The Latest: China's Hebei toughens virus rules over outbreak

BEIJING — China’s Hebei province is enforcing stricter control measures following a further rise in coronavirus cases in the province, which is adjacent to the capital Beijing and is due to host events for next year’s Winter Olympics.

The Latest: China's Hebei toughens virus rules over outbreak

BEIJING — China’s Hebei province is enforcing stricter control measures following a further rise in coronavirus cases in the province, which is adjacent to the capital Beijing and is due to host events for next year’s Winter Olympics.

The Latest: China's Hebei toughens virus rules over outbreak

BEIJING — China’s Hebei province is enforcing stricter control measures following a further rise in coronavirus cases in the province, which is adjacent to the capital Beijing and is due to host events for next year’s Winter Olympics.

The Latest: Laid-off airline crew asked to work at hospitals

The Latest on the

Dozens killed in Mideast conflict that recalls 2014 Gaza war

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel killed a string of senior Hamas military figures Wednesday and pounded three multistory towers as it hammered the Gaza Strip with airstrikes and militants in the territory fired rocket barrages. Dozens have died in the worst violence since a 2014 war, with no resolution in sight.

Upgrades eyed for Atlantic City

Winter Wine Rodeo III

Pour lists are being compiled, restaurants and vendors are committing, layout of the room is near completion, which can mean only one thing... The third annual Winter Wine Rodeo is scheduled and will be the biggest and best gathering of food and wine yet. It is sometimes hard for us to believe that it is the third of these events to take place, and each year it seems to be more fun, with more folks from North Idaho and around the area gathering to sample more than a hundred wines, food from great local restaurants and get a little holiday shopping done too.

Shipping wine

As we approach the holidays and all of the family gatherings that go along with them, customers increasingly ask about shipping wine to their holiday destination whether it be for their own use or as personal or corporate gifts. There are some guidelines and rules that govern all of us in the wine business and some basic pointers that can help consumers have wines they enjoy at this festive time of year, regardless of their destination.

Tasting with an old Friend

Around since 1995 Walla Walla Vintners continues to be one of the most popular wineries, producing some of the most popular red wines from the Northwest. Under the steady guidance of co-owners and co-winemakers Gordy Venneri and Miles Anderson, the winery continues to produce small lots of limited varietal selection that are frequently requested and most times sell themselves.

'Moving the needle'

Since we first opened the shop nearly five years ago, we have hosted many wine tastings and winemaker dinners with our restaurant partners and winemakers from all over the wine producing regions of the United States and with some great importers of old world wines. We have found that some of these events virtually fill themselves while others take a bit more coaxing of the wine consuming public. So we naturally thought, "Why do some wines and wineries "move the needle" of interest from the consuming public while others "not so much?"

Reader's wine questions

Through the combination of our public events and readers and customers coming into the shop we get quite a few questions on all things wine, from winemaking to grape growing. Here are some of the ones we have gotten recently.

Innovations and answers

Innovations in the world of wine happen constantly and while some improve the quality and affordability of wine, others are intended to aid the economics and functionality of the industry. Both are reasonable and expected but at times they have unintended consequences for wine consumers.

Wine price misconceptions

Assumptions, opinions, we all have them about most everything, including what wine should cost. Even more importantly, we have them about how a wine should taste when it is "X" dollars. Those assumptions and opinions cut both ways, too. We have all thought or said it during a wine discussion: "there is no way I would pay that much for a bottle of wine, it can't possibly be that good." Surprisingly - or perhaps not so - we have also heard, "there is no way I buy wine that is that inexpensive it must taste terrible." Over the summer, a very good customer of ours went so far as to suggest, "you should charge more for that wine, you will probably sell more of it!"

Shortcuts

Owning a retail wine shop, most of our evenings, save for when we have events like tastings and dinners, are pretty quiet. We make dinner at home most times and of course we have some wine but they are, in short, quiet. At times I contemplate while making dinner, "Maybe I will skip that step tonight, just take a shortcut." The problem is with food preparation when you shortcut steps, it doesn't come out quite the same. Flavors might not be as complex and coherent, the tenderness might not be quite what it could be, textures and aromas could be a bit off.

Wine without food

From our winemaker dinners to our tasting notes that go with our wine club we tend to focus on wine and food pairing. How each can make the other and together better. We recently received a question from one of our regular readers though, “What if food is not a big part of our wine enjoyment?” The reader continued, “We enjoy our wine more frequently with good conversation or just for the simple pleasure of drinking a nice glass of wine.”

FedEx to add 50,000 seasonal jobs

If there were only one wine

Old blacksmith shop is eatery once again

Pans of freshly baked cornbread cool on a kitchen counter. The smell of smoked beef brisket wafts through the air.

Blue Heron sign to be highlighted with kiosk

MOSES LAKE — A sign at Blue Heron Park will become a little more visible soon. The Moses Lake Trails Planning Team has purchased lumber for a kiosk to go over a sign showing the native plants on the Joseph K. Gavinski Trail that runs between Blue Heron Park and the Cove West neighborhood, team member Louis Logan wrote in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald. Erik Nielson’s wood shop class at Vanguard Academy will build the kiosk, he added.

ADVERTISING: Advertorial — Holiday pairings

Fast approaching are the two holidays when we gather with friends and family for big yummy meals, enjoying each other’s company and most likely a glass of wine or two.