Vintners to offer holiday festival
And now, the holidays are upon us.
Thanksgiving is less than a fortnight away, Christmas is right around the corner and the New Year will be here before we know it.
In a world where the happy faces of Food Network chefs smile at you from every bookshelf in every bookstore, that means, to borrow a phrase from Alton Brown, good eats. Seriously good eats.
Roast turkeys, baked hams, candied yams. You name it.
And with good food goes good wine.
In the words of Plato, “Nothing more excellent or valuable than wine was ever granted by the gods to man.”
So it is with good luck and good fortune than the bounty of local vintners should hold a celebration of their own.
The Holiday Wine Fest is Friday, next Saturday and Nov. 19. Wineries throughout the Greater Spokane area all will show off and share samples of some of their latest vintages and emphasize food and wine pairings – including unique gourmet foods to sample at each location.
“I’m a big fan of the Food Network myself,” said Henning Knipprath, wine maker at Knipprath Cellars, 5634 E. Commerce Ave. “I think it’s helped people look at food and wine pairings instead of just thinking about wine as a beverage.
“I think it’s helped people think about food and wine in a new and different ways, and I think it’s helped people be willing to try and taste new things.”
Knipprath Cellars, located in the old Parkwater Schoolhouse near Felts Field, along with Arbor Crest and Latah Creek wineries, will have a number of special showcases for their products all three days.
Knipprath will showcase its seasonal Alpine Wine served hot and spiced as well as some old family recipes updated and paired with some of the winery’s products: a curried pumpkin soup, port-soaked cranberries and peppercorn turkey.
Arbor Crest will open Cliff House to visitors. The house, built by Royal Riblet, will be fully decorated for the holidays. In the tasting room, the winery will offer its newest releases and chocolate.
Latah Creek will feature the second release of its popular Natalie’s Nectar. The sweet desert wine, a blend of syrah grapes sweetened by reintroducing grape juice late in the process, debuted last year as the first co-production between winemaker Mike Conway and his daughter, Natalie.
The first vintage has been sold out for six months. The winery will offer samples of fresh smoked turkey garnished with cranberry/horseradish sauce with its Sangiovese and homemade Stollen Bread with Moscato d’Latah.
Knipprath has become known for its magical port wines. Henning Knipprath, who favors the old Eurpoean style of winemaking, offers both a chocolate and vanilla flavored port.
“It’s great to be known for those two wines, but that’s not all that we do,” he said. “People come in looking for our ports or our hot, spiced Alpine Wine and that leads them to try some of our other wines.
“The ports have really found a great niche for gift-giving. They’re the kind of gift that says a little something extra.”
The Holiday Wine Fest, sponsored by the Spokane Winery Association, is an exceptional opportunity to, not only sample wines but to meet and talk with the people who hand craft these local, award-winning wines. Winemakers are always happy to discuss the many, varied aspects of their art, which is a big part of the annual celebration.