Judith Henderson’s Wine & Country Living

Whole food is one of life's greatest pleasures. When we eat whole foods, we are getting the food intact with all of the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that make it a balanced food, rather than the bits and pieces that remain after refinement and processing. If you're trying to eat a healthier diet, relying on whole foods is a great place to start. Instead of an energy bar for breakfast, have a pear and some almonds. The goal is to decrease the amount of processed foods you eat and increase the amount of whole foods. The late harvest from your garden and farmers mar- ket will provide you with an abundance of whole foods.

This Week's Wine: Walla Walla's Buty Winery, pro- nounced "Beauty," is blessed with the skills of Nina and Caleb Foster. The winery has a wonderful selection of wines for tasting and for sale in the tasting room. Recently, I tasted the Buty 2011 Semillon, a white wine refreshing in alluring floral aromatics ending in a crisp snap. What I find most unusual about this vintage is that while most Semillon wines, from Santa Barbra to Walla Walla, linger in just baked bread and dried figs, the Buty vintage swag- gers in sweet periwinkle-honeysuckle notes ending in a quick citrus snap.

The Winemaker: Caleb Foster is not new to the Walla Walla wine scene. He's been perfecting the Buty portfolio for some time now. His dedication to making all things Buty vents his creativity side. For your own Buty experi- ence, the 2011 Semillon, just $25 dollars a bottle in the Buty tasting room, will be available to the public in Sep- tember.

The Honors: To the Fosters, who gallantly drive the creative Buty machine; yours truly, Judith Henderson of Wine & Country Living, honors you with 98 points of wine perfection for the beautiful surprise in the Buty 2011 Semillon Sauvignon Muscadelle. Congratulations Team Buty! 509-527-0901.

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

Pears Africa

Serves 4

2 pears cut vertically

1 cup Semillon Sauvignon Muscadelle

4 each: clove, crushed cardamom pods, cinnamon stick¼ cup honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, bake pears to toothsome. In a sauce pan over medium high heat bring remaining ingredients to a boil, lower heat; simmer 30 minutes un- til thickened. Remove clove, cardamom and cinnamon, drizzle sauce over baked pears paired with the Buty 2011 Semillon Sauvignon Muscadelle.

Hear Judith's Food and Wine Commentary at: www.chefjudithhenderson.com