What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD)

Last July, I paid a visit to the downtown tasting room of Fort Walla Walla Cellars, where I ended up having a memorable experience sampling their wines and learning more about this winery (read the review here). After tasting their wines, I decided to purchase a bottle of the Fort Walla Walla Cellars 2003 Syrah Walla Walla Valley (13.8%).

It's too bad I didn't purchase more than one bottle of this wine, for it was a terrific syrah.

We paired the Fort Walla Walla Cellars syrah with an Italian sausage and white bean cassoulet, a rather quick dish Kari crafted from a recipe she discovered in one of her cooking magazines. The cassoulet was good, but the Fort Walla Walla syrah was the true standout of the dinner, offering a delightful food-friendly wine with good fruit and acidity.

This wine was yet another in a long line of Walla Walla Valley syrahs and cabernets that have made me a huge fan of this appellation's fruit. There is a unique profile to Walla Walla Valley fruit, making it much more discernible relative to its sister appellations throughout Washington. I find Walla Walla Valley red wines offering more balance, acidity and lower alcohol levels than those produced from other regions in the state.

The Fort Walla Walla Cellars 2003 Syrah lived up to this and more. I look forward to trying future releases of their syrah and other wines in the months ahead.