Bloglander

MARYHILL WINERY OPENS KENDALL YARDS SPOT NEXT WEEKEND

Just in time for the start of the holiday season, a new downtown Spokane tasting room for the Goldendale, Washington-based Maryhill Winery hosts its grand opening next weekend, Nov. 18-19.

Overlooking the Spokane River, the new tasting room is located at 1030 W. Summit Pkwy. (between Spa Paradiso and Nectar Beer and Wine), and starting next Saturday will be open daily from noon to 8 pm. Maryhill’s Spokane home — its first and only satellite location — encompasses a new, 5,000-square-foot space that’s been under construction for the better part of this year.

The award-winning winery is owned by Spokane natives Craig and Vicki Leuthold, who decided to open the Spokane location to meet increased demand for their products. Founded in 1999, opening two years later in 2001, Maryhill is one of Washington state’s largest wineries, producing more than 80,000 cases a year.

“While we’re deeply tied to the Columbia River Gorge, we’re also very rooted in our hometown of Spokane,” Craig Leuthold says. “We feel right at home at Kendall Yards, and designed our tasting room to fit in with this beautiful community. Our tasting room is an inviting and relaxing place to experience our award-winning wines.”

Maryhill Wine Club members will now be able to pick up their cases at the Spokane location, which also will regularly host wine club events, as well as public and private gatherings. The upcoming grand opening weekend celebration will feature the first of many live concerts at the venue, with music by singer-songwriter Matt Brown both evenings. Come spring, the winery’s gorge-facing balcony will be yet another scenic location for visitors to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Spokane River and the downtown skyline. The tasting room also plans to serve small plates featuring local ingredients.

U OF IDAHO STUDENTS CREATE UNUSUAL HOLIDAY RECIPES

Each year, students in the University of Idaho’s Coordinated Program in Dietetics course in the school’s Margaret Ritchie School of Family and Consumer Sciences are challenged to create new recipes that follow a theme chosen by the university’s First Lady, Mary Beth Staben. This year’s challenge was “unity,” prompting students to create new dishes that combine ingredients not commonly paired.

Just in time for all the holiday feasting to come, students’ innovative takes on some Thanksgiving-appropriate dishes have been announced, including the winning recipe for “Vandal Sweet Potato Mash.”

Created by students Katie Akin of Colville and Satoko Haji of Japan the recipe combines sweet potatoes, Honeycrisp apples and pecans with a tart balsamic brown-sugar sauce. While both are commonly found at holiday gatherings, they’re not usually combined. The idea for the recipe was partly inspired by dishes from Haji’s native land, where apples and sweet potatoes are often paired in the same dish.

Other student recipes included a vanilla cream sweet potato mousse, a rooibos chai jicama pie, and a chocolate souffle made from yams. Find all the inventive recipes submitted for this year’s competition here, and consider surprising your guests this Thanksgiving with a flavor combination they won’t expect.

IN THIS WEEK'S ISSUE

Pick up the latest edition of the Inlander or go online to find all the latest news centering around local dining and drink. This week's issue includes stories on miFlavour, a growing Spokane bakery that offers stunning, European-inspired treats; the Monroe Street Grill's long-anticipated arrival in North Spokane, and Castaway Cellars, a new arrival to Coeur d'Alene's wine scene.

A version of this information originally appeared in our weekly Entrée food newsletter; sign up to get it delivered directly to your inbox here. Find last week's edition of the Entrée blog here.