Judith Henderson’s Wine & Country Living

Don't forget to attend Dayton's annual Mule Weekend, July 18 and 19. Last year, I stopped to admire the long lashes of one Mule when she grabbed the hat off my head, threw it in the air and whinnied; "and you people think you're so smart!"

I finally waded through this week's reader emails. One reader asked how to use barreled red wine vinegar. Unlike processed red wine vinegar, barreled red wine vinegar is more oaken in flavor, requiring cooks to taste the recipe as you go for the exact flavor you desire. Other than tasting as you go, I suggest using barreled red wine vinegar in recipes like any other red wine vinegar. For your convenience, I searched through my 1967 Haight-Ashbury recipe file box and found the recipe below. I remember creating this recipe and serving it at my very first dinner party. Scrawled in pencil across the tattered recipe card reads; "good with strawberries!"

Ruby Slipper Vinaigrette

¾-cup pure olive oil

¼-cup barreled red wine vinegar

1-teaspoon each: basil, rosemary, minced garlic, crackedblack pepper

3-tablespoons honey

In a bowl whisk ingredients vigorously until emulsified,drizzle over organic greens, watermelon, raspberries andstrawberries.

Cellar Talk: College Cellars, 2012 Camenere red wine won "Best" in competition this year at the San Francisco International Wine Competition. "Congratulations Team Col- lege Cellars," and special kudos to the students for their first use of grapes gathered from the school's own estate-grown vineyard. The vineyard, planted by and named after the late great Sam Clarke, can be seen from the roadside on Issacs and along the drive into the community college. I know it was al- ways Sam's vision to produce a great wine from the school's own vineyard and now this gregarious friend and professor of wine sits with Bacchus acknowledging a job well done! 500 Tausick Way, Walla Walla. 509-524-5170.

Another curious reader asks: "what kind of wine would be best with a fruit salad entrée on a hot summer evening?" If the salad is made with ripe red strawberries, I suggest a chilled bottle of local Riesling. Regionally, we have many great white Rieslings available today, but one stands out: Cavu Winery's 2011 White Riesling.

A salad of strawberries drizzled in honey, scattered in lavender flowers and cracked black pepper is simply divine. In fact, this complimentary pairing is being featured over the summer by yours truly and Moveable Feast Catering during summer wedding receptions, baby showers, picnic baskets and company beef and chicken BBQ's.

The Cavu Riesling opens into an aromatic flowering of stone free fruits zested in fresh lime. Cavu winemaker, Joel Wait, who holds a doctorate in "taste bud, " finishes his 2011 Riesling in both balanced acidity and tempting velvet tongue. For tasting room times: call: 509-540-6350.

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

For catering ideas, recipes, color photos and voice-over go to: chefjudithhenderson.com.