What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD)

Whenever I stumble upon a bottle of Washington or Oregon wine that is made from a varietal that is off the beaten path, I will always buy it. No matter what the chance it might be poured down the drain, these wines are worth a try. Why? You just never know when one of these easily overlooked varietals might become a newly discovered favorite.

Such is the case with the L'Ecole No 41 "Walla Voila" 2007 Chenin Blanc ($12.99), which was described on the back label in the following manner:

A trademark of L'Ecole No 41, "Walla Voila" captures the fresh and frivolous character of this tart, lightly sweet and delightfully fruity Chenin Blanc.

After enjoying this wine with a recent dinner, I could not have put it better than the description above.

We paired the chenin blanc (13.5%) with grilled, spicy chicken sausages, a batch of fresh homemade cole slaw, and a beautiful, cherry tomato/mozzarella/basil salad dressed in olive oil and vinegar. This wine had delicious peach and pear notes on the nose and palate, a honey sweetness (1.22% residual sugar), with crisp acidity on the finish.

It was a wonderful, food-friendly wine that complemented the dinner very well. Kari thought it was a bit sweet, but I found this balanced by good acidity, offering an interesting contrast on the palate. From start to finish, there seemed to be a lot going on with this wine.

L'Ecole No 41 winery in Walla Walla has been making this Vouvray-style chenin blanc since 1987. They aptly named it with the French word, voila, which translates to "there it is". The fruit comes from vines planted in 1979 on the Willard Family Farm, located in the Rattlesnake Hills near Prosser.

This chenin blanc offers a lot of historical context in that it is comprised of last year's fruit, harvested from vines planted thirty years ago, and made according to a style that has been repeated these last two decades. It's unfortunate that L'Ecole relegates these details to its web site, for there is something to be said for a bottle's label detailing the who, what and where behind the wine.

At $12.99, the L'Ecole 2007 "Walla Voila" Chenin Blanc is an affordable wine that will be served often at my table this summer. I encourage you to give it a try. There may be a new favorite just waiting to be discovered.