A gorgeous salad of asparagus, baby greens and wild-mushroom flan lightly dressed and lavishly garnished with shavings of Parmesan cheese was the perfect pre-dinner bar bite at the ever-elegant and fun Whitehouse-Crawford restaurant in Walla Walla. Chef Jamie Guerin was kind enough to give me his recipe for Organic Greens with Goat Cheese, Walnuts, and Pickled Cherries for Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining. It’s the perfect salad for right now, when fresh Northwest cherries are in their prime.

Meanwhile, the Marc restaurant at the Marcus Whitman Hotel hit the mark thanks to Chef Hank, a.k.a. “Bear” Ullman’s inventive menu, not to mention the gorgeous hand-turned bowls he creates to showcase his cuisine. Here’s the Grilled Shrimp and Avocado Salad, cozily tucked into its sourdough shell along with fresh tomatoes, avocado, and cucumber, all napped with orange-coriander vinaigrette. My Alaskan Halibut with Sauce Vert (Green Sauce) was the essence of springtime on a plate. The meat eater in the family enjoyed a Double R Ranch Bone-In Ribeye steak and Blue-Cheese Mashers. The wine list is a Northwest delight, with very generous pours of wines by the glass and inventive wine flights. Perfect for the couple (like us)—one who orders red meat and the other who sticks with fish.

Part of our reason for attending Vintage Walla Walla was so I could sign books at the Pavilion Tasting. Here I am in my element.

Another reason for the trip was to attend the annual wine-blending class, during which some of the Valley’s top winemakers showed us their craft. The “students” were divided into several groups and our mission was to blend a Super Tuscan (heavy Italian wine) using juice from Walla Walla-grown grapes. Interestingly enough, several groups came up with similar blends, and, in any case, a good time was had by all!

My first-time wine blending occurred at Urban Wineworks in Portland, an experience I recounted in Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining. I’m hoping to reprise my most recent wine-blending encounter in a future article for The Seattle Times Pacific Northwest magazine, so please stay tuned!