Fall Passport and Harvest Pics

Harbinger had a fair turnout for the Passport Weekend. We here were representing Southern France, the Rhone to be specific.

We released our reserve Cuvee' (a bordeaux blend with a rhone twist), which has already won a silver medal at the Tri Cities Wine Festival. And we released our Cranberry bliss, just in time for the holidays! Everyone had a great time.

Photos are one of the passport event; one of the winemaker's Mom...helping at harvest...when you come on a harvest trip, be prepared to get your hands sticky!

HARBINGER WINERY CUTS CHEESE

Come join us Saturday November 22nd for a very special wine and cheese tasting tour. Join Ed Burks as he takes you to a very special creamery, a winery, and visit some very nice restaurants. You won't want to miss this tour! For more info, please call Harbinger Winery at 360-452-4262 or Ed Burks at 360-928-9585.

Also, Harbinger Winery announces the addition of fine gourmet cheeses to pair with their award winning wines. The cheese cooler is overflowing with items not found anywhere on the Peninsula.

Cheeses such as Cypress Grove Truffle Tremor (goat cheese with black truffles), Fourme d’Ambert, Rogue River Blue, Yellow Buck Camembert and Triple Crème Brie are now available right here in Port Angeles. Available as well are the rare cheeses from Estella Family Creamery in Montesano, WA.

A varied selection of cow and goat’s milk cheeses are available with new varieties arriving weekly. No more driving to Poulsbo for fine cheese. Call Harbinger Winery at 360-452-4262 and we will cut some cheese for you! Harbinger is located at 2358 Hwy 101 West, Port Angeles.

Ed's Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Thought we'd share one of our favorite recipes from Ed, our wine and cheese connoisseur extraordinaire. More to come.

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups cooked pumpkin puree (or 15 oz. can)
1 ½ cups (12 oz. can) evaporated milk (not condensed milk)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
¼ cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ Tbsp. cinnamon
1/1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 package yellow or butter cake mix

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1/8 tsp. orange extract
¼ tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. milk or cream
1 cup chopped chipotle glazed pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9” x 13” baking pan with non-stick foil.
In a large bowl, beat pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs, butter, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until well combined.
Add cake mix to wet ingredients. Stir only until combined. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 50 -55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool to room temperature.

Frosting:
Blend cream cheese, powdered sugar, extracts, and milk until smooth. Frost cooled cake. Sprinkle with chipotle glazed pecans.

Chipotle Spiced Pecans*
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 ½ cups pecan halves
½ cup light brown sugar
¼ tsp. salt
½ to 1 tsp. ground chipotle peppers
2-3 Tbsp. dark rum

Melt butter over medium heat in a large heavy skillet. Add pecans and sauté, stirring all the time, until pecans are lightly toasted. Add the brown sugar and gently cook until caramelized. As soon as the brown sugar has melted, add the seasonings and rum. Finish cooking and spread on waxed paper. Coarsely chop halves.
*Amounts of ingredients are approximate since this recipe was made up spur of the moment. One can substitute any spice for the chipotle peppers…season to taste.

Meet one of our Artists: Jenni Prang Boran

I'd like to introduce to you one of our artists, Jenni Prang Boran. You may recognize her work from last year's Merlot or our current "El Jefe". Jenni is the wonderful artist behind the art on these two labels. She is a wonderful artist to work with and we look forward to more collaborative efforts in the future.

Jenni is a self-taught artist who began painting while in L.A. Two years later she moved to Iowa City, IA, where she painted by day and tended bar by night. She now lives in Tacoma, WA, where she works on commissions as well as her own series, in between playing with her baby boy and working on her writing.

She has had a number of one-woman shows, had the great privilege of being part of many group shows, and was recently a finalist in an exhibition at Gallery 181 in Lawrence, MA. You can find additional work at www.jenniprange.com.

In the Press!

We're in the Press! Read reviews of wines from us and from Cameraderie:

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/929/story/358273.html

Woehler on Wines: Camaraderie Cellars and Harbinger Cellars wineries
By Bob Woehler, Woehler on Wines

In addition to stunning scenery and great seafood, Port Angeles also offers some excellent opportunities for wine touring.

There are eight wineries in the Port Angeles-Sequim-Port Townsend area, each worth a visit.

I stopped at two during a fall jaunt around the Olympic Peninsula, the long-established Camaraderie Cellars and the relatively new Harbinger Cellars just outside Port Angeles.

Camaraderie Cellars was making its 17th vintage at the winery complex, which looks like something that would grace the pages of Sunset Magazine with its beautiful grounds sporting colorful floral displays and the lush greenery of the Olympic Peninsula.

It's a friendly place where you are greeted by owners Don and Vicki Corson. Don is the winemaker and crafts traditional bordeaux blends but also makes other reds, including tempranillo and syrah.

The Corsons will gladly describe for visitors the Peninsula's places to see such as the vista from Hurricane Ridge and scenic Lake Crescent.

They also have a tasting room at Seattle's Pike Place Market.

Camaraderie Cellars 2005 Trinquer, Washington State $17.50 -- The name is from the word for the tinkling of glass and this wine will tickle your palate. It's a dry, delicious fruity blend of sauvignon blanc, semillon and viognier and a perfect match for crab cakes.

Camaraderie Cellars, 2006 malbec, Yakima Valley, Crawford Vineyards, $20 -- Generally, malbec doesn't excite me, but this one did with its delicious jam flavors of wild raspberries. I'd try it with game birds or a Cornish game hen with raspberry sauce. The winery is off Highway 101 west of town at 334 Bensen Road. www.camaraderiecellars.com

Sarah Gagnon, winemaker and proprietor at Harbinger, comes from a pioneer Olympic Peninsula family and grew up to be a professional kayaker. She also decided to become a winemaker and learned her trade at Olympic Cellars before starting Harbinger Cellars.

True to her roots, she makes a couple of west-side wines, including a raspberry and a Madeleine Angevine and siegerebbe blend. However, I was particularly impressed with what she does with east side grapes.

Harbinger Winery 2007 Rose de Lemberger, Red Mountain, Kiona Vineyards, $16.99 -- This dry, crisp, strawberrylike rose is a perfect match for a salmon fresh caught in the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

Harbinger Winery 2007 Dynamo white, Washington State, $13.99 -- This is an intense aromatic riesling-sauvignon blend with inviting fruity flavors to go with a plate of cheeses.

The winery is at 2358 Highway 101 just west of Port Angeles. www.harbingerwinery.com

*Bob Woehler, a retired Herald reporter, has been writing about Northwest wines since 1978. He can be reached via e-mail at bwoehler@charter.net or check out his past columns at www.winepressnw.com/woehler

Gondola Getaway ride

We have discovered that Harbinger Wines pair quite nicely with a sunset cruise on the Gondola Getaway.

Top photo is stock photo; just wanted to show what these boats look like.

Enjoy!