Northwest Wine & Cheese 2014 Recipes

People were excited about our wine and cheese pairings this year for the Northwest Wine & Cheese Tour this past weekend. Lots of you asked us for our secret recipe to the amazingly creamy and rich Wine & Cheese Soup paired with the Harbinger Off-dry Reisling, as well as our deliciously funky & zesty no-bake cheesecake paired with the Harbinger Raspberry Bliss so here they are!
Wine & Cheese Soup:
4 Tbs unsalted butter
1 small onion, diced
1 lg carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c. flour
4 c. Chicken or vegetable stock
6 oz white wine (Reisling, Viognier, or Chardonnay)
4 oz room temp cream cheese
1 c. grated medium gouda
1 c. grated sharp cheddar
1 c. grated Parrano Parmesan
1 c. whole milk
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
In a large dutch oven, over medium heat, add 1st 5 ingredients until butter is melted, then add flour and cook until lightly toasted. Add chicken stock and cook for 40-45 minutes stirring occasionally. Strain the vegetables out. Turn to low heat and add the rest of the ingredients, stirring constantly and never letting it boil. It is ready when all ingredients are melted and blended together.

Elderflower & Lime Cheesecake
box of digestive biscuits or graham crackers
3/4 c butter, melted
1/2 c sugar
3/4LB full fat cream cheese
icing sugar
2/3 c double cream, lightly whipped
zest of 1 lime
2tbs Belvoir Elderflower Cordial
Crush the digestive biscuits, add sugar and butter, mix, and form crust on 8" round tin with a lift-up base and place in fridge to set. Mix rest of ingredients, minus cream & Elderflower, in a food processor and slowly add elderflower & cream last until it is a smooth thick paste. Spread the mixture on top of the graham crust and refrigerate about 1 hour.

Hope you enjoy these recipes. We thank everyone who attended the Northwest Wine & Cheese tour this weekend and hope you had a fantastic time tasting unique cheeses and delicious wines!

Grand Harvest Awards; What's it all about?

Recently Harbinger’s 2009 Bolero, a 75% Tempranillo blend and the 2010 Barbera were awarded medals at the Grand Harvest Awards 2013. Wineries from all over the North Americas enter this competition from Canada to New York to New Mexico and the top 2 wine-producing states: California and Washington. This particular competition focuses on “terroir”. 

So what is terroir and why is it so important? Terroir, the French word for land, can be described as characteristics from a certain area that interact with plant genetics giving you a “sense of the land”. Wherever the grapes are grown, the geography, geology and climate give a unique quality to the grapes. So no matter what, it is impossible to reproduce the same wine flavor. Grand Harvest Awards lets the wine tell the history of the area from which it came and judges based on which wines stay true to its history. 

At Harbinger, we get our Tempranillo grapes from the Rattlesnake Hills area which has loamy soil, lots of slopes, meaning great drainage,  average rainfall of 6-9”, and a long growing season.  We get our Barbera from the Columbia Valley AVA which is the largest wine region in the state and it is broken down into several smaller AVA’s including Rattlesnake Hills. The Columbia Valley has many microclimates but the whole region is known for having cold winters and long dry summers with low humidity. All of these attributes affect how the grapes will taste. How? Well, you’ll just have to try our Gold-winning Barbera and Silver-winning Bolero for yourself.

Here’s a good example: In 2012 there were huge forest fires over in Eastern Washington, where food and grapes for wine-making are grown. Now that 2012 wines are coming out onto the market, spectators have been saying these 2012 vintage wines are displaying a particularly smokey flavor as compared to other years. Those forest fires affected the flavor of the grapes, therefore the wine which the grapes made and that’s just one of the thousands of factors that influences terroir.

For the whole list of wineries that won awards visit this website
https://www.enofileonline.com/compawards.aspx?compID=91

Until Next Year!

Red Wine & Chocolate 2014 is over and we had a wonderful turnout and shared heaps of gooey memories with folks. This year Harbinger Winery brought back the Kitty Kat lounge, and what happens in the Kitty Kat Lounge stays behind the velvet curtains! But we can tell you we didn’t see one person leave without a grin on their face; a true sign of satisfaction! The first weekend, it was mighty cold outside but we warmed each other’s hearts with friendly smiles, sublime wines, and charming chocolates. The second weekend it rained cats and dogs but it was nonstop busy all day. We got to meet a lot of new faces as well as old friends too (just the way we like it). 
New wines and old standbys were served for the event, each paired with a specific chocolate treat. From the potato chip haystacks to the chocolate rockets each pairing was a flavor explosion! We had dark chocolate cups filled with smoky gooey caramel, piles of salty sweet and crunchy delights, and flavors one would never expect to pair with wine and chocolate…like buttered popcorn mixed with milk chocolate and pop rocks …who knew? 
The Raspberry Bliss, which was just released for the Red Wine & Chocolate tour, went swimmingly with the Bleu Cheese Brownie! Say what? That’s what we’re here for folks; to push the boundaries of your comfortable life and make you put things in your mouth you’ve never considered! 





Not only do these events bring out a lot of people to the Olympic Peninsula but they give everyone a chance to really see how pairing a certain food with a particular wine can magically elevate the flavor and “mouthfeel” of both. It’s a great opportunity to experience how pairing the right food with the right wine really helps you savor the flavor. The next big wine tour is May 4th & 5th, the Northwest Wine & Cheese Tour. We can’t wait to blow your mind with some amazing and unusual wine and cheese pairings!
But for now, here are some pictures of the fun times had during Red Wine & Chocolate:

Red wine & Chocolate 2014

Harbinger Winery Red Wine & Chocolate 2014

February 8,9, 15-17th

Chocolate Rockets, Blissful Encounters, and the Kitty Kat Lounge

The wine and chocolate cupids of Harbinger Winery have been busy dipping their arrows in a magical

melody of amorous flavors. Some of their favorite combinations will be offered for the tour.

The Red Wine and Chocolate Tour is your ticket to unabashedly celebrate several great things at the

same time; the survival of another cold, dark January, and the anticipation of romance, red wine, and

just plain fun. The Harbinger crew has gleaned through old notes, stained with the temptations of yore,

picked out some of our favorite pairings, and added a few new pleasures.

Enter the wine and chocolate “Hall of Fame sampling” by trying the crowd-pleasing Dynamo Red

with our own chocolate/potato chip invention; it’s a grand slam! Feel your palate being “expanded”

with the 2009 Rapture and amazing new secret chocolate combination from Chuao. Be blasted into

another realm as our 2010 Bolero fuels the “chocolate rocket!” And no pairing is complete without the

raspberry bliss, whose sole existence cries chocolate. Stop by to see how this local favorite transports

the taste buds to “Blissville.” Here’s a hint; chocolate will be involved.

Not enough, you say? Feeling a little amorous? Visit the Kitty Kat Lounge and try the VIP aphrodisiac

chocolate and wine sampling. We guarantee you will leave with a new appreciation for chocolate and

aspirations to be a better wine lover.

All of these unique handmade chocolates have been designed to pair exclusively with our wines.

Several new chocolate products will be introduced and celebrated as well; like the Ravishing Rocky Road

Chocolate Bar. Who doesn’t like seeing the words chocolate and ravish in the same sentence?

Harbinger Winery is located just 3 miles west of Port Angeles on HWY 101 West. The tasting room is

open daily for wine tasting, beer tasting, and features a unique and comfortable setting to gather with

friends and learn more about the vast subject of wine. For more information contact the tasting room

at 360-452-4262 or visit online at www.harbingerwinery.com.

 Red Wine and Chocolate Tour tickets are available at any of the participating wineries. See

www.Olympicpeninsulawineries.org for participating wineries and to purchase tickets online.

A Look at 2013

2013 Was a fantastic year at Harbinger, with lots of growth and fun memories:

Our amazing new doors were installed in January. 

Rodocker Construction right here in Port Angeles did a great job and now the exterior matches the quality of the wine and experience one can expect at Harbinger.

And once the exterior was completed we realized the interior needed a serious makeover as well!

 The Red Wine & Chocolate Festival in February was a lot of fun!  Over 300 people came through the winery on the first day. Harbinger was full of Love, laughter, wine and chocolate!

Folks had a “cracking” good time at Harbinger’s annual Crab Feed in April. This is an exclusive event for Wine Club Members only and there’s so much crab at t we’ve renamed it “The Crab Mountain Festival!”  It is our mission to make sure no one leaves hungry or unsatisfied.

Harbinger Winery featured some really delicious cheeses during the Northwest Wine & Cheese Tour in May and probably the most unique snack on the tour: Oreos with blue cheese and raspberry crème, yum! And the weather was a preview of the awesome summer ahead of us!

 The Oat Run was a blast even though it rained. But, hey, it’s Washington, what else is to be expected? Thanks to everyone who participated!

El Jefe’ got recognized by Sunset Magazine which is huge for Harbinger! Best in show for the Rhone Blends. 

Lots of bottling got done this summer. We appreciate our volunteers (who work for wine!).

 In September many great times were had on the back patio of the winery. Nothin’ like sittin’ around a fire with good friends, good conversation and good wine!

In October; Harvest was in full swing. There were tons and tons of “punch downs” to be done and lots of wine-making going on. It was actually an earlier Harvest this year because we had such a warm and beautiful summer.

In November we had the Northwest Harvest bounty Tour; Although it was super busy this weekend we managed to take a couple pictures of the happy staff and our scary pirate scarecrow!

In December Harbinger raised lots of funds and awareness  for the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society during “Yappy Hour”. 

We had a great turnout, lots of fun, drank and sold several bottles of Menagerie(can’t wait for next year’s Menagerie blend) and got some animals adopted!

Now that 2013 is over we’d like to raise our glasses to you all for making it a spectacular and unforgettable one!  We look forward to making memorable moments together in 2014! Cheers!

Yappy Hour at Harbinger Winery was this past Thursday and it was a blast, and we had a fantastic turnout! Buddy flirted his way through the crowds and collected tips(donations) while kittens were passed around from cat-lovers of all ages. Everyone was laughing and having a great time, and best of all several animals found new homes. It's especially nice to get out and meet with friends during the winter since the sun on the Olympic Peninsula sets so early nowadays and the weather is questionable; will it rain or snow?  Is the road to Hurricane Ridge, in the Olympic National Park going to stay open for the winter?  All topics of conversation throughout the evening.

Menagerie was the wine for the evening and by the end of the night every last bottle of the delicious Washington state Cabernet Franc blend was bought or drank! Even though the charity wine for this year is gone there are still ways to support  the OPHS. The raffle to win a kayak or wine club membership is still going on until Christmas Day. Raffle tickets actually make a super stocking stuffer! Lots of people have bought tickets so far but we still need more. The Krewe at Harbinger, as well as the crew at the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society appreciates all those who attended Yappy Hour and have donated to the efforts of raising money for the cause. Not to mention, all the animals who need homes at the OPHS. Hopefully next year will be even better!

3 Weeks Away!

This time of year is exciting and nerve-racking. Throughout the day you might find yourself suddenly thinking about what to get someone for Christmas. Will they really like the gift you get them?

Harbinger Winery has a plethora of gifts anyone would like. If you know a chocolate-lover we have quite the assortment of delicious chocolate treats such as our dark chocolate covered figs, Vosges, Theo, and Chuao chocolate bars. Taza is a unique chocolate company that makes unprocessed vegan gluten-free chocolate. We have a new flavor in called Spiked Eggnog which tastes amazingly like holiday eggnog.

If you know an outdoorsy person, I would highly recommend the platypus wine bag. It’s a great way to bring an entire bottle of wine while hiking or camping in the Olympic National Park without it weighing you down.

For the animal-lover Harbinger has the Menagerie currently for sale. The proceeds for this Cabernet Franc blend directly benefit the Olympic Peninsula Humane society so you get to drink wine and donate to a good cause!

You probably know someone who likes wine but don’t know what kind they like. Harbinger has gift-cards. Buy them a wine tasting and give em’ a little extra to buy the one they enjoyed the most.

Lastly, if you ever think of something you’ve wanted but can't find anywhere, suggest it to us and maybe you will find it in the store soon.