Pinots Prevail in February,
Paired with Yarrow Bay Grill

By Kathy Ward

Tasting Card

Our love affair with the Northern Willamette Valley in Oregon began when on our travels we discovered the beautiful countryside reminiscent of the Burgundy region of France and sampled the lovely and complex wines being produced in and around the small town of Dundee.

Author of this journal entry is Mary Lynn Perry, co-owner of Dundee Springs with Christopher Bower. She penned the testimonial to this grape-growing region they have called home since planting their first vineyards in 1990.

Mary Lynn will be a guest speaker at the February program presenting signature Burgundian style wines from the red hills of Dundee, a site that wine enthusiasts and writers around the world hold in high esteem.

Pinot Noir, known to be a difficult grape, produces the prize of an elegant wine in the right hands. Jim Kakacek has supervised four vintages from the Perry Bower Vineyard and last year became full-time winemaker at Dundee Springs.

A University of California, Davis, graduate in enology, Jim discovered a passion for Pinot Noir while working in the Napa Valley and thus began his first steps on the road to Oregon. Come learn what a journey to the Dundee Springs "House of Three Pinots" will find.

Also a guest speaker on the program presenting his Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs is Bill Beran, who with his wife, Sharon, owns Beran Vineyards located west of Portland.

Bill and Sharon established their vineyards in the 1970s, selling grapes to a local winery and reserving some to produce a bit of Pinot Noir for their own table. Since opening their winery in 1997 in a converted antique dairy barn, they limit production to a thousand cases of estate wine each year.

The Berans share winemaking tasks, with Bill as primary winemaker relying on Sharon's palate when it's time for major decisions. The Beran Vineyards 1997 Pinot Noir is the first commercial vintage from their 20-year-old vines.

Yarrow Party

Food courses from Yarrow Bay Grill Catering will match the quintessential flavors of the three Pinot varietals on the tasting card. Located at Carillon Point in Kirkland, the property with its spectacular views of Lake Washington and the Olympics was formerly a training camp for the Seattle Seahawks.

The restaurant opened in 1989, and now Catering Chef Laurel Davis takes their show on the road with elegant dining throughout Puget Sound. Yarrow Bay promises a party to remember.

Click here to see a list of past Seattle Programs