Journey Staff Room

As anyone who has ever coached a youth basketball team or tried to set up a dinner reservation with co-workers can attest, it’s not that easy to get even a small group of humans to move in the same direction at the same time. That’s why watching six Andalusian horses walking and trotting in unison is just one of many reasons to be awed by Cavalia: A Magical Encounter Between Human and Horse. The show, a combination of Cirque du Soleil–style acrobatics fused with remarkably original horsemanship, opened its snow-delayed Seattle-area engagement last Friday in Redmond’s Marymoor Park.

Though the production has evolved since it premiered in Shawinigan, Quebec, in 2003 and embarked on a perpetual world tour that last brought it to Seattle in 2004, it remains focused on celebrating the horse. This becomes clear from the outset, when a heartwarming video projected above the stage (I won’t reveal plot spoilers here) is accompanied by a display of famous quotes about the beauty and significance of horses throughout history.

Cavalia is the brainchild of Normand Latourelle, who was also one of the co-founders of Cirque du Soleil, and there are many similarities between the former and the latter. Like Cirque du Soleil shows, Cavalia takes place under circus-style tents, which, combined with a stage designed to resemble a simple clearing in a forest, lends to a feeling that this setting could be located just about anywhere, at just about any time.

An informal introduction to the equine cast members occurs as two colts walk across the stage’s sand-and-dirt floor. Soon, the humans—about 25 acrobats, contortionists, dancers and riders—arrive, providing short, high-energy glimpses of the acrobatic and aerial feats to come.

With the exception of a few minor jumps, the show’s gravity-defiance duties fall upon the humans. In some scenes, such as one called “La Vida,” the horses seem relegated to the role of eye candy. As two equines and their male riders take turns around the stage’s inner circle, a pair of female aerialists, each suspended by a cable fastened to a spinning wheel mounted high above, drift down like angels in what becomes a multilevel ballet.

All any of the three horses that perform in the “Bareback Riding” scene really have to do is walk around in circles. It’s their riders and the accompanying acrobats who perform the jumps, flips and spins over and around the elegant beasts.

However, even as the humans perform the most daring vaults, leaps and aerial moves, all any of the 46 equine cast members have to do to steal back the spotlight is to simply be himself (all of the horses, representing 10 breeds, are male). In addition to scenes showcasing memorable dressage techniques, the production also offers several opportunities for horses to break out into a full gallop—and show off their grace and power.

Their magnificence shines particularly bright in “Grande Liberté,” the scene featuring the Andalusians mentioned above. After roaming onto the stage, they are brought to an inner circle with a subtle command from a female trainer. Like a horse-whisperer, the woman uses quiet commands, clicks of her mouth and waves of a wand to get the horses to shift from single file to two-abreast and back to single file again as they proceed around the circle. Then she gets them to change directions a few times. Watching the horses playfully nip at each other as this choreography continues only causes audience members’ hearts to melt that much more. Yes, the humans in this show are pretty good. But the horses truly are the stars.

Cavalia’s run at Marymoor Park continues through Feb. 19. Photo courtesy of the show’s producers.

As if there aren’t already enough reasons to visit The Triple Door in downtown Seattle, its newest beverage offers another way to reward your taste buds in the concert hall and lounge attached to Wild Ginger restaurant. The venue’s crew teamed with Elysian Brewing Company to develop The Triple Door Backstage Ale, a pale ale crafted to complement the pan-Asian nibbles and entrees that come straight from Wild Ginger’s kitchen to The Triple Door’s patrons.The team at Elysian, led by President/Head Brewer Dick Cantwell, used rare Sorachi Ace (a hop of Japanese origin grown in Yakima) and juniper, among other ingredients, to produce an aromatic, medium-bodied pale ale. The new brew possesses citrus and tropical notes that offset the heat in The Triple Door’s spiciest dishes—like Angkor Wat chicken—and a full enough body to stand up to such richer dishes as seven-flavor beef, Sichuan-marinated lamb chops and others. It also tastes nice on its own, as I found out during the keg-tapping party last night (Oct. 13) to celebrate the partnership between the two beloved Seattle icons.

Triple Door and Wild Ginger have carried Elysian’s brews for years, and the idea to develop a custom ale came about in July, when Elysian hosted a tasting to educate The Triple Door’s staff about its brewing process and beverages. The Triple Door’s Operations Manager Brian McKay proposed the concept to his boss, GM Jason Lock, and the two later approached Cantwell. By mid-August, Cantwell’s team had created the first batch of the new brew. “We said, ‘this is exactly what we were thinking,’” Lock recounts. “We didn’t change a thing.”

Triple Door began serving the new ale on Sept. 23, which coincided with the venue’s eighth anniversary, and is selling about 850 pints a week. For comparison’s sake, its other beers sell at an average of about 250 pints a week.

“We are committed to artisanal styles and doing everything from scratch,” Lock adds. “We take great care in producing our food and producing our cocktails, so why not beer?”

The Backstage Ale is available in The Triple Door’s main concert hall and its Musicquarium Lounge as well as in Wild Ginger’s Seattle restaurant and Elysian Fields, the brewery’s pub next to CenturyLink and Safeco fields. It will also soon be available at the Bellevue Wild Ginger.

Triple Door and Wild Ginger also serve a custom label red wine (a cabernet sauvignon-merlot-cabernet franc blend called Confucius Says) produced by àMaurice Cellars of Walla Walla and a custom riesling produced in Germany’s Mosel Valley by the Dr. Loosen estate.

With clear skies and 70-degree temperatures that lingered into the evening, I simply could not have asked for better conditions for my visit to Lakedale Resort at Three Lakes on San Juan Island for the final Gourmet Glamping cookout of the year this past weekend. A group of about 25 resort guests, mostly those staying in Lakedale’s cozy canvas cabins, dined on a communal feast that we prepared almost entirely over campfires under the direction of chef Kyle Nicholson, executive chef at The Bluff restaurant in Friday Harbor House. The menu included a bruschetta featuring heirloom tomatoes grown on nearby Waldron Island, gypsy peppers (also grown on Waldron) stuffed with locally caught Dungeness crab, naturally raised bavette steak from Idaho’s Snake River Farms and other dishes. The evening’s wines were produced less than a mile up Roche Harbor Road at San Juan Vineyards. In addition to hearing chef Nicholson’s tips on grilling meats, veggies and even bread over an open fire, we all had a chance to strike up new friendships as we mingled well into the night.The rain showers that greeted me on the drive to work the following Monday morning reminded me that summer is winding down. Luckily, fall may be the best time of the year for foodies, art lovers and solace seekers to venture past Rosario Strait for Savor the San Juan Islands. Now in its fourth year, the monthlong celebration brings cultural and community events—and dining and lodging deals—to Lopez, Orcas and San Juan islands. Throughout October, you’ll find three-course, prix-fixe dinners at such esteemed island restaurants as Allium on Orcas Island and The Bluff, Coho Restaurant and Vinny’s Ristorante on San Juan Island for $30-$35 (not including beverages, tax and gratuities). The Bluff is also hosting a 7-course winemaker dinner with Morgan Lee of Covington Cellars on Oct. 2 (the menu includes Shoal Bay oysters, Dungeness crab fritters and other goodness). Coho hosts a 6-course winemakers dinner with Chris Primus of San Juan Vineyards on Oct. 21 and a Distiller’s Dinner Oct.  28 featuring foods paired with selections from Westcott Bay Cider’s new distillery. Many other restaurants across the three major islands are hosting similar gatherings.

As they increase their reliance on ingredients from farms and food purveyors based on the San Juans, the islands’ chefs are giving diners tastes of authentic local flavor.  If you haven’t visited in a while, you’re bound to be impressed by the local bounty. This time of year, the harvest brings such produce as the robust heirlooms mentioned above along with great cauliflower, artichokes and squashes. At The Bluff, chef Nicholson offers an appetizer featuring fried “pickles” made from bullwhip kelp foraged straight off the San Juan Island shore.

In addition to the fun dining deals and events, Savor the San Juan Islands also brings such happenings as Artstock 2011 (Oct. 1 and 2) and a family-friendly Oktoberfest on Oct. 8 on San Juan Island along with performances (Oct. 15 and 16) by violinist Chee-Yun with pianist Andrew Staupe at Rosario Resort on Orcas Island. Visit the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau website for more information on events, activities and deals taking place throughout the islands this fall.

If it weren’t for all of those media reports about the drug violence occurring primarily in Mexico’s border regions, international travelers would undoubtedly be more likely to visit regions south of the U.S. border than they already are.As it stands, Mexico is the 10^th most-visited country among international travelers, according to the United Nations World Travel Organization (UNWTO), and the nation’s leaders have set a goal to crack the top 5 worldwide by 2018. Though this would require the country to nearly double the 22 million visitors who arrived from other countries last year (France and the United States top UNWTO’s list with 76.8 million and 59.7 million international arrivals, respectively), Gloria Guevara, Mexico’s secretary of tourism, believes her country is up to the task.

“We have a lot to offer,” she says. “Mexico has 27 world heritage sites. Our cuisine is a world heritage cuisine. We have more than 40,000 archaeological sites. We also have more than 50 top-class golf courses.”

Guevara makes the comments during a roughly 30-minute conversation at the Four Seasons Seattle (on Aug. 3), just one stop on her team’s three-week tour across America to meet with media and tourism industry executives.

Many people from Mexico and even those who visit the country frequently from abroad blame travelers’ concerns about safety amid the drug violence on media sensationalism. However, I feel that I would be remiss in my duties as a travel writer were I not to ask about what authorities are doing to protect visitors.

“Mexico is a large country,” she says. “We have 2,500 municipalities, which are the equivalent of the counties here in the U.S. Out of those 2,500, eighty have issues. When you do the math, you will see that is less than 5 percent. Now, do we have a challenge, an issue? Yes, absolutely! But it’s very localized. Most of the towns are close to the border. The tourist areas are fine. A lot of the time, you will see that they are thousands of miles away from these places.”

Yeah, I get it. I know that Cancun is about a 1,000 miles away from Nuevo Laredo by air and that Los Cabos is about 800 miles away from Tijuana. I also understand that those visiting any American city are just as likely, if not more likely, to become the victim of a crime than anyone visiting Mexico’s tourist destinations. Nevertheless, when I visit a foreign country, I want to get away from the tourism centers for at least a little while and experience authentic local culture. Unfortunately, the travel advisories make this sound like a bad idea.

On the other hand, I did have a pretty good time in Puerto Vallarta’s resort district when I visited a few years ago, and I’m dying to get to Cancun soon. Several of the other topics that came up during my conversation with Guevara only further whetted my appetite for Mexico’s charms.

For instance, sustainability is such a high priority for Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon that it appears as one of 10 major themes in a national list of action items adopted to boost tourism (Calderon has declared 2011 to be Mexico’s Year of Tourism). In keeping with this theme, the Mexican government is encouraging resort developers and operators to meet criteria for social, environmental and economic sustainability. One project, the Mayakoba resort in the Riviera Maya, has already been honored for achievements in sustainable tourism by the Rainforest Alliance, and other resort developers are seeking similar recognition. Furthermore, just last month, the Mexican airline Interjet made the first commercial bio-fuel flight in Latin America, traveling from Mexico City to Tuxtla Gutierrez in the southern state of Chiapas. The bio-fuel used for the flight was produced from jatropha curcas, a flowering plant harvested in Chiapas.

Tourism is Mexico’s second largest industry, behind oil, and third largest source of foreign income, behind migrant-worker remittances and oil, so it’s easy to see why Calderon and his cabinet are “all-in” on tourism. Their approach has brought an unprecedented level of investment in infrastructure during the past four years. This includes a reported $7.1 billion on roads, seaports, airports and railroads and another $1.3 billion on such tourism-focused projects as restoring world heritage locations. During this time, the private sector has kicked in a reported $15 billion. All this adds up to a lot of bright, shiny and, in increasing numbers, sustainably developed amenities just waiting to be enjoyed by visitors like us.

When Marie-Eve Gilla opened Walla Walla’s Forgeron Cellars with a group of investors in 2001, there were only about 170 wineries in the entire state of Washington. Most produced the same three varietals—cabernet sauvignon, merlot and chardonnay—and there was only one real college-level winemaking program—in the country.

What a difference a decade makes. The number of wineries in Washington now exceeds 700. Winemaking institutes are opening up and down the West Coast and elsewhere, and Washington’s vineyards now cultivate more than 30 varietals. These range in quantity from the 5,992 acres of chardonnay grown throughout the Columbia Valley to the roughly five acres of white grenache planted at Boushey Vineyards near Grandview.

This latter varietal seemed to be the apple of Gilla’s eye during a recent informal lunch at Seattle’s 35th Street Bistro as we discussed one of her newest creations, a blend of the white Rhone varietals roussanne, viognier and white grenache called Ambiance. Viognier and roussanne have become widely available throughout the state in recent years, but Gilla says the white grenache virtually fell into her lap in 2009 when a different Boushey client decided that he didn’t need the vintner’s entire supply of the grape. Gilla used it to add food-friendly acidity to the fruity characteristics of its companion varietals when she created the blend. (The 2009 Ambiance was released last January, and a 2010 version is in the works.)

“I snoop around a little bit,” she explained, recounting how she procured her supply of the rare-for-Washington varietal. “I like to know what’s going on, but sometimes, you have to get lucky. You have to be there at the right time—when somebody else decides they don’t want four tons [of a grape varietal], they only want two tons, and you just happen to be there to snatch them.”

The words themselves seem to echo the type of sentiments that you might hear from many of the free-spirited entrepreneurs that make up Washington’s wine industry, but Gilla’s native Burgundian accent give them a unique lilt—just one of her distinguishing features. Gilla studied enology and viticulture at the University of Dijon before an internship at Argyle Winery in Dundee, Ore., brought her out to the States some 20 years ago. The internship led to stints at other Washington wineries before she teamed with investors to open Forgeron, the French word for blacksmith. Her experiences give her a unique perspective on the similarities and differences between Old World and New World winemaking that, I suspect, help her both respect and reign in the intensity of Washington grapes. A consistent feature that I found in the Ambiance and the 2007 Forgeron zinfandel that I also sampled was a level of restraint that allowed me to relish the nuances of each wine’s respective flavor profile.

As Forgeron marks its 10th anniversary, Gilla’s sights seem more focused on the future than on the past. Though the winery’s main focus has long been on chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah and zinfandel, she is clearly not one to hesitate when an opportunity arises to add a new varietal or blend to the mix. In addition to bringing new wines such as Ambiance into the Forgeron fold, she launched a second label called Blacksmith last year. Priced for value, the first release, about 196 cases of 2009 pinot noir retailing for $16 a bottle, sold out in about three months, while a 2008 merlot and 2010 chardonnay are coming soon to wine shops across the Northwest (the Blacksmith wines are not available in Forgeron’s downtown Walla Walla winery and tasting room). Gilla is also gearing up to launch an ultra-premium label called Anvil in the months ahead. This label will debut with a 2007 Klipsun merlot and 2008 Klipsun cabernet sauvignon.

When she does reflect upon the past, it only seems to make her bullish about the future—for Forgeron and Washington wines in general. “In Washington, the wine industry is young, and look at what we’ve accomplished. It’s dry. It’s sunny. We don’t have phylloxera. We irrigate and can control the vigor. We can grow anything. If we had a little more focus, it would be good, but right now, we can grow everything from riesling all the way to zinfandel, barbera and tempranillo. It lends itself to grape-growing very well. I think when you look at what the industry has accomplished in the last 25 years, there’s no doubt that it’s going to do even better.”

The latest expansion to the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort in Worley, Idaho, is bringing a touch of the swank life to a quiet corner of the Palouse. The $75-million project added 98 rooms, mod restaurants and lounges and a posh 15,000-square foot spa to a facility that began as a lone bingo hall in 1993. The additions, contained in two new wings, bring the total room count up to nearly 300 at a property that also boasts 1,800 gaming machines and one of the Northwest’s true golf meccas, Circling Raven Golf Club.On my recent visit with a group of golf journalists on a hosted tour of the resort and surrounding areas, I was pleasantly surprised with many aspects of the new facilities. Foremost among these was the depth and quality of art depicting tribal culture in the rooms and common areas. A 101-foot-tall sculpture of an eagle staff sits outside the property. Guests enter the new wings through a light-filled corridor called the Skycatcher and, on the way to the check-in desk, walk past a granite representation of the Lake Coeur d’Alene watershed built into the floor. It sits beneath a three-dimensional metallic representation of the lake suspended from the ceiling. Indigenous plants of cultural significance line a path outside called an “ethnobotanical” walk.

The use of reclaimed woods and slate tiles and palette of rich, dark hues create a stately air throughout the expanded spaces, but the facility seems to have not lost sight of the fact that a resort should, at its core, be fun. At a sports bar called hn’ya’(pqi’n'n (pronounced yap-kee-num and meaning “a gathering place”), the cocktail list includes a huckleberry mojito and more than a dozen other fanciful takes on mixology classics. In addition to offering a wide range of Kobe and U.S.D.A. prime selections, the menu at the new Ts’elusm Steakhouse includes exotically flavored ice creams whipped up beside your table for dessert (a woman in our group ordered chocolate-cayenne ice cream).

No one is going to mistake Worley for a cosmopolitan hub, which is what makes the sophistication of its new Ssakwa’q'n Spa another pleasant surprise. The airy reception area is adorned with a stone water feature mimicking a waterfall, and at check-in, guests are asked about their “intent.” The choices include relax, revive, support and others, and therapists select products containing herbs designed to help guests achieve their respective goals. The massage oils for “revive,” for instance, include a blend of eucalyptus, pink grapefruit, juniper, rosemary and other elements that leave you feeling energized even after a relaxing massage. In addition to a full range of body, beauty and nail services, including a Vichy shower treatment, the spa also offers multiple saunas at varying temperatures, a cold plunge and an outdoor hot tub in the co-ed area (bathing suits are recommended—really required—for the latter).

Golfers will love the stay-and-play rates, which begin at $199 for an overnight stay and round of golf for two, which is pretty amazing, considering you could pay this much for greens fees alone at courses of much lesser quality than Circling Raven. For those who haven’t played it yet, the course sits on 620 acres of former farmland and is surrounded by wetlands and lush fields of native grass. You rarely see even glimpses of other fairways or tee boxes from the hole you are playing, which helps you focus on the shot at hand on a crafty layout that, at nearly 7,200 yards from the tips, puts as much of a premium on accuracy as it does on distance. Links enthusiasts willing to pony up for a few extra nights (midweek room rates begin at about $120 a night) can also get out to two other revered courses that offer distinct experiences—and challenges—of their own. The course at Coeur d’Alene Golf Course, home of the world-famous floating-island green, is about a half hour away by car, while Palouse Ridge Golf Club, the home course of the Washington State Cougars’ golf teams, is only about 90 minutes away.

It’s hard to find anyone more fired up about Mexican food these days than Chris Peterson. On a four-month sojourn in Baja California about a decade ago, Peterson, then in his late 20s, literally ate up local culture. He knew enough Spanish to mingle with the locals when he broke away from the tourist spots, and his experiences visiting roadside chicken roasteries and tasting real fish tacos in the villages between Tijuana and Ensenada left an indelible impression.Peterson’s career as a chef wouldn’t get going for a year or two after that. However, a journey that brought him to the Puget Sound area by way of Upstate New York has him re-creating those unforgettable flavors from Baja and beyond at Kirkland’s Milagro Cantina. The restaurant, which opened in December on Lake Street, brings traditional flavors from a wide range of Mexico’s regions into a fun, swank setting. Guests can gaze through a window into the kitchen to watch staff make tortillas from scratch or see chicken, pork and other proteins roast on a modernized spit. Though the offerings can get elaborate—a “tostada” topped with lobster, octopus, mango and avocado, Oaxacan red mole with braised chicken and other entrées—the simplest dishes are some of the best. These include a selection of about a half-dozen tacos—everything from beef barbacoa to butternut squash—served on those fresh tortillas, still soft and warm off the griddle. The braised lengua tacos—that’s beef tongue to you and me—honor the traditions of those roadside Baja taco stands that captured a place in the chef’s heart—and palate. Before opening Milagro, Peterson cooked at Bellevue’s Bis on Main and Seattle’s Café Campagne. “Mexican food has been on my radar for a while,” he says, “So I was pretty fired up when we started working on this project.”

Design flourishes such as a sculpted Cypress “tequila” tree behind the bar, a glass-and-mirror piñata over the chef’s table and other fiesta-ive touches make you feel as though you’re at a Cinco de Mayo party at the Kardashian household. The innovations at the bar include the signature white peach-serrano margarita and other creative potables.

While Milagro is attracting full houses in Kirkland’s bustling downtown district, chef R. Paul Hyman is shaking things up a few blocks up Lake Washington Boulevard at bin on the lake, or BOTL, the fine-dining restaurant at The Woodmark Hotel. Though he’s only been there for about three months, the New Orleans native, who comes to Kirkland after stints at restaurants in his hometown plus those in Boston and Portland, Ore., has already taken farm-to-table dining to new heights.

Besides relying primarily on area farms and ranches from across the Pacific Northwest for ingredients, Hyman butchers most of his meats in house (he says he grew up in his grandfather’s butcher shop) and cures his own bacon and duck ham.

Hyman seems equally committed to meticulous technique as he is to ingredients, as demonstrated by two entrees that I tasted during a hosted media dinner at the restaurant. An organic chicken breast was served with caramelized potato confit and Brussels sprouts flavored with lardons, along with a violet mustard jus to fill out the mouth-feel. An organic rib-eye steak was accompanied by what Hyman calls a deconstructed Bordelaise sauce. That is to say, the steak was placed atop a pool of red wine/demi-glace reduction and topped with an ample dollop of marrow butter (the marrow is folded into the red wine/demi-glace mix in a true Bordelaise).

Dishes such as an ahi tuna appeal to lighter tastes, while vegetarian options are limited to a winter squash corzetti—the coin-shaped pasta is made in house, of course—and a few salads and appetizers. Look for the seasonal menu to take on lighter tones when spring arrives.

With its dining room providing picture perfect views of Lake Washington and those sunsets behind the Seattle skyline, it’s tough to beat the restaurant’s location. Nevertheless, BOTL is introducing Bin on the Move, a new “pop-up” dinner series, this month. On the third Sunday of every month, beginning Feb. 20, Hyman and a different Washington winemaker are preparing a five-course, wine-paired dinner at a Puget Sound–area location to be revealed 24 hours in advance of each meal. Without divulging specifics, Hyman says the venues “could” include sporting venues, boat docks, parks, office spaces with cool views and other places. Seating is limited to small groups, and the cost is $140 per person, plus tax and gratuities, so start saving.

Note: In the Jan/Feb edition of Journey magazine, I describe a post-holiday getaway that I made to Kauai in 2010. I am using this space to share some additional observations about the Garden Isle.

I felt the embrace of the aloha spirit from the moment I stepped out of the terminal at Lihue Airport. Palm trees swayed in a gentle afternoon breeze that blew the last vestiges of my mainland tensions away. One of the nicest surprises greeted me after I reached my suite in the Hanalei Colony Resort on the north shore. A picture window offering views of the beach and the endless ocean beyond occupied a spot in the living room where a television set might have otherwise been. Between my laptop, my iPhone and cable TV, I have this almost compulsive need to be plugged into one form of media or another. In this setting, staring at the surf proved to be a refreshing and soothing alternative to staring at a tube.

I had a chance to hike up to Hanakapiai Falls on my first full day on the island. The moderately strenuous, 8-mile round-trip allowed me to catch glimpses of the sheer, spectacular cliffs that make up the Na Pali Coast from the north before the trail turned inland to get to the falls. Since January falls into that time of year when Arctic storms generate unpredictable swells from the north, I spent most of the rest of my time on the island’s east and south shores (north shore conditions are generally calm in summer). Winter is also the rainy season for Kauai, but I seemed to have lucked out. I did experience overcast skies on a few mornings and the slight drizzle here or there, but these conditions burned off to reveal sunny skies on every afternoon of my five-day trip.

One of two regrets I have about my trip was not venturing out to Waimea Canyon State Park. The geological oxymoron—desert in an otherwise lush tropical setting—is called the Grand Canyon of the Hawaiian Islands, and visitors can marvel at its wonders from the rim or from trails leading into its depths.

Restaurants such as Bar Acuda, a tapas house in Hanalei, and Merriman’s Kauai, the Poipu outpost of Big Island culinary legend Peter Merriman, are upping Kauai’s restaurant scene. However, I mostly dined in causal joints. I was happy to watch the comings and goings in Hanalei from my table at Bouchon, a pub and sushi bar on the second floor of a shopping plaza. There, I struck up a conversation with Nick and Jennifer, a couple from northern California traveling with their 2- and 4-year-old sons. This was their first trip back to Kauai since their honeymoon, they told me. During their first visit to the island more than five years ago, they spent most of their time hiking and kayaking. Having two young ones in tow on this visit mostly limited their activities to things like sitting by the resort pool, but they did hike a portion of the trail to Hanakapiai Falls on the same day that I did. As we spoke, I realized that I had passed Nick, carrying one of his kids on his shoulders, and Jennifer, with their other son, on my way back to the trailhead.

After an 8-mile kayak trip along the south shore later in the week with Kayak Kauai, a margarita, pork tacos and all the chips-and-salsa I could eat at Monico’s Taqueria in Kapaa hit the spot. The storefront space was filled with friendly locals who were eager to offer tips on other cool things to see and do on the island.

Though I didn’t have time to snack on malassadas or musibi on this trip, I did make the pilgrimage to the Puka Dog shop in Poipu. The famous frankfurter consists of a Polish sausage stuffed into a bun-sized loaf of bread with a hole poked lengthwise down the middle. The dog is slathered with your choice of toppings from a selection that includes guava mustard, garlic lemon sauce, mango relish and other zesty options.

Thoughout my visit, the island never felt either commercially overdeveloped or lacking in amenities and convenience. Even though a large swath of the west shore—encompassing Na Pali Coast State Wilderness Park—is inaccessible by road, it was easy to get from just about anywhere to anywhere else in a reasonable amount of time, with amazing scenery along the way. I mention one of my regrets above. The other? That I had to leave the island when my visit came to an end.

We are only getting started in Washington, Craig Leuthold said at the outset of a dinner he hosted for a group of visiting journalists at the Hi-Way House in The Dalles, Ore. What you are seeing now is just the beginning of what we are capable of producing.

You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone more bullish about Washington wines than Leuthold and his wife, Vicki, and it’s not hard to figure out why. Just a little more than a decade ago, the Leutholds left corporate jobs in Spokane to enter the wine business, eventually opening their Maryhill Winery in Goldendale, Wash., in 2001. What started out as a 4,300-case-a-year operation is on pace to bottle about 65,000 cases this year. Not even an economic downturn has done much to slow the Leutholds down. The lion’s share of their wines are priced between $10 and $20, and this has proven to be the most recession-proof segment of the wine market. Not only does their winery have a patio that overlooks a spectacular section of the Columbia Gorge, it also has a 4,000-seat amphitheater that attracts top touring musicians to its festive concert series every summer. In other words, Craig and Vicki Leuthold are living a dream.

They say a rising tide lifts all ships, and Craig Leuthold seems to embrace this philosophy. He invited our group of travel and wine writers down to learn about the entire region, and he sounded just as excited to talk about his neighbors’ wines as he was to talk about his own. Many people, for good reasons, think of Walla Walla, the Yakima Valley and Willamette Valley when they think of producing—and tasting—wine in the Pacific Northwest. However, by the time I was ready to head back home, I was most impressed by the wide range of varietals that the Columbia Gorge’s vineyards and wineries produce.

In the town of Hood River, for example, the selection at the tasting room for The Pines 1852 winery included pinot gris, pinot noir, syrah and even zinfandels. The winery’s founder, Lonnie Wright, has managed vineyards in the area for about 30 years and produces his wines with grapes grown primarily between Underwood Mountain and areas just east of Goldendale, on both the Washington and Oregon sides of the Columbia River. For those who keep track of such things, this area encompasses the Columbia Gorge AVA as well as the southwestern tip of the massive Columbia Valley AVA. Many of the area’s wineries, including Maryhill, truck in grapes from eastern Washington to supplement those that they obtain from area vineyards, though Wright seems happy to rely solely on fruit grown close to his section of the Gorge.

Wright credits the configuration of the Columbia River and its steep banks for creating sharp variations in temperature and rainfall between vineyards located as little as 15 to 20 miles apart. Those in the hills set back from the river tend to stay dramatically cooler than those in the flatter stretches along the banks. This has allowed the area’s vintners to plant everything from cool weather Alsacian varietals in the hills outside of Hood River to warm-weather Bordeaux varietals—and even zinfandel—just a stone’s throw to the east.

In addition to a selection of more than a dozen varietals and blends, the convivial Pines’ tasting room is attached to an airy art space that showcases works by local artists and hosts live music throughout the week.

At Syncline Wine Cellars in Lyle, winemaker/owner James Mantone offered samples of his take on the Austrian varietal grüner veltliner, made with grapes from a vineyard near Underwood Mountain. Mantone told us that he wanted to produce a food-friendly, acidic wine that was different from what everyone else in Washington was producing when he opened his winery in 1999. He shows his love for Rhone varietals by producing a luscious mourvedre and a tasty blend of grenache, syrah, cinsault, mouvedre and other varietals that he calls Subduction Red. If you haven’t come across Syncline’s wines in your local stores or restaurants, it’s probably because the winery only produces about 5,000 to 6,000 cases a year, and its selections tend to sell out quickly.

Our tour culminated with a tasting of the Leutholds’ reserve wines back at Maryhill. Produced in limited quantities, the proprietor’s reserve series—10 varietals, a red blend and a port-style dessert wine—show off the winery’s artistry. To me, the zinfandel, with its bold fruitiness reigned in by gentle tannins, stood out the most, but I certainly found a lot to like about the barbera, malbec and the cabernet franc.

Clearly, there’s a lot to sip in along the Columbia Gorge these days. And from the sound of things, this is only the beginning.

To Journey—

My name is Jamie Baker and I’ve been restoring homes and buildings in Wallace, Idaho for 18 years. My wife and I took an old gas station and turned it in to the “Red Light Garage”, a restaurant, which was mentioned in your article. We also took a condemned 100 yr. building and spent 3 years restoring it into the Hercules Inn. I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful article on Wallace & hope you come again for a visit.

Sincerely,
Jamie Baker