Judith Henderson’s Wine & Country Living

Lately, I've been talking about the rose wine because this easy-to-drink, semi-dry (meaning less than sweet) wine is making a big resurgence on the American wine scene.

The rose is a beautifully hued wine, rolling in spicy tart nuances and it would seem the wineries of our region are aware of the rose's new popularity. This year, 90 percent of our local wineries have produced either a very dry or the familiar pink semi-sweet rose wine to their portfolios and sales are brisk.

The wine: Walla Walla's Cavu Cellars produces a 2010 Barbera Rose that is anything but sweet. The 2010 bottle won Gold at the Seattle Wine Awards, creating quite a fuss with panelists because of the wine's beautifully honed bone-dry behavior. Nose buried deep in the glass, zested orange and pounded sassafras flood the senses. With first sip, swooshes of salt box, fresh cut watercress muddled in star anise coats the mouth, while the tongue, stripped of its senses, takes a long and winding road. This rose wine is full of imagination, a luscious food wine at just $18 a bottle.

Honors: Joel, because you make wines for jazzy patio dinner parties yours truly, Judith Henderson of Wine & Country Living, honors you with 98 points of wine perfection for the Cavu 2010 Barbera Rose. Congratulations Team Cavu! 509-540-6350.

Readers, until next week, "Eat Art, Drink Imagination!"

Stuffed Gorgonzola Meatballs with Nectarines

Serves 4

1 pound organic clean ground beef

1 tablespoon each: basil, marjoram

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 tablespoons each: sun dried tomato, dried mushrooms diced small

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 pound cubed gorgonzola cheese

4 nectarines sliced

1 recipe your favorite white sauce

1 cup shredded spinach

Method: To beef, add first five ingredients; make meatballs, stuff with cubes of gorgonzola cheese; braise with sliced nectarines until meatballs are firm. Make white sauce, add spinach, ladle sauce onto plate, pile nectarines and meatballs over sauce, nap again and serve with a chilled Cavu Cellars 2010 Barbera Rose.

Hear Judith Speak at Recipes on: www.chefjudithhenderson.com