Taste THAT!

Saturday night was the annual Barrel Members Dinner at Wind River Cellars. This was our second, and it was every bit as fun as the last one. This is the night that all the supporters of WRC get together to celebrate our common love of Joel's wine. For basically prebuying a few cases of wine, you get a discount, a barrel with your name on it, and invitations to barrel member events. Many people become members because there are so many wines to taste, that when you get done trying them all, you become very generous with your credit card...

But none of us has any buyer's remorse. We look forward to seeing each other at these things. We're even beginning to remember each other's names.

Once you check in and get your glass, you are authorized to wield the 'wine thief' (aka turkey baster) to sample straight from the barrel. Yours and everyone elses you can reach. Step ladders are provided. I personally stay off of those. John (of last weekend's seafood boil and chubby bunny fame)and Regina, the tractor driver and hole driller par excellence, did a fab job of catering the 'heavy appetizers' that constituted dinner:

Spring mix salad with green and red grapes tossed in poppyseed vinaigrette
New potato slad jackets served with a warm bacon vinaigrette
Burger sliders with aged white cheddar and onion marmalade
Smoked salmon crisps with a citrus creme fraiche
Shredded duck tostada with cherry lime salsa

and finally, to die for

Brownies with port reduction and fresh strawberries

The port reduction made with Joel's fantastic Port of Celilo, of course.

Kris' mom took tons of photos which are sure to show up at the Wind River blogsite.

We continue to eat well and drink well here in the Gorge. Rumor has it there's a Crawfish Boil on the calendar soon, with the headliners being flown in from the Louisiana motherland. There will be a report, I'm sure.