The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Wine weekend is over and done for another year and I have some information to share with those who didn't make this year's event: IT WAS WONDERFUL!

Of course, you can always get down to your favorite wineries any weekend through the coming months and taste what the regional wineries poured for all the fun-loving winos who attended this weekend's event. It was really interesting even for this writer, who gets out to the wineries every week. I still found information I didn't know existed and met new people who share like minds.

During the time I owned and operated WildBerries Café, I organized a group of wine lovers I called The Wild Winos Club. The wild winos became an intricate part of the café's Friday evenings for nine years. Though the café is no longer running, that didn't stop me from organizing a get-together to kick off the release weekend.

I invited the old wino club members over to my home (all thirty three of them) and everyone brought a bottle to share. I tossed together my Latino-Szechuan Stir-Fry, a crowd pleaser and award-winning recipe from the beaches of Santa Cruz and my Bob Marley days. In fact, wine and Bob Marley go together really well, you should try it sometime!

Anyway, Wine Guy was a gracious host pouring Mannina Cellars Sangiovese. I know I have spoken about this wine before, but what wine writer wouldn't? It's a whimsical find for red wine drinkers of any stage. Produced and bottled by winemaker Don Redman, this local Sangiovese is a brilliant red wine, sweetly dressed in cayenne and allspice, macerated strawberries a little oregano and swooshing, cheek-bursting tannins.

It's more than a food wine. I've been known to sip a bottle of Don's Sango' out in the garden plucking edible flowers for catered item Pressed Edible Flower Cheese Pate. It's one Sangiovese that stays with you just like the first sip all through the wine's berry fruit and warm spicy nuances.

If you think you might like to try an estate-grown Sangiovese, give Mannina a call for tasting room times found on the Walla Walla Wine Alliance page. Because the Mannina Sangiovese is folk art in a bottle, a tall order in any wine country, winemaker/owner Don Redman earns 98 points from Wine and Country Living.

Congratulation Redman, I hope to see you and your lovely partner Nicole very soon!

Until next week, "Eat Art, Drink Imagination!"

Red Marigold Vinaigrette

3-teaspoons red marigold flower petals (reserve 1-teaspoon) 1-cup olive oil

¼-cup sweet rice vinegar

1-teaspoon minced garlic

1-teaspoon lime juice

1-teaspoon each: salt, pepper Method: In a bowl add all ingredients and whisk well. Age for 1-hour, re-whisk and strain through a fine mesh strainer. Add reserved fresh marigold petals and serve over an assortment of wild miniscule greens, a composed plate of soft cheese or cold crudités.

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