The Wine Knows

We went to dinner last night at the neighbors' house. I brought a bottle of bubbly (Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut) and a Chester-Kidder 2003 red wine.

Chester-Kidder is a blend of Cab, Syrah, Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, so it's not simple to categorize. But is one easy to like. It is showing a lot of oak right now, but it's also loaded with dark, spicy fruit, thanks to the Cab and Syrah. Once everybody at the table got a taste of it, they kept going back to it until the bottle was empty. It went well with the beef and the tiramisu.

Chester-Kidder is part of Allen Shoup's Long Shadows project in Walla Walla, Wash. The Bordeaux varieties were from Sagemoor and Weinbau vineyards in the Columbia Valley and Wahluke Slope, and the Syrah was from the Walla Walla Valley. It was made by Gilles Nicault. While sold out at the winery, it can be found in the marketplace for about $50.