It's crab season and this year is proving to be a plentiful lot. We are receiving fresh beautifully size crab at local stores. We picked up some perfect crabs from NW Fresh Seafood in Newberg. Citrus is in season and its easy to find large fresh lemons anywhere. This pairing is bright, light and delicious. The Pinot Blanc offers a tongue cleanse that thickens on the back palate. It's such a fun juxtaposition to the bright crab and lemon that it's one of our favorite pairings to date. Modify the recipe as you like, if you prefer a brighter lemon presence add more juice and zest with your garnish - turn it into a topping. If you like a thicker sauce adding a bit of additional cream - like 1/4 cup can add a nice texture. But you don't want it too heavy because the bright light sauce lets the crab and citrus shine. You could use another pasta other than Gemelli but we found it is a great size and it's ridges hold some of the sauce and shallots in place so that you get a good ratio of all ingredients at each bite. We are happy to share this local seasonal recipe with you and we hope you will enjoy it as much as we do!

The right crunchy snack in between sips of a quaffable and complex wine can be just the thing for an afternoon catching up with a dear friend or paired with a lovely bowl of soup. We made a classic Juniper Grissini from chef Batali found in the Food & Wine Annual Cookbook 2011 one winter day and we've been making it ever since. While the original Juniper component is great, we've modified it time and time again picking our favorite iteration and sharing it here. This recipe celebrates the seldom used Pink Peppercorn. Floral and aromatic, this peppercorn compliments wines with subtle violet, rose and rhubarb strawberry pie notes. This recipe has straight forward flavors and lets the simple spices shine making it a great bite to enjoy with wine.

An adaptation of classic shortbread. This recipe was developed to pull out the tannin components found in the Barrel Select Willamette Valley AVA, 2010. This wine is complex with subtle hints of woody herbs, orange blossom, citrus and vanilla. The Rosemary steeped candied mandarin orange peel add a complimentary base bringing tannin components of the wine to the front palate. Modifying a classic shortbread with the use of a whole wheat pastry produces a dense and flaky shortbread. This texture is perfect for the bold mouthfeel of the Barrel Select Reserve Series.