Washington State University Ph.D. student Charles Daiko uses the e-tongue to evaluate red wine.

One of the worries that every wine “expert” harbors, whether he or she admits it or not, is how “good” their nose, a.k.a., their perception of wine aromas and flavors, really is.

Now, according to a press release from Washington State University’s Viticulture and Enology Department, there is  an “electronic tongue” that is hard-wired to taste wines in a way that human tongues cannot.

According to Carolyn Ross, associate professor of food science and viticulture and enology, unlike human taste buds, this so-called “e-tongue” never tires or takes a day off, even after hours of around-the-clock sampling. Ross runs the sensory evaluation lab on the Pullman campus.

Ross is evaluating wines produced in the state of Washington, which is the second largest producer of premium wines in the United States. Working with Ross is her Ph.D. student, Charles Diako, originally from Ghana, who is a super-taster himself.

Diako appears to have met his match, though, working with the e-tongue to evaluate Washington wines.

While humans can detect flavor attributes, the e-tongue identifies taste compounds at the molecular level, said Ross. “The e-tongue gives an objective measurement of taste profiles and we try to correlate that to what happens in human sensory evaluation,” said Diako.

Automatic Wine Taster

The e-tongue works by dipping its “tongue” into a beaker filled with wine on a rotating platform called an autosampler. Then it reads a profile of sensory attributes ranging from metallic and savory to sweet and bitter. After the tongue recoils from the sample, the platform turns to present it with the next beaker of wine.

While human taste buds can get saturated and lose their keen ability to accurately distinguish taste features, the e-tongue never gets fatigued. But that doesn’t mean human taste testers and sommeliers will find themselves out of work. Many companies and institutions, including WSU, use tasters–some volunteer, some professional and paid—to sample products and provide feedback that fine-tunes the development process.

“Human evaluation is more sensitive and integrates a huge amount of information and perceptions in response,” said Ross. “This new technology won’t replace human evaluation.”

For example, the e-tongue might be able to give some information about the mouthfeel of a wine, but it isn’t designed to do this, said Ross. A wine’s mouthfeel provides sensations of physical and chemical interactions among the human palate, often described in terms like tannic, aggressive or “chewy.”

And while the e-tongue interprets data by using biosensors and statistics, Diako uses his taste buds and brain. “The human tongue is the primary taste organ of the body,” said Diako. “Being a living tissue and being integrated with the most sophisticated computer the world has ever known–the brain–its perception of taste is absolutely matchless.”

Flesh-and-Blood Wine Taster

Just as fortuitous as pairing a good wine with the right cheese, the new e-tongue has been paired with the right scientist. Diako joined Ross’s lab a year ago, shortly after WSU purchased the e-tongue for its expanding role in Washington’s wine research. While there’s no way to know if the e-tongue enjoys its work, it’s clear that Diako loves what he does in the lab. Always smiling and often laughing, Diako knew little about wine or e-tongue technology when he came to WSU, he said.

“I didn’t even know there was a difference between Washington the state and Washington, D.C.,” he said, throwing his head back in laughter.

But he does know sensory science and, now, what makes a good wine. Diako’s research history includes work on aromatic rice, an important staple food in his native African country. Diako plans on applying his expanded sensory skills to the research and higher education needs of his country upon returning home.

“I love research. I love teaching,” he added.

Diako is often sought out by lab members for his ingrained expertise at detecting precise tastes. Advanced taste sensitivity is often genetic and he was born with finely-tuned taste buds, he said.

“You need that to be able to work in this field.”

Raising a Glass

The sensory lab is evaluating 60 red wines from Washington state, including a planned follow-up-study on the same number of Washington-produced white wines.

“The use of the e-tongue for assessment of this many red wine samples hasn’t been undertaken before,” said Ross.

The information gathered from the evaluations is important to the Washington grape growers and winemakers to guide fruit and wine flavor development, said Diako. After all, a great bottle of wine begins in the vineyard. Will the e-tongue know if that bottle does contain, in fact, a good wine?

Absolutely, by providing it with a gold standard, said Diako, adding with a smile, “But it doesn’t know the price.”

Photo credit: Chelsea Pickett/WSU

Friday, October 18, marks one of the Pike Place Market’s most fun events of fall–Arcade Lights.

Seven p.m. to 10 p.m. that evening is the time to join your fellow foodies, locavores, beer lovers, and wine enthusiasts in the Market’s historic Arcade to taste handcrafted savory and sweet bites, handcrafted beer, local wine, and nonalcoholic drinks by more than 60 local artisan food and drink purveyors. Adults (over 21 years of age) only, please!

This after-hours event, which benefits all the good works of the Pike Place Market Foundation, provides the perfect setting in which to taste the latest creations of Seattle’s famously innovative food and drink purveyors.

The Pike Place Market Foundation, a non-profit organization supporting the following human service agencies at the Pike Place Market: Pike Market Child Care and Preschool, Pike Market Medical Clinic, Pike Market Senior Center and Downtown Food Bank

More than 60 local food and drink artisans will be showcased at Arcade Lights, including Drummin’ Up Wontons, Mt. Townsend Creamery, Ellenos Real Greek Yogurt, Sweet Iron Waffles, Whidbey Island Ice Cream Company, Finnriver Farm and Cidery, Naked City Brewery, Naches Heights Winery, Patterson Cellars, and more.

Pair your favorite must-have tastes with a glass of seasonal ale, Washington wine, or bubbly fruit soda in what has become known as the ultimate tasting event of the season!

Advance tickets, which cost $28, allow advance ticket holders to enter the event at 6:30 p.m. Day-of tickets are limited, and cost $35.

Ticket price includes 10 tokens, a tasting glass, and a cloth napkin. Additional tokens can be purchased at the event entrances.

A more family-friendly event takes place on Saturday, October 26, when the Market offers up a Halloween celebration presented by the community’s very own Orange Dracula.

Kids and parents can snap photos with friendly witches, explore a spooky kiddie haunted house, and find the perfect carving pumpkin.

Pets in costume can join in the fun too! Trick or treat through the crafts market and participating Market businesses.

The fun begins under the Public Market clock and continues to Orange Dracula, which has Halloween decorations, costume,s and a Dracula pinball machine. Orange Dracula is located on the third lower level of the Market.

So, all in all, October is shaping up to be a VERY fun time in Seattle’s venerable Pike Place Market.

It’s that time of year again. . .time for the 12th Annual Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival, which takes place from Friday to Sunday, October 11 to 13, 2013, in Port Angeles, Washington.

“Crabfest is the annual celebration of our region’s diverse bounty, the seafood, agriculture and maritime traditions, and the breathtaking coastal environment that is home to the Dungeness crab,” says festival producing director Scott Nagel. “The event will once again take place downtown at the Port Angeles City Pier, Gateway Center, and Red Lion Hotel overlooking the beautiful Strait of Juan de Fuca and Victoria, British Columbia.”

A nationally renowned event, the Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival was named one of the Top 100 Events in North America by the American Bus Association in 2011. Coastal Living Magazine designated it one of the Top 10 Coastal Events in 2012. The festival will also be featured in an upcoming issue of national food magazine, Saveur.

This year festival organizers are honored to host the return visit of our friend and colleague Graham Kerr, whom we’ve written about in The Seattle Times. Graham was the first television chef, known as the “Galloping Gourmet,” working with his wife and producer, Treena.

Graham will prepare his favorite crab cakes, talk about his world view of food, and have books on hand for sale and signing. Additionally, he will serve as the celebrity judge of the festival’s first-annual chowder-making competition, the Captain Joseph House Chowder Cook-off, to be held Sunday afternoon. The public will not only have several opportunities to connect with Graham, but will participate in the tasting and rating of the amateur and professional chowder cooks.

Festival hours are Friday from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is FREE and the big-top tent provides covered seating.

There are several ways to get to Port Angeles: Drive route 101 to Port Angeles; fly Kenmore Air Express with connections to SeaTac and the world; and visitors from Canada will find special packages on the Coho Ferry from Victoria, which docks right next to the Festival!

For more information including transportation, accommodations, directions and the detailed program, please go to the Festival website.

Other Festival Highlights:

In the 9,000-square-foot Kitsap Bank Crab Central food tent, visitors will find an old-fashioned “crab feed,” complete with large kettles of fresh whole crabs ready to be enjoyed with fresh corn and cole slaw. The crabs are caught live locally – the freshest you can get!

At Crab Central and throughout the grounds, 15 local and regional restaurants will provide visitors with many delicious seafood dishes including crab cakes, grilled wild salmon, fish tacos, crab enchiladas, crab Rangoon, clam chowder, crab bisque, seafood gumbo, Northwest paella, fish ‘n’ chips, barbecued oysters, steamed clams, oyster stew, mussels, grilled scallops, and more. New this year is the Taylor Shellfish Farms Raw Oyster Bar!

In addition, there will be live music, Olympic-Peninsula wines for tasting, Northwest microbrews, and the Peninsula’s own Bedford Sodas.

But that’s not all! More than 80 booths will be featured on the city pier including juried crafts, merchants, nonprofit environmental organizations, and festival sponsors.

And The Columbia Bank Gateway Center will be home to the Chef Demonstration Stage, featuring ongoing cooking demonstrations by Graham Kerr and outstanding local and regional chefs, as well as a wine garden, food, and exhibits.

The Crab Revival will take place on Sunday morning from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. The program includes a non-denominational service directed by Michael Rivers, gospel music from the Peninsula Men’s Gospel Singers, and other local musicians.

On Sunday afternoon all are invited to Crabfest’s first annual chowder cook-off sponsored by the Captain Joseph House Foundation, which provides respite and healing for families of our fallen warriors. All proceeds will go the House. Visitors can taste chowders from both amateur and professional cooks, and then vote for their favorite! The more tickets visitors buy, the more chowder they get and the more votes they can enter.

“Get crabbing” during the First Federal and Wilder Auto Grab-A-Crab Tank Derby, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Located on the city pier, the entire family can participate in this unorthodox derby by crabbing from large holding tanks using crab snares and bait. The $5 entry fee allows participants to crab for 10 minutes, no license or gear needed. Festival volunteers will be on hand to demonstrate how to catch, cook and clean the famous crustaceans. Purchase whole crabs to take home cooked or uncooked.

Stop by the Feiro Marina Life Center for a hands-on educational experience or to enjoy children’s activities.

The Peninsula College Athletic Department is a great Crabfest partner. Saturday and Sunday on Hollywood Beach is the Crabfest Sand Volleyball Tournament; Saturday is the Crabfest 5-K Fun Run/Walk with proceeds supporting the women’s basketball program. When visitors get their Crab Derby crabs cleaned and packed to go, the men’s basketball team does the work. And every night the soccer team cleans Crab Central.

Fresh cooked, chilled and cleaned crab will be available to take home throughout the festival (cooked crab can be taken to Canada).

Bountiful farms, stunning pastoral landscapes and superb local food…that’s the San Juan Islands way of life!

Beginning today, and lasting until Sunday, October 13, farmers, restaurants, the Island community, and visitors will come together to celebrate this unique and coveted destination at The Great Island Grown Festival.

The Great Island Grown Festival features two weeks of events and workshops, from distillery tastings and plein-air farm painting to shellfish tours and sheepdog demonstrations to farm parades, bike tours of farms, and vineyard harvests. And, of course, farmers’ markets, harvest festival, and farm-to-table meals.

Island Grown in the San Juans is a membership organization of San Juan County farmers, restaurants, and supporters. The organization celebrates the bounty of the Islands’ rich agricultural heritage, and inspires Islanders, visitors, and businesses about the many benefits of buying locally grown and harvested products from land and sea.

The complete festival calendar and more details including dates and locations are available on the Island Grown in the San Juans website.

And here’s some really interesting historical information about agriculture in the San Juan Islands (from the media release):

The San Juan Islands are blessed with a temperate climate and were once considered to be the breadbasket of Western Washington. The local fruit industry began in earnest in the 1890s, with the introduction of Italian prune plums, and grew to include thousands of trees bearing apples, cherries, peaches, and pears.

During the early 1900s, farmers shipped boatloads of fruit from all the major islands to Salish-Sea ports, where the produce was transported by rail throughout the country. Although the islands no longer dominate Washington’s fruit industry, the legacy of historic orchards with local varieties such as the Orcas pear bear witness to the rich history of Island fruit-raising and distribution—a heritage that is still cultivated by San Juan County growers today.

Island Grown in the San Juans chose a logo with a pear in a boat as a symbol of the rich agricultural heritage of the island archipelago situated in the waters of the Salish Sea. Pears played a key role in fruit raising in the San Juans during the period from the 1890s to the 1930s.

The pear represents an Orcas pear, a delicious heritage variety that was discovered by Joseph C. Long along a roadside on Orcas Island in 1966. The Orcas pear (Pyrus communis) is listed as an American Heirloom Pear in Slow Foods USA “Ark of Taste,” and is suitable for fresh consumption, canning, and drying.

The boat was, and still is, one of the primary means of transportation in the islands. Even today, islanders are known to transport their farm produce by boat to markets on other islands.

Photo courtesy of Island Grown

Tarte Tatin (Apple Tart) with Cider Cream

Varietal: Dessert Wines (Late-Harvest Riesling or Port)

Serves 6 to 8

The founder of Seattle’s venerable Grand Central Baking Company, Gwen Bassetti, is the grandmère of Northwest bakers, a cookbook author (“Cooking with Artisan Bread,” Sasquatch Books, 1998), and an accomplished farmer/rancher. She likes to pair her French apple-tart recipe with either “a bright Late-Harvest Riesling or (in wintertime) a nice slice of Cheddar and a little Port.”

1 sheet (half of a 17.3-ounce package) frozen puff pastry, thawed according to package directions

2 3/4 pounds (about 8 medium, 2 1/2-inch diameter) Granny Smith, Newton, or Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and cut into quarters

1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Cider Cream (Recipe follows)

1. Roll the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8-inch thickness and cut it into a 12-inch circle. Discard the scraps. Cover and chill the pastry dough until ready to use.

2. In a large bowl, toss the prepared apples with the lemon juice.

3. Melt the butter in a 10-inch ovenproof skillet (such as cast iron) over low heat. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the melted butter. Increase the heat to medium-low or medium and cook slowly, stirring once or twice with a wooden spoon or shaking the pan occasionally, until the mixture begins to turn a light golden color, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and carefully stir in the vanilla.

4. Place a baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F.

5. Starting at the outside edge of the skillet, arrange the apple quarters on their sides, in two concentric circles so they fit in as tightly as possible. Return the skillet to the stove and cook over medium heat until the juices thicken and turn a light golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

6. Remove the prepared pastry circle from the refrigerator. Drape the pastry over the apples and tuck the edges around the edge of the skillet.

7. Place the skillet on the baking sheet in the oven and bake until the pastry is a rich, golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes.

8. Remove from the oven and let cool in the skillet for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge of the skillet to loosen the pastry. Place a serving plate over the skillet and invert the tart onto the plate. If the apples stick to the pan, arrange them back on the tart.

9. Serve the tart warm or at room temperature with a dollop of the Cider Cream.

Cider Cream

1 cup good-quality apple cider or 1/4 cup apple juice concentrate, thawed

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1. Bring the apple cider to a boil in a small saucepan. (If using apple juice concentrate, skip this step and begin with the next step.) Cook until the mixture is reduced to about 1/4 cup, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

2. In a chilled mixing bowl, whisk the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in the reduced cider (or the apple juice concentrate). Use immediately, or keep refrigerated until ready to use, up to three days.

This is an open letter to MIRROR, a 120-food-wide LED installation by artist Doug Aitken that wraps around the northwest corner of the entrance to the Seattle Art Museum (SAM), cater corner  from our condominium building, 98 Union. 

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Dear Mirror,

I wanted to like you, I really, really wanted to like you.

For several months, I patiently endured the blasts of hammers and whining of saws while you were installed on the Seattle Art Museum (SAM) facade.

I looked on in wonder as the artist who created you and the technicians who made you possible tested your main LED panel and the flashing spikes that run vertically up the mullions on the north and west sides of SAM.

After many months of construction and testing, it was finally time for your grand unveiling in March. I stood on our tenth-floor balcony, which provided a bird’s-eye view of the crowds who gathered, members of the Seattle Symphony who serenaded your arrival, and even Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn who came to welcome you.

After a few tense moments when it seemed you might not light up correctly, your colorfully choreographed images finally started to move.

The crowd applauded. SAM big-wigs pontificated. The donor’s son waxed eloquent.

I snapped photos and put them on my blog.

A few hours later the stage and podium had been dismantled, the crowds had disbursed, the musicians were on to their next gig.

But the residents of 98 Union Condominiums were still there, just beginning to realize your unbelievably negative impact on our lives.

From the very first moment, your giant screen overtook our condominiums like an incessant, unwelcome distraction.

The jagged, ever-changing spikes of flashing light invaded our living spaces so much so that many of us have been forced to shut our blinds to keep out obsessive light pollution.

And your hours are extraordinarily long–from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. seven days a week. Unless we want to “live” from 11 p.m. until 6 a.m. when you are dark, we can’t get away from you, as hard as we try.

Your reviews were mediocre at best. CityArts reviewer Erin King said, “Looking at Mirror for eight hours a day beats a plain gray wall. Its sleek sparkle hearkens back to a cheerier 2007, the year it was commissioned and the pinnacle of big shiny Aughties art. But as its light spills over the First Avenue sidewalk, Mirror already feels like a reflection of the past.”

In a review entitled, “Image Grab,” The Seattle Weekly’s Brian Miller says, “The mountains, greenery, orange Port of Seattle Cranes, silhouettes of pedestrians—these source images are too benign. They don’t grab your attention like the signage in Times Square, and they don’t seem grabbed from our immediate, lived world. . . .But that’s also why MIRROR is so boring: It just reflects an anodyne, outsider’s view of the Northwest. It’s tourist Seattle, not our Seattle, and even the tourists aren’t buying it.”

Have you seen MIRROR? If so, what do you think about it?

If you come to look at Mirror, isn’t it better to simply turn around, walk to the dead end of Union Street by the Four Seasons Hotel, take a deep breath of sea air from Elliott Bay, and marvel at REAL-TIME views of the Seattle Great Wheel, ferry boats , and the Olympic Mountains beyond?

It’s not every day that your next-door neighbor gets a five-star rating.

But that’s what happened last week when our neighbor just across the courtyard, the Four Seasons Hotel Seattle, became the only hotel in Washington state to be awarded the coveted Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating for providing extraordinary experiences with flawless service and the finest amenities.

We’ve written about our own very special part of downtown Seattle, at the corner of First Avenue and Union Street, for The Seattle Times. And you can look at the Five-Star photo album on Facebook.

And happy to report that the Four Seasons is going strong, happily celebrating its fifth anniversary on November 3, 2013.

The 147-room hotel was recognized in Forbes Travel Guide’s inaugural mid-year update to the official 2013 Star Rating announcement and is one of 83 five-star hotels, representing the very best of the best hotels in the world. The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Seattle is also the only spa in Seattle to receive a Four-Star rating.

“To be recognized as the best hotel in Washington for our service and amenities is such an honour, and everyone here at the Hotel contributed to our success,” says Ilse Harley, Four Seasons Hotel Seattle general manager. “We’ve been receiving similar feedback from our guests since opening, whether in person or on consumer-generated sites, and to have Forbes Travel Guide mirror what our guests are telling us is outstanding.”

Four Seasons Hotel Seattle will be showcased with all of the 2013 Star Rating recipients on the Forbes Travel Guide website. Since 1958, Forbes Travel Guide’s professional inspectors look for service that is intuitive, engaging, and passionate, and goes beyond expectations. In addition, the physical nature of the hotel is designed with comfort in mind, with particular attention paid to craftsmanship and quality of product, often making the property a destination unto itself. This includes service and amenities found at ART Restaurant & Lounge, The Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Seattle and the property’s unique outdoor infinity-edged pool.

“Our Star Ratings recognize the finest hotels, restaurants and spas in the world. These ratings serve as guideposts for consumers seeking exceptional travel experiences, and our primary mission is to serve the consumer,” said Michael Cascone, president of Forbes Travel Guide. “We’re proud to be associated with the new additions to our global list.”

“This is truly a celebration for our staff, as we mark our fifth anniversary with the Five-Star rating. Today, our guests will receive ‘Star Treatment’ with Champagne and treats in the lobby and restaurant,” continues Harley. “This award also puts Washington state on the map with other exceptional properties from destinations in the United States, China, and Europe. Out of the more than 187,000 hotels around the globe, only 83 properties are deemed worthy enough of the Five-Star recognition.”

Four Seasons Hotel Seattle continues to be recognized as the best hotel in Seattle, taking the #1 spot in the city on Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards for its outstanding service, downtown location, and sweeping views of Elliott Bay and the Olympic Mountains. Four Seasons is the only Seattle property in Robb Report’s World’s Top 100 Hotels 2013. While TripAdvisor’s 2013 Travelers’ Choice awards named it the #4 top overall hotel in the US, #4 top luxury hotel and #10 hotel for service.

In the movie “Dirty Harry,” beloved actor Clint Eastwood said, “Go ahead, make my day.”

Here are half a dozen dishes I’ve sampled in Seattle; on a car trip to Bow, Washington; and even as far afield as Winter Park, Florida, that have all “made my day.” Enjoy!

Beginning with appetizers, here is a beauty we enjoyed at Andaluca in the Mayflower Park Hotel in downtown Seattle: Grilled Petite Eggplant. Brushed with a light balsamic vinaigrette, grilled, and topped with alder-smoked tomatoes and fresh house-made ricotta, it was a soulful and hearty bite!

It paired perfectly with one of Andaluca’s by-the-glass pours–Fontaynes Argentinian Malbec Rosé.

The Roasted Whole Idaho Trout at Palace Kitchen is always a winner, but tasted especially clean and fresh–perfectly cooked–on a recent visit. House pours of one of our favorite white blends from Washington State–Southard White–paired nicely with both the trout and the Fire-Roasted Mussels I enjoyed as my entrée.

I downed my first-of-the-season raw oysters on the half shell at Place Pigalle in the heart of the Pike Place Market. They were Stellar Bay beauties from British Columbia waters, grown in the same bay as another one of my favorite oyster varieties–Kusshi. Our pairing that evening was a bottle of DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate Blanc, as good (and consistent) as ever. Thanks to our friend and winemaker Chris Upchurch!

The next day, still jones-ing for oysters, we drove to Bow, Washington and the venerable Rhododendron Cafe for a Fried Oyster Caesar Salad. It was a dish I’d enjoyed there several years ago and never forgotten. And even though it was no longer on the menu, Fried Oysters still were, so the chef was kind enough to accommodate my special request.

It was a fortuitous trip (very impromptu!) as the Rhododendron will close end of the month as the owners retire after 30 years!!! A few down days, then the young owners of the Farm to Market Bakery in Edison, Washington, will take over and make the Rhody Too Gallery (right next door) into a bakery and reopen the restaurant. So stay tuned!

And, as you can see, at lunch we stick to Iced Tea for our beverage pairing.  🙂

Late last month, we were in Winter Park, Florida, to help my father celebrate his 91st birthday. Although Dad doesn’t get out much any more, my brother, sister-in-law, Spencer, and I made our way to Cask & Larder: Southern Public House, a recently opened, very-popular gastropub and craft brewery in Winter Park, the sister restaurant to award-winning The Ravenous Pig, where we’ve enjoyed many a meal over the years.

Here is the Ribeye Hotdog with sweet Vidalia onion relish, Cask & Larder ketchup, and beer mustard on a celery-seed bun my brother enjoyed along with a house-made Whiskey Stout (which was cask-conditioned in a Jack Daniel’s barrel, aged for five months, and tasted of coffee and chocolate!).

Spencer enjoyed the Bibb Lettuce Salad with Pickled Watermelon Radish, Candied Squash, Spiced Pecans, and Buttermilk Dressing with an extra side of Southern Fried Chicken (spicy and good). The ladies had the same salad, but with an extraordinary side of smoked chicken. It was so good, the next day for lunch at Dad’s condo, we ordered in the very same salads!

Feeling a little parched after the long, hot summer?

Then how about popping open a can of DRY Soda?

The company, which I have written about for The Seattle Times Pacific Northwest magazine, is excited to announce its biggest product line extension to date with the launch of new packaging and flavors.

In July, DRY began offering a new 12-ounce, slim aluminum can and introduced two new flavors this summer: Apple DRY and Ginger DRY. As consumers continue to demand real ingredients in their beverages and seek out all-natural and lower sugar soda options, DRY Soda is making its unique sodas more accessible to customers.

DRY Soda’s launch of slim cans (which will be sold individually at retailers for $1.29) and introduction of new flavors means that DRY customers can enjoy DRY in more places–on the go, poolside, cocktails, lunches, and entertaining at home. In addition to new Apple and Ginger, DRY will also offer three current flavors in cans: Vanilla Bean, Blood Orange, and Cucumber DRY.

Seven DRY flavors are available in 12-ounce glass bottles: Vanilla Bean, Wild Lime, Lavender, Blood Orange, Cucumber, Rhubarb, and Juniper Berry.

In 2005, well before low sugar products were part of the national conversation, DRY Soda CEO and Founder Sharelle Klaus saw the need for a less sweet, all-natural soda and created the first soda line with significantly less sugar and made with just four ingredients. DRY, the “better-for-you soda”, contains one-quarter to one-third the sugar and calories of traditional sodas, and contais only 45 to 70 calories per 12-ounce bottle or can.

“I am so excited for the launch of the cans and new flavors and the opportunity for DRY to be more accessible to people looking for a better soda,” said DRY Soda CEO Sharelle Klaus. “We continue to see consumers and policymakers getting more involved and educated about what ingredients are in food and beverage products. I developed DRY because I believe in offering a better soda option to consumers and am thrilled that DRY has been available for the growing group of customers seeking a low-sugar soda.”

The development of the new Apple and Ginger DRY flavors was led by Chef Richard Blais, television personality, restaurateur and author, and DRY’s creative director.

DRY Soda cans will be available throughout the United States in traditional and specialty retail stores, restaurants, cafes, and online, beginning July 2013.

Port-Poached Blue-Cheese Pears

Wine Varietal: Dessert Wines (Port) 

Serves 6

This recipe comes from winemaker Mike Wallace, who’s been at Hinzerling Winery—the oldest family-owned and -operated winery in the Yakima Valley (established in 1976)–from the onset. He’s especially well known and regarded for producing yummy Ports and Sherries with evocative names such as Three Muses Ruby Port, which is used in the recipe below, and Rainy Day Fine Tawny Port. Mike and wife Frankie also operate The Vintner’s Inn, Restaurant, and Wine Bar next door to the winery in Prosser. Mike suggests pairing a small glass of his Ruby Port with these jewel-colored poached pears topped with an authoritative blue-cheese cream.

4 cups water

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

6 ripe, firm pears, such as D’Anjou

2 1/2 cups Hinzerling Three Muses Ruby Port or other good-quality Ruby Port

One 3-inch cinnamon stick

1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

About 1/2 cup (about 2 ounces) blue-veined cheese, such as Oregon Blue, Gorgonzola, Stilton, or Roquefort, crumbled

1/2 cup light cream cheese (Neufchâtel), at room temperature

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the water and lemon juice. Peel the pears and remove the core from the bottom ends (a melon baller works well for this); leave the stems intact. Gently place the pears in the acidulated water. Combine the Port, cinnamon stick, and peppercorns in a Dutch oven or stockpot large enough to hold the pears without crowding, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Gently add the pears and acidulated water, bring back to a simmer, and cover the pot, leaving the cover slightly askew so the steam can escape. Cook the pears, turning the fruit occasionally, until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. (To test for doneness, insert a small, sharp knife into the center of one of the pears.)

2. Carefully remove the pears with a slotted spoon and transfer to a shallow baking dish. Bring the cooking liquid to a boil, and cook until reduced to about 3/4 cup, 25 to 30 minutes. Watch the pot carefully during the final minutes of cooking. Place a fine-meshed sieve over a bowl, strain the poaching liquid, and reserve. Discard the solids.

3. Pour the poaching liquid over the pears, cover, and refrigerate for 8 hours, turning the fruit once or twice as it chills.

4. Ten minutes before serving, in a food processor, pulse the blue and cream cheeses until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Spoon the creamed cheese into a pastry bag with a small decorative tip. Divide the sauce (the poaching liquid) among six dessert plates. Cut the pears lengthwise into three or four wedges and arrange on top of the sauce. Pipe the cheese in a decorative pattern onto the pears.

Cook’s Hint: If you don’t own a pastry bag, substitute a quart-sized resealable plastic bag. Simply spoon the creamed cheese into one corner of the bag, press out the air, cut a small hole in the tip of the bag, and gently squeeze the cheese in a decorative pattern on top of the poached pears.

hinzerling.com