Wine & Country Living

This morning I watched a gaggle of snow geese honk their way over the house, flying north. I looked up between their feathered underbellies, little orange legs tucked tightly under their bodies, and caught a glimpse of the lavender sky, dappled in violet hues against a backdrop of waving silvertip spruce and 40-foot dancing pines.

It just took my breath away. It's this kind of subtle beauty that reminds us why we live here in Touchet Valley.

By late afternoon, I'd baked an old-fashioned gingerbread, a request granted to my Wine Guy. The house smelled wonderful as I began preparations for dinner.

I stuffed a free-range chicken with a handful of wild thyme, whole wedges of lemon, cracked garlic and lavender flowers. To side this aromatic dinner, I filled a roasting pan with olive-oil bathed root vegetables sprinkled in coarse salt and cracked black pepper.

As I pulled dinner from the oven, in walks Wine Guy with the bottle of the evening: a Lowden Hills '04 Merlot, aged 26 months in new American oak and used French barrels, rippling in juicy raspberries, licorice and a velvet silken mouth.

Winemaker Jim Henderson has his way with this particular wine. I have always loved it, which is why Wine Guy surprised me with a second bottle we'll save for another meal of country French heritage.

The Lowden Hills bottle, a blend of 98 percent merlot and 2 percent syrah, is a beautiful example of the diverse range in Walla Walla Merlot and available through Lowden Hills' tasting room: 1401 Pine Street off 2nd in downtown Walla Walla, open Thursday to Monday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For that most unusual velvet mouth-feel surrounded by luscious raspberries, this aged merlot earns winemaker Jim Henderson 98 points from Wine and Country Living. Congratulations Jim! Frozen Winter Raspberry Sauce For Gingerbread Serves 4

1-pint frozen raspberries

¼-cup sugar

2-tablespoon orange juice

2-tablespoons cornstarch

1-cup cold water

Method: In a bowl, whisk water and cornstarch until well blended and set aside. In a saucepan, add raspberries, sugar and orange juice; over medium-high heat, stir until simmering. Add water and cornstarch and cook for 5-minutes or until thickening. Remove pan from heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer. Cool sauce just to warm and drizzle over gingerbread. Serve with dollop of whipped cream. Hear Judith Speak! @www.chefjudithhenderson.com