 Taste Washington Wine Month is here, and to celebrate each week, we’ll be sending you some of our favorite recipes to enjoy at home. Don’t miss our suggested wine pairings at the bottom of the page!
First up, Cabernet and Casserole. When it comes to casserole, we want one that is the perfect end to a day spent skiing, snowshoeing or playing in the snow. A one dish wonder that is sophisticated, yet comfortable and pairs beautifully with a Reininger Cabernet or Helix Cabernet. And so we offer up our modern take on Shepherd's Pie, featuring more veg and less meat. Because, is there a better way to eat a concoction of carrots, onions, mushrooms, rosemary, thyme, ground beef and red wine, blanketed by a layer of mashed potatoes?
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 The Walla Walla Valley is famous for its Sweet Onions, and did you know caramelized onions pair beautifully with red wine?
Just in time for today’s big game, we’re making up a batch of caramelized onion dip with frizzled leeks, plus light and easy chicken sloppy joe sliders. The addition of mushroom adds an umami flavor that goes great with our 2017 Helix Cabernet Sauvignon and 2016 Helix Pomatia. For other dips, we highly recommend this skinny buffalo chicken dip recipe and cheese biscuits.  At REININGER and Helix, we enjoy cooking at home and like most people, our busy lives mean meals tend toward the simple to prepare with no special expertise or utensils required.
When we find a recipe that pairs well with wine, tastes delicious, and is a little bit unique, we get really excited. And if said recipe can be made ahead in quantity, stored in the freezer, even better! The consistency of this savory cake with olives and cheese is much like a crumbly scone. The meat and cheese add salty richness and the hint of cayenne and herbs give it some zing. It’s a little like a meat and cheese board rolled into a delicious slice of savory cake! Think of this recipe as a starting point for creativity. Like the French, you can vary the cheese, herbs, meat and veggies depending on what you’ve got in the fridge. Though we will say, good quality cheese and olives are key! Wondering what wines to pair with this? Try it with our 94 point 2017 Helix SoRhô, a southern-Rhône style blend of Grenache, Mourvédre and Cinsault from StoneTree Vineyard in the Wahluke Slope.  It’s fireside season, meaning it’s a great time to perfect your cheese board skills with nibbles featuring our new Reininger and Helix release wines. With nary a carrot or celery stick in sight, these homemade crackers and spiced nuts ala Ina Garten, plus cheese and fig savories from the Runaway Spoon are quick to make, require only a few ingredients, and taste delicious!
 Fall weekends at home in 2020 call for enjoying the bounties of the season and new wine pairings.
Our 2015 Reserve Helix Chardonnay was aged for nearly 5 years in a 500L French oak puncheon, sur lie. This special Chardonnay has a creamy mouthfeel, balanced acidity, and a hint of spice, making it a fantastic choice for foods featuring mushrooms, butternut squash, sweet potatoes and corn, like this mushroom and burrata crostini. You can also easily substitute the mushroom for butternut squash!  We all have that friend that drinks ABC wines, or All But Chardonnay. Maybe even you prefer to stay away from the Queen of Grapes: Chardonnay, but many people don’t realize how much of a varied Chardonnay truly is. Chardonnay is the most widely planted white varietal in the world, and fifth overall. It’s a winemaker’s grape, growing in a wide range of climates. Unlike highly aromatic whites, like Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay’s flavors compliment the addition of concrete or oak aging, and the acid can be on a sliding scale of low to medium high depending on the style you want to create. It’s not just your typical butter-bomb that became so popular in the US.
 What's not to love about fresh veggies combined with heat and smoke on the grill?
Instead of the traditional tomatoes and cucumbers, this easy Mediterranean inspired bread salad is hearty and filling, and pairs nicely with whites, rosé and even lighter red wines, such as our Reininger BIrch Creek Vineyard Sémillon, Helix Stillwater Creek Vineyard Rosé and Helix Stillwater Creek Vineyard Sangiovese. .
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