• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Contact Us
  • Wine of the Week newsletter
  • Wine submission guidelines
Great Northwest Wine

Great Northwest Wine

News, reviews and info about the wines of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho

  • Home
  • About us
    • Awards and honors
    • Advertising on Great Northwest Wine
    • Wine submission guidelines
  • e-edition
  • Events calendar
    • Submit an event
  • Reviews
    • Latest wine reviews
    • Wine of the Week
    • Best Buys
    • Washington wines
    • Oregon wines
    • Idaho wines
    • British Columbia wines
  • Competitions
    • Cascadia International Wine Competition
    • Idaho Wine Competition
    • “The Invite” – Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition
    • Platinum Awards
    • Walla Walla Valley Wine Competition
    • Washington State Wine Competition
  • Explore
    • Wine news
    • Grapes and viticulture
    • Washington wine
    • Oregon wine
    • Idaho wine
    • British Columbia wine
    • Product reviews
    • Recipes
    • Podcast

Yakima Valley feast pairs wine, food, poetry

March 1, 2014 by Andy Perdue Leave a Comment

Jordan Chaney will perform at "A Moveable Feast" at Kestrel Vintners in Prosser, Washington.
Jordan Chaney, a spoken-word poet who lives in the heart of Washington wine country, will perform during “A Moveable Feast,” a dinner at Kestrel Vintners in the Yakima Valley. (Photo by Andy Perdue/Great Northwest Wine)

PROSSER, Wash. – A Yakima Valley winery is combining the inspiration of the spoken word with the bottled poetry of its winemakers.

Kestrel Vintners is putting on its inaugural “A Moveable Feast,” a dinner featuring the works of Ernest Hemingway, Khalil Gibran, Rumi and William Shakespeare – all performed by wine country poet Jordan Chaney.

Chaney, a spoken-word poet who lives in the heart of Washington wine country, also will perform “Ode to Grape,” a poem he wrote and has performed throughout the Columbia Valley.

“A Moveable Feast” is named for a memoir written by Hemingway about his time spent as an American expat while living in Paris in the 1920s. It was published in 1964, after Hemingway died in Ketchum, Idaho.

The dinner takes place at 6:30 p.m. March 15 at Kestrel Vintners’ facility in the Yakima Valley town of Prosser. For reservations, call 509-786-2675.

The dinner opens with a reading from Hemingway with the appetizer course of herb-baked oysters. The salad course features a reading from “The Prophet” by Khalil Gibran. Chaney will perform “Ode to Grape” during the intermezzo, a Syrah granita. The main course will be accompanied by Shakespeare’s famous “Sonnet 18.” And Rumi’s “Ode 314” will be performed during dessert.

The cost for the five-course dinner is $85 ($65 for wine club members). It includes all wines that go with the event.

Kestrel Vintners dinner an event

Chef Jessica Smith and winemaker Flint Nelson are at Kestrel Vintners in Prosser, Washington.
Chef Jessica Smith and winemaker Flint Nelson will collaborate on “A Moveable Feast” at Kestrel Vintners on March 15.

“It’s not an event,” said Felicia Darwen, Kestrel Vintners’ concierge. “It’s a happening, a lifelong memory.”

Darwen said two of Chaney’s books, “Rocket Fuel for Dreamers” and “Double Barreled Bible,” will be available for sale during the event.

There is room for 35 to 40 people.

Kestrel has gained regional fame in the past couple of years for an over-the-top wine, food and performance event called The Big Night. Darwen said The Big Night, she said, was an inspiration for A Moveable Feast.

“Everything is based on artists and chefs,” she said. “Artists tend to be in a place where the cost of living is lower, and we have a wealth of artists here in Washington wine country.”

Kestrel’s executive chef, Jessica Smith, has designed the dinner to go with winemaker Flint Nelson’s creations.

“I told her, ‘Here’s a poem, make a dish,” Darwen said with a chuckle.

Chaney told Great Northwest Wine he is thrilled to perform his poetry as well as others’.

“I love the whole concept,” he said. “I once thought wine was high society and snobbery. Now I understand that almost everything in wine is a metaphor. It really is poetry in a bottle.”

Chaney, who has been dubbed “the poet laureate of the Northwest wine industry,” has performed at wineries for years, including Bookwalter in Richland and Col Solare on Red Mountain. He also wrote poetry that appeared quarterly in Wine Press Northwest magazine for about three years.

“I love finding new ideas and metaphors and pressing out of my grape,” he said, holding his hands on each side of his head and pushing.

“Wine and poetry go hand in hand,” he said. “They even called Rumi “the drunken sufi” because of his love for wine and women. There’s new poetry every vintage.”

Filed Under: News Tagged With: featured, ticker

About Andy Perdue

Andy Perdue is founding partner of Great Northwest Wine LLC and a longtime wine columnist. He is a third-generation journalist who has worked at newspapers since the mid-1980s and has been writing about wine since 1998. He co-founded Wine Press Northwest magazine with Eric Degerman and served as its editor-in-chief for 15 years. He is the author of "The Northwest Wine Guide: A Buyer's Handbook" (Sasquatch, 2003) and has contributed to four other books.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Wine of the Week

Mt. Hood Winery 2018 Gunkel Vineyard Barbera, Columbia Valley $38

July 8, 2022

Latest Wine Reviews

Cold Springs Winery 2016 Syrah, Idaho, $25

Lenné Estate 2019 Jill’s 115 Pinot Noir, Yamhill-Carlton, $60

Footer

Grapes

Washington wine grape harvest forecast for 28% increase in 2022

Northwest vineyards enter August as much as 12 days behind normal

Oregon stands out throughout Pinot Gris tasting

The Wine Knows: Mastering the magical blend of GSM

Sniff, Sip, Swirl: Holmes family unveils Arneis on Red Mountain

Food

Match Maker: Thiessen puts his brand on WW with Walla Walla Steak Co.

Match Maker recipe: Chocolate Crémeux Tart with Cocoa Nibs and Hazelnuts

Ellen on Wine: 19th century French chef’s legacy inspires 21st century NW women in hospitality with Les Dames d’Escoffier

Match Maker recipe: Cast Iron Cowboy Ribeye with Marinated Spring Vegetables

Expect heavy bidding as Reveal Walla Walla wine auction returns 

History

Ellen on Wine: 19th century French chef’s legacy inspires 21st century NW women in hospitality with Les Dames d’Escoffier

Kiona, Barnard Griffin toast 40th Red Mountain harvest with fundraiser Cab

Parks Redwine, owner of NorthWest Wine Summit competition, dies in Atlanta

Yakima Valley thrives as historical heart of Washington wine

Washington Wine Hall of Fame Gala raises record $105,000 for Clore Center

© 2022 Great NW Wine. All Rights Reserved.