3nd Annual Wine & Gourmet Gala
March 15, 2009
Click here to view photos from this year's event.
The 2009 event featured winemakers Rick Small and his wife Darcey Fugman-Small of Woodward Canyon, one of the northwest’s premier and oldest wineries. This year's event was an enormous success, raising more than $54,000. Click here to view photos from this year's event.
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 Woodward Canyon's owners, Rick and Darcey Small, belong to that small group of Washington wine-industry pioneers whose contributions are almost too numerous to list. Darcey was instrumental in acquiring AVA (appellation) recognition for the Walla Walla Valley in 1984. Rick, who convinced his parents to let him plant a small slice of family land to wine grapes more than 30 years ago, worked virtually side-by-side with his friend Gary Figgins (Leonetti Cellar) in the late 1970s to work out the logistics of professional winemaking.
"The fact that Gary and I were good friends made us better," says Small. "Like when you run a race with another fast runner, you get better."
Where Leonetti's focus has always been on red wines, Woodward Canyon made its early reputation by crafting luxuriously rich and oaky chardonnays. Riding that wave, Small partnered with the Chalone winery group for some years, then returned to sole ownership of Woodward Canyon and turned his attention more and more toward making red wines from Bordeaux grapes.
The estate vineyard, now entering its fourth decade, sits on a hilltop northwest of the winery, just outside of Lowden. The views are breathtaking. "I'm the third generation on this land," Small explains. "It was cattle ranched and wheat farmed. It was never good soil. If I take under three tons per acre, I can taste the place; more than that, the varietal characteristics take over."
Paul Gregutt writes the Wednesday wine column for The Seattle Times
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Over 100 CCS Foundation friends joined the CCS Foundation for another fabulous evening of fine dining and outstanding wines at one of Spokane's premier restaurants on Sunday, March 15, 2009.
Students from Spokane Community College's Inland Northwest Culinary Academy worked alongside the chefs at Spencer's Restaurant to prepare a savory four course meal that was paired with regional wines. A silent and live auction gave attendees the chance to take home their favorite items while supporting SCC's hospitality management department. Over $54,000 was raised this year topping last year's figure by almost $6,000.
Tickets to this event are $175 and sold out very quickly, contact Janice Eatherton at (509) 434-5063 or e-mail jeatherton@ccs.spokane.edu for more information regarding this event.
Click here to view photos from last year's event.