taste to lick the plate?

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Second Course

As Trina was pouring our second glass of wine for the evening, she nonchalantly pointed to a family two tables away, stating "oh, there's the winemaker of this wine."  That kind of camaraderie part of the magic of Picazo.

The Wine: 2008 Cooper Pinot Gris

The Food:  Firecracker prawns with red chili flakes and harissa (a North African hot chili sauce).

The Assessment:  Umm, so you could remove the word "fire" and the "er" from the name of these prawns and you'd end up with their true nature:  crack.  They are amazing.  The flavor complexity of the spice profile was transformative, and the pinot gris was a perfect wine to cut the heat of the harissa.  It was a well-balanced pairing, and we used the bread to soak up the delicious sauce when the prawns were gone.  Cooper wine is tasting-room only at this point, but watch out because their doing great things on Red Mountain.  This was our favorite course.

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Third Course


Immediately prior to dinner, we had done a tasting at Airfield Estates a few blocks away.  We knew Picazo was featuring some of their wines, so were excited to dig in to a glass.  Oh, and yea, this is sort of a crappy photo. I was so excited that I started eating and then remembered to take the picture -- so the presentation was shot.

The Wine:  2008 Airfield Estates Thunderbolt (95% Sauvignon Blac, 5% Semillon)

The Food:  Seafood pasta puttanesca with scallops, salmon, clams, and mussels laid on fresh squid ink noodles.

The Assessment:  The delicateness of the seafood was complemented by the hearty noodles -- which our group described as amazing and interesting.  In fact, Micheal commented that the noodles tasted like an ink pen, "in the best possible way."  The wine was delicious and perfect with the seafood, but didn't stand up to the strength of the noodles.  According to Clive:

This is the greatest pasta sauce to ever walk the face of the Earth.

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Fourth Course

At this point in the dinner, my notes started to become a bit illegible and I believe I was in the restroom when the wine was poured.  Just another day's work for a wine blogger.  Neil Cooper, the winemaker from Cooper Wine Company, also stopped by during this course and we had a great chat.

The Wine:  2008 Airfield Estates Dolcetto

The Food:  Pork tenderloin encrusted with coffee and chili powder, paired with a romesco sauce, marconi almonds, and grilled green onions.

The Assessment:  The wine was smoky and sweet, pairs well with any grilled meat.  The biggest pleasant surprise was the coffee encrustation -- it was spicy and bold, but the nutty romesco sauce mellowed it out.  Micheal had some trouble finding that balance, but the rest of us loved the combination of coffee flavor and sauce, and the dolcetto was amazing with the onion.  Quote of the course:

I want to live in that sauce.

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Fifth Course


When the chef brought this course out, he acknowledged the quantity of wonderful food to grace our table thus far, and noted that they had tried to keep this course small.  They broke down a whole tenderloin, though, so it small just wasn't in the cards.  Darn.

The Wine:  2007 Cooper L'inizio (9 vineyard, 4 varietal Bordeaux blend)

The Food:   Maple bacon wrapped beef tenderloin with a kumquat demi glaze bbq sauce reduction, laying on a pastini.

The Assessment:  A communal "holy shit" emerged around the table upon tasting the tenderloin with the wine.  The kumquat was all over the delicious sauce, and the knife cut the beef like hot butter.  It was amazing.  A perfect pairing, we noted that the bread under the beef had even been carefully prepared, even though one may never see the grill marks, signaling the sheer attention to detail on the meal.  I'll be honest that there are a number of other comments I wrote down about this wonderful course; I just can't read the "5-glasses down" handwriting.

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Sixth Course


Honestly, we couldn't believe there was more amazing food coming.  There was.

The Wine:  2007 Cooper Cabernet Sauvignon (decanted for 1.5 hours)

The Food:  Dijon encrusted rack of lamb with a local chukar cherry peach salsa and an artichoke risotto cake stuffed with manchego cheese.

The Assessment:  Micheal was clearly making googly eyes at the wine from the initial pour.  He rated it as one of his top 10 cabs ever.  He also noted that he wanted to buy Neil a bottle of wine, it was so good.  We found the lamb to be wonderfully prepared, with the tart dijon balancing the wine.  Clive summed this dish up by saying,

This is comfort food if your mom is Jesus.

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Seventh Course


Dessert, need I say more?  I suppose I do, this is a blog after all.  So with this course, both Frank and Trina joined us again and informed us that they couldn't agree on a wine pairing, so I'll be damned if they weren't going to have to serve us both selections.

The Wine:  2007 DavenLore Winery Syrah Forte (Port Style) & 2008 Alexandria Nicole Cellars Syrah Ice Wine

The Food:  Strawberry creme brulee layered on chocolate ganache.

The Assessment:  Rick immediately noted that this was the first ice wine that he has enjoyed.  The ice wine paired perfectly with the creme brulee, and we found the forte a wonderful partner to the chocolate ganache.  In a way, you could say the ice wine enhanced a delicious flavor, and the forte complemented the chocolate.  We were left nearly speechless with the fresh strawberry essence.

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Thanks for sticking with us through this journey. Hands down, it was a wonderful dinner with perfectly paired wines. On the drive back to Yakima, we were debating as to what the most favorite / least favorite dishes were - and we just couldn't decide. They were all amazing and the wines were spectacular. The entire experience was really special. Please, check out Picazo...and Cooper Wine Company, Alexandria Nicole Cellars, Airfield Estates, and Daven Lore Winery...it will be the best decision you ever made.