Wine & Country Living

I n the wine business, there's nothing more apparent than one designated wine growing AVA compared to another. For those of you who may be new to wine lingo, AVA is short for American Viticulture Area, an official term designated to wine-grape growers by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Actually, the AVA serves as a point of reference defining the area's climate, soil, elevation and properties of the land in concern. This information is absolutely necessary for the grower, who, unlike a stock broker, will need to know what to expect from his vines before speculating anything, including the flavor profiles of his wine.

Case in point: Oregon's Willamette Valley AVA is a soil primarily made of sedimentary sea beds submerged by the great Missoula Flood some 15,000 years ago. With strewn in pebbles warmed by hot sunny days, the troublesome Pinto Noir grape vines flourish here while the cool evenings, kissed by the cool Pacific mists, encourage the Willamette Riesling grape to maturity.

The AVA of Walla Walla, Washington, is primarily made of wind deposits, silt, loam and cobble stones, also deposited by the Missoula Flood. However, the high desert elevation leaves the Palouse plains with four distinct seasons and a vast array of waterways with moisture enough to produce rich Cabernet Sauvignon, soft velvet Merlots and crisp Ice Wines.

Livermore Valley's AVA, located in Alameda County, California, sits on a major Bay Area aquifer, which daily delivers rich sediment soils to tempt and seduce the growth of Petit Syrah and Chardonnay vines.

While in Dayton, Washington, this week, I stopped by Dumas Station Wines and tasted winemaker Jay De Witt's '07 Cabernet Sauvignon. This Cab is swooshed in 9 percent Cabernet Franc and 9 percent Petit Verdot, giving a beautiful round bottom to the soft blackberry-anise like nuances of this bottle. The '07 Cabernet is a wine to be sipped with friends around a fire, or to enjoy with a decadent chocolate mousse topped in tiny edible violet flowers.

Because Jay has the creative good sense to know when enough is enough of a great thing like the additions of cab franc and petit verdot, Dumas Station Wines earns 98 points from Wine and Country Living. Congratulations Jay and to all the folks at Dumas.

Until next week, "Eat Art, Drink Imagination!"

Sixty-Second Chocolate Mousse Serves 4

2-cups Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips

2-room-temperature whole eggs

2-teaspoons real Mexican vanilla

2-cups heavy cream

1-cup whipped cream for topping

Method: In food processor, add chips, eggs and vanilla; chop. Warm cream to simmering and with processor motor running, add hot cream slowly to chocolate chip mixture and blend until chocolate is melted and mousse begins to thicken. Pour into 4-separate cups, cover each cup in plastic wrap and refrigerate 6-hours. At service, dollop tops of mousse in hand-whisked whip cream and a scattering of tiny edible violets.

Hear Judith Speak! @ www.chefjudithhenderson.com