Grande Ronde a team effort

When Dave Westfall landed in the Washington wine business, there were 19 wineries in the state.

It was the early 1980s and he was a partner in the just-opened Spokane Wine Co. Westfall wanted to know as much as he could about wines and traveled each year to be in the heart of California’s already buzzing business.

The best way to learn, he thought, was by visiting wineries in the throes of harvest and crush. He wanted to soak up everything he could about California’s success. But during a trip in 1984 to Napa Valley’s Clos Pegase, Westfall confided his tactic to 80-year-old Andre Tschelistcheff, the winery’s consultant and California winemaker who was known for having set the bar for quality when he produced Beaulieu Vineyard’s first Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

“And he looked at me and said, ‘Are you stupid?’ ” Westfall recalls with a wry smile.

To become an expert on California wines would mean squandering the chance to immerse himself in Washington’s fledgling business, the elder man advised. “I was kind of taken aback at the time … but he was right,” Westfall says.

He took the man’s advice to heart and began making ties with as many Washington and Oregon wineries as he could. Those early days in the vineyards at Seven Hills and Pepper Bridge, among others, would later lead to Grande Ronde. Westfall, along with three partners, started the Spokane winery in 1996, and it won early accolades: 92 points from Wine Spectator for its 1999 cabernet sauvignon. It continues to draw praise for wines made from grapes grown in perhaps Washington’s best-known vineyard. Wine and Spirits Magazine has called Seven Hills one of the 10 best vineyards in the world, and Grande Ronde’s 2001 merlot from Seven Hills earned 91 points from Wine Spectator.

Not long after Westfall’s impromptu consultation with wine guru Tschelistcheff, Westfall left the retail store he’d started with Lou Anne Moxcey and Rick Sorenson to open Northwest Select Wines. And Westfall began connecting with the emerging wineries in the area for the distribution business. He also imported wines from California, Oregon, France, Italy. Starting with L’Ecole, he also traveled to Kiona, Barnard-Griffin, Seven Hills Winery, Domaine Drouhin, Rex Hill, Hyatt, Powers, Pepper Bridge and others.

After 14 years of travel to wineries, dinners with the country’s best winemakers and chefs and teaching others what he knew, Westfall began to wonder if he could use the expertise to create a niche winery that drew grapes from the vineyards he loved most and paired its wines with gourmet food. “To me that’s all part of the experience of wines,” Westfall says. “When I taste wines, I always think, ‘What kind of food will go with this?’ I don’t think: ‘Does it taste like horehound candy or cassis?’ “

After securing grapes from the friends he’d made over the years at Seven Hills and Pepper Bridge vineyards, Westfall invited former Harvard classmate David Page to take a chance on Grande Ronde. Page is a wine collector and was a partner in Westfall’s wholesale business.

Westfall also recruited brothers John Mueller and Michael Manz to round out the team. They are probably best known for their other Spokane wine business, Mountain Dome Winery. Grande Ronde wines are made at the Mountain Dome facility.

Mueller oversees the winery inventory, represents Grande Ronde at tastings and keeps an eye on the out-of-town markets for wine. Manz handles the winemaking.

Like the fine wines they all admire, they’ve found the perfect blend it takes to put Grande Ronde wines in the bottle each year. The first wines, 1997 merlot and cabernet from the Seven Hills vineyard, were released in the spring of 1999. They made 400 cases of wine that year. Since, 1992 the winery has made about 1,500 cases of wine, and Westfall says he doesn’t expect the winery to get any bigger.

The Grande Ronde partners all help with crushing, pressing and blending. Each May, they gather to taste the vintages and blend their upcoming offerings. Pat and Erik Manz (partners in Mountain Dome, and the wife and son respectively of Michael Manz) have also lent their palates to the blending parties.

Westfall continues to corral and coordinate the details from the vineyards. They keep the vines pruned well below the industry standards to encourage the production of a smaller but more robust crop. For example, the industry standard can be anywhere from 4 to 6 tons of grapes per acre. Grande Ronde prunes the rows they lease to about 2 to 2 1/2 tons per acre. (They’re also experimenting with an acre in Seven Hills clipped so it grows just 2 tons per acre. The result, they hope, will be a reserve wine for Grande Ronde). The wines are aged in French oak barrels for 14 to 18 months.

Grande Ronde offers a cabernet and merlot each year from Seven Hills ($29.99) (except for the 2004 vintage when the vineyard was damaged by frost). There is also a chardonnay ($19.99); a Cellar Red ($22.99), a blend of cabernet and grand vidure from Seven Hills; Charlotte’s Cuvee 2002 ($39.99), a Bordeaux blend of Seven Hills cabernet, merlot and cabernet franc; and a cabernet sauvignon from the Pepper Bridge vineyard ($29.99).

In 2004 the partners opened a tasting room in downtown Spokane that also sells wines from Mountain Dome, Masset Winery near Yakima and Vin du Lac of Chelan, Wash. The Wine Cellar is at 906 W. Second Ave.

Westfall is recruiting other wineries and hopes to add a few more this year. “My goal is to have a winery from each of the major wine growing regions in the area,” he says.

The tasting room is also testament to Westfall’s love of great food and ingredients, selling olive oils from Italy and Greece, habanero chipotle sauces from Arizona, pasta from Italy, artisan sea salts and pasta sauces. Westfall, who also dabbles in gourmet cooking, has a cookbook collection of more than 1,000. He whips up huge dinners at the tasting room to complement Grande Ronde wines.

He shared some of his favorite recipes below. Enjoy.

King Salmon with Poblano Rice

Serve this with Grande Ronde Cellars 2003 Chardonnay

For the sauce:

3 tablespoons capers (rinse in cold water)

3 scallions, sliced thin

1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, chopped

1/2 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh chervil, chopped

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (see note)

Fresh ground pepper

2 anchovy fillets, minced

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (see note)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar

For the salmon:

1 (3-pound) King Salmon Fillet

Extra-virgin olive oil

Sea salt

Black pepper

Thin slices of lemon

Chives, chopped

To prepare the sauce, mix the capers, scallions, parsley, tarragon, chervil, lemon zest, sea salt, pepper and anchovy. In a separate bowl, whisk the olive oil, lemon juice and red wine vinegar and then add to the herb mixture.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Place a pan of hot water on the lower shelf of the oven. Put the salmon fillet on an oiled baking pan (or line the pan with parchment paper to prevent sticking). Sprinkle the salmon with sea salt and pepper and place the lemons and chives on top.

Bake the salmon about 20 minutes or until it is firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let it stand about 5 minutes before slicing.

Arrange sliced salmon on a plate and drizzle sauce over and around the salmon.

Serve with Poblano Rice (recipe follows).

Notes: Westfall recommends Napa Valley olive oil, which is sold at the Wine Cellar tasting room. He also recommends Artisan Alaea Sea Salt which is also available at the tasting room. It is pink Hawaiian sea salt, but any other coarse sea salt may be substituted.

Yield: 6-8 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving (based on 8): 437 calories, 31 grams fat (6 grams saturated), 34 grams protein, 1 gram carbohydrate, 113 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 380 milligrams sodium.

Poblano Rice

2 poblano chilies

2 cups medium or long-grain rice

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 finely chopped garlic cloves

1 1/2 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth or water can be used)

1 1/2 cups water

Chopped parlsey, for garnish

To roast the chilies: Place the poblano chilies under a broiler until charred on all sides. Put in a paper bag and let rest for a few minutes. Peel the outer skin off and discard seeds. Chop the chilies and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan and sauté rice, onion, garlic and chopped chilies. Transfer the mixture to a rice cooker and add chicken broth and water. Rice can also be finished on the stovetop in a saucepan.

Garnish with chopped parsley.

Yield: 8 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 231 calories, 4 grams fat (.5 grams saturated, 17 percent fat calories), 4.5 grams protein, 41 grams carbohydrate, less than 1 milligram cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber.

Chicken with Spicy Habanero Apricot Chutney

Westfall says this dish was inspired by a year he spent in Tanzania, where he drank the local beverage “pombe.” He says it’s hard to get a good glass of the fermented banana concoction around here, so he recommends the Grande Ronde Cellar Red instead.

6 chicken breasts (see note)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 onions, peeled and sliced

6 garlic cloves

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons Madras curry powder (see note)

Trim chicken breasts and place in a nonreactive bowl. The chicken can also be cut into cubes and skewered for kebabs.

Heat oil in a skillet and sauté onions and garlic until they begin to soften. Add coriander seeds, brown sugar, lemon juice and curry powder. Let the marinade cool and then pour it over the chicken and let it marinate overnight or up to 24 hours.

Prepare coals and cook the chicken breasts or skewers about 10 to 15 minutes or until done.

Serve with Apricot Chutney (recipe follows).

Notes: Any other chicken pieces can be substituted for the chicken breast, if desired. For the curry powder, Westfall uses an aromatic curry powder from The Souk in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, but any mild curry powder can be substituted.

Apricot Chutney

This sauce was inspired by Westfall’s friend Jim McDaniel who first brought him an apricot-habanero sauce. If the mere thought of habanero peppers in your dish makes you start to sweat, you can make the sauce without them.

4 ounces apricot jam

4 fresh apricots, pitted and chopped

2 (1-inch) slices of fresh ginger, minced

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

2 habanero peppers, diced (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook about 10 minutes and tehn pour into a jar. This sauce will keep for several days in the refrigerator.

Serve the chicken with Apricot Chutney and roasted sweet potatoes. To roast the sweet potatoes, wash and lightly oil the outside of the sweet potato. Put in aluminum foil and roast in the oven until done.

Yield: 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving, based on 1 (4-ounce) serving chicken and 2 tablespoons chutney: 321 calories, 10 grams fat (1 gram saturated, 28 percent fat calories), 28 grams protein, 30 grams carbohydrate, 72 grams cholesterol, 2.5 grams dietary fiber, 80 milligrams sodium.

Teleci Na Paprice (Veal Paprika)

This recipe celebrates Westfall’s Czech heritage.

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 pounds cubed veal

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

2 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Ground black pepper and salt, to taste

1 1/2 cups beef broth

1 cup Grande Ronde Cabernet

1/2 cup sour cream

8 ounces Tagliatelle noodles (see note)

Melt the butter and quickly brown the veal cubes and remove.

Add the onions, minced garlic, then spices and then the flour. Stir in broth and red wine. Add meat to the dish and let it simmer an hour, partially covered. Just before serving add the sour cream and heat through.

Cook noodles according to package directions. Toss with a some extra-virgin olive oil, red pepper flakes, white wine, garlic and lemon. Serve veal over the noodles.

Note: Westfall recommends Lapiana noodles, which can be purchased at the Wine Cellar tasting room.

Yield: 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: Unable to calculate.

Dave’s Barbecue Rub

During the annual barbecue at Grande Ronde, Westfall hands out a rub for the summer grilling season. It can be stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for several weeks or months.

4 tablespoons salt

4 tablespoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons cumin

4 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ancho chili powder

2 tablespoons cayenne

3 tablespoons black pepper

3 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons onion powder

Rub on ribs 4 or more hours before grilling. Roast ribs at 150 degrees for 10 hours and then finish off on barbecue with indirect heat (about an hour). Use your favorite wood for smoke and if you like a barbecue sauce you can apply it during the last half hour of smoking.

Yield: About 1 3/4 cups

Approximate nutrition per tablespoon: 22 calories, less than 1 gram fat, less than 1 gram protein, 4.8 grams carbohydrate, no cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 978 milligrams sodium.