Let it rain

We’re enjoying a topsy-turvy summer here in eastern Washington.  While the rest of the country bakes under an unrelenting heat wave, we’re dodging thunderstorms.  In just the last week and a half, we’ve been snapped and drenched by three, maybe four storms, the kind that split the sky shooting skeletor-like bolts of electricity.  It’s very entertaining.  

People stand outside on their driveways gaping.  It’s like we’ve never seen rain before.

Normally we get somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 inches of precipitation here.  Total.   Per year.  That’s not a lot of water, but we like it that way.  Our arid climate and sandy soils are perfect for wine grapes, forcing the thirsty vines to probe deeper and deeper through the rocks and substrata for a little sustenance.  It helps make them strong, and does wonderful things to the grapes as they ripen. 

So the occasional rainstorm is a fun diversion.  One lovely storm blew through Walla Walla a few weeks ago during a barn dinner at Glencorrie Winery.   The tasting room fills the front half of a former equestrian barn, situated at the base of some rolling hills just outside Walla Walla.   They like to serve wine club dinners in the long, narrow space between the tasting room and the former horse stalls.  

The night we joined them, dinner included grilled sausages, tasty short ribs, a beautiful salad colored with fresh berries, and the delicious baguettes winemaker Ronn Coldiron loves to bake for his wine club members.  (If you catch him when he’s in town, he’d be happy to teach you his technique.)  

Dinner started with soft breezes drifting through the open ends of the barn and the sun growing softer as it set.  Then the rains came.  The lightening crackled.  The thunder boomed.  The lights went out. 

After a few minutes, the storm settled into a quiet rain, giving the wine barrels and the grassy hills a soft glow, and sparking a gorgeous double rainbow.  Some of us ran outside to take pictures of it. 

The horses on the hill behind us just kept on grazing. 

So did most of the people. I guess not everyone gets gaga about a little rain.  

Glencorrie Winery

Walla Walla

 Founded by a pair of Californians looking for a spot in Washington that embodied their ideal wine – complex yet “food-friendly” and balanced.  Ronn and Dean Coldiron source their grapes from some outstanding vineyards, including Wienbau, Stillwater Creek and Windrow Vineyards.  Wines trend toward high alcohol (14.6% and above), with tasting notes that emphasize cocoa, black fruits, mint and rhubarb.

Notable  – Cuvee Marquis, a Bordeaux-style blend of Columbia Valley grapes. A rich, clean mouth with layers of flavors and balanced tannins.