Wherefore Art Thou, Walldeaux?

In 1987, the British illustrator Martin Handford creates a cartoon character named Wally for a series of children's books. Renamed Waldo for the American edition, he becomes an icon of pop culture.

Meantime, Marie-Eve Gilla moves from graduate school in Burgundy to the Pacific Northwest, becoming the first classically trained French winemaker in the Washington, working at Covey Run and Gordon Brothers before being recruited as general manager for the new Forgeron Cellars in Walla Walla. She also married fellow Frenchman and fellow winemaker Gilles Nicault, who's the day-to-day winemaster at Longshadows.

To the present: combining various lots of merlot, cabernet, syrah (!) and zinfandel (!!) from Alder Ridge, Boushey, Klipsun and Pepperbridge vineyards (so far, kinda like an unconventional Bordeaux blend), from the 2005 and 2006 vintages (unthinkable!), Gilla comes up with a blend--Walldeaux Smithee--that by rights should be sold as jug wine...except that the pedigree of those vineyards kicks it up by several notches.

This "red table wine" is better than most of the over-oaked, over-extracted, single-variety monsters on the market. A nose of cedar and ripe plums, with full-bodied, mouth-filling, juicy flavors, Walldeaux's a dream come true: delicious and affordable. Yup, $16 retail.

Only trouble is, like the cartoon character, Walldeaux ain't gonna be all that easy to find. Esquin (of course), Metropolitan Markets and Pete's. That's it. Hurry!

posted by MvB for Ronald Holden, who's having technical difficulties