This picture shows clear wine glasses set on a black countertop, with a Northstar sign/menu in the background. One of the wine glasses has a splash of red wine in it.

Wine All You Want. It’s Still Summer.

This picture shows clear wine glasses set on a black countertop, with a Northstar sign/menu in the background. One of the wine glasses has a splash of red wine in it.

Herds of steaks could suddenly stampede through my yard, and I’d need to wrangle a bottle of red into submission and hold out my fork. Something good’s bound to run into it, and I want to be ready. So Nate and I went red wine tasting at Chateau Ste Michelle last weekend.

Technically, you’re supposed to have a reservation, but we just walked in, expecting to wait. However, the guest services person near the desk looked at his computer and asked, “Do you like reds?” That’s the same as asking, “Do sharks love buckets of chum?” Of course, we love reds!

So off we went, room by gorgeous room, to find the little nook where we’d be sampling delicious wine—and we ended up in a room on the second floor that advertised “Northstar” wines, a subsidiary of the Chateau Ste. Michelle brand.

“Michael is great. He’ll take care of you,” the guest services person said, as he sat us at the bar. And Michael did not disappoint.

We sampled four different wines for $30 per person—and the pours were generous. Also, praise cheesus, we were able to order a delectable sampling of cheeses to go with our wine pours.

The place was loud. I think it was packed with parents, whose kids were somewhere else, and these parents were whooping it up before school started again. Some guy (perhaps father of the year) dropped an entire bottle of wine on the counter. It was the bottle drop heard around the world, but Michael kept his cool. He poured him another glass like he was some Uber driver’s problem now.

In any case, Nate and I liked the first wine we sampled the best. It was a 2021 Cabernet Franc from Walla Walla Valley. Sweet notes of berries and cherries danced while notes of vanilla carried the encore. Simply brilliant!

The next one was a red blend from 2021 (Walla Walla), and I liked it, but Nate did not.

I can’t remember if we both liked the third one, a 2014 Premier Merlot or the fourth one, which was a 2014 Premier Cabernet—both from the Columbia Valley—but I wouldn’t hesitate to hit a steak over the head with either one. I’m not that picky.

In any case, I would have walked out of there with all the wines, but I couldn’t because of Nate, who reminded me that we had a good number of unopened bottles of wine at home, to which I replied, “Oh, yeah. Let’s open them!”

Steak-herding season won’t wind down anytime soon as far as I’m concerned, so I’m happy there’s a winery nearby that will keep me stocked with bottles of red wine that slap.

Your Turn: What season is it now where you live, and what’s your favorite thing to do during that season?

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Published by ckennedy

Author of the DIY blog: Fixin' Leaks and Leeks. Paper/Rock Writing Consultation, Sole Proprietor.

21 thoughts on “Wine All You Want. It’s Still Summer.”

  4. We have lots of wineries here also and it’s nearly impossible to go for a tasting without a reservation. We always go during the shoulder seasons when it’s less busy. It sounds like you found a couple of really good reds. There’s nothing much better than a steak and some red. 😊

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    1. I imagine it would be hard to get a tasting without a reservation where you live. At the Chateau, I figured that if we didn’t have a reservation, they would at least let us into their restaurant (which is first come/first serve) and we could just enjoy a glass of whatever they’re serving. Cheers!

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  5. It is spring, and all I want is for it to be warmer and more humid.
    It’s still cold enough to use my pressure cooker. I am happily using it, waiting for summer so that I can use my barbecue grill more and more.

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  7. We are in between season actually. Autumn technically, but weather-wise still summer-ish during the day. So is more a time to transition. I cantvwsit for proper Autumn when iscsstl early you can light candies and drink pumpkin spice coffee.
    On an other note, I love cabernet too and steak season is all year around here. My husband bought a garden heater fir winter so that he can still bbq steaks and then we will eat inside.

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  8. Walking in without a reservation and landing with Michael in the Northstar room is the kind of luck that makes a whole afternoon. The 2021 Cabernet Franc from Walla Walla sounds worth the detour on its own. And your read on the crowd made me laugh out loud — that is exactly the sound of parents on the last weekend before school starts. It’s early autumn here and our favourite thing is the first weekend the trails go quiet again.

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