Look for rare offerings at St. Luke’s festival

There’s a cure for your spring fever. Or, this event could fan the flames.

St. Luke’s Rehabilitation Institute will host its annual Festival of Wine and Flowers on April 22.

The event features tastings from wineries that rarely make the trip to Spokane to show off their wares.

Some of the state’s most respected wineries will be offering tastings, including Andrew Will Winery, Cayuse Vineyards, Eroica, Leonetti Cellar, and Quilceda Creek Vintners. And local stars will be in attendance – Arbor Crest Wine Cellars, Barrister Winery, Lone Canary Winery, Mountain Dome Winery and Robert Karl Cellars.

There will be live and silent auctions with hard-to-find Washington wines, wine-themed trips and private barrel tastings. Chef Ian Wingate, of Moxie and Bluefish, will prepare the gourmet food and desserts with the help of the St. Luke’s Culinary Team. Tickets are $100 and proceeds benefit Team St. Luke’s, an internationally competitive youth wheelchair athletic team.

St. Luke’s also will host Blossoms and Brunch on April 30 at the DoubleTree Hotel as part of the festival.

Guests can browse the spring-themed gift shop, enjoy brunch and sample freshly brewed teas. Students from Spokane Community College will dress up the DoubleTree a la European fresh flower market, courtesy of local florists.

A Master Gardener will answer gardening questions. Ikebana lessons, a Japanese form of floral arrangement, will be offered and children will have a chance to plant and decorate a flower pot. Tickets are $40 for adults, $20 for children 12 and younger.

For more information or to purchase tickets call 473-6006 or go to www.festivalofwineandflowers.com.

Walter Clore Center groundbreaking

Construction of the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center in Prosser, Wash., is underway.

Workers broke ground this week for the center, which is designed to be a destination to showcase the state’s wine grape growing, winemaking and culinary bounty, organizers said in a news release.

The center is named for Washington State University researcher Walter Clore, a horticulturalist who is considered the father of the state’s grape-growing industry. Clore planted grapes throughout the state and kept volumes of notes on their fate, according to the Washington State University news service. He died in 2003.

The $9.2 million landmark center will be built on 22-acres near the Yakima River and includes visitor information displays, galleries, working vineyards and gardens, demonstration kitchen, dining, wine bar, retail shop and classrooms. The center is slated to open in May 2007. For more information go to www.walterclore.com.