Willow Crest, Lost River Offer Food-Friendly Northwest Wines

Last week I talked about the tendency of some Washington winemakers to overemphasize the fruit component of their wines, making them more difficult to pair with food. Then I decided to go on a self-imposed mission to find a few wines that buck the trend; a research project of sorts that I’d highly recommend to anyone.

For white wine lovers I came across the Willow Crest Winery 2005 Viognier (about $12). This Yakima Valley wine has a gentle floral aroma, restrained fruit flavors that lean towards more of an apple/citrus component and what I felt was a fairly high level of acidity. Because of this, the wine should pair beautifully with foods such as pasta or poultry prepared with heavy cream sauces.

If you’re unable to find Willow Crest wines locally, you can always order them online at www.willowcrestwinery.com.

A terrific food-friendly red wine is the Lost River Winery 2004 Cedarosa (about $26), a blend of 55 percent merlot and 45 cabernet franc. Cabernet franc can sometimes taste a bit vegetal, but there’s no hint of that in this wine.

It has a lovely nose of fresh berries, mild cherry and red currant flavors, good acidity and a long finish that make it a natural to pair with lamb, pork, or even barbeque chicken. This is another fine effort from the Winthrop winery that continues to broaden its spectrum of wines with good results.

Production of Cedarosa is microscopic – less than 100 cases were made – but it’s available in Bellingham at Gateway Wines and The Vines wine shop.