Wine & Country Living

This weekend's winery happening occurred at Three Rivers Winery's Celebrity Crab and Salmon Feed. Three Rivers' Amy Locati and staff organized the event and yours truly, Chef Judith Henderson of Flying Aprons Catering of Dayton catered the colossal feed.

During the sold-out event, the celebrity was none other than Captain Scott Campbell of the famous "Sea Brooke" fishing vessel, featured on the television program titled, The Deadliest Catch. He also netted the steamed king crab legs and claws and salmon for the feed from the deep waters of Alaska's Bearing Sea.

I was totally blown away by the size of the crab legs. Some were as large as seven inches around at the socket, no kidding! Drawn butter and a fresh salsa verde accompanied the crab while pots of spicy blackberry chutney accompanied the blackened salmon filets.

Sided was a giant triple berry fresh fruit salad of mint, strawberries, boysenberries, blueberries and red grapes, drizzled in a honey limestone-lavender dressing, with a crisp organic Caesar salad tossed in hand-whisked Caesar dressing sided with a giant basket of warm sourdough rolls flown in from San Francisco.!

At the end of the feast, which lasted three hours, a server came floating across the veranda with a huge Chinese rice basket layered in Very Naughty Brownies, an old Wildberries Cafeacute; au Vin recipe now served in many wine tasting rooms across the valley. Guests charged the table for a bite of the organic chocolate brownies!

Between the giant flavors of dinner was winemaker Holly Turner's '09 Riesling and a grouping of other delectable white wines and her fabulous maverick Red Table Wine.

I talk about Holly's '09 Riesling as easily as butter because this is a textbook Riesling, perfectly balanced in residual sugars with a smack of firm acidity. The beautiful hue of golden wheat ready for harvest, the '09 Riesling has a scrumptious nose wafting in sweet lime, cheeks in sliced green apple, ending in a tongue tormented by tangy star fruit, with a scantly clothed pineapple finish.

At just $15 a bottle, yours truly, Judith Henderson of Wine and Country Living gives this Walla Walla wine 98 points! Congratulations Holly and staff at Three Rivers Winery. Until next week, "Eat Art, Drink Imagination!"

Triple Berry Splash (Makes 1 Cup)

frac12;-cup each: blueberries, blackberries, strawberries

chopped

frac12;-cup local regional honey

frac14;-cup sweet rice wine

frac14;-cup olive oil

2-tablespoons hot water

Method: In a food processor, add all ingredients and blend until smooth. If too thick add a little more water and whisk again. Drizzle over fresh cut fruits, vanilla ice cream, yogurt or cottage cheese. Pair with Three Rivers '09 Riesling.

Hear Judith's food and wine commentary, photos and recipes at:

www.chefjudithhenderson.com lt;http://www.chefjudithhenderson.com/gt; and Google: Wine and Country Living in Livermore Ca.