Sometimes being in Seattle is like living in a Batman movie… all grey skies, gloomy, threatening clouds.  There’s a perpetual wetness, the smell of a clinging fog, of damp grass and wet pavement.

When this kind of melancholy threatens, there is no better cure than a sunny glass of rose.  Thank heavens for Sitka & Spruce, where you can find at least a handful of these cloud-clearing pink wines by the glass at any moment.

The Terredora di Paolo, Rosaenovae is made from 100% Aglianico grapes, the king of wine grapes in Southern Italy’s Campania.  This grape is famous for its starring role in the region’s burly, tannic red wines, but it also over-delivers as the base for this stunning rose.  The wine is flirty and flouncy- all strawberries and cream on the nose, with a sparkling personality on the palate- acidity, fruit, lovely fine tannins.  I liked the clean finish- a trace of volcanic minerality that made my mouth water, and was a perfect foil for Sitka’s lunch menu…

Chef Matt Dillon’s food is simply delightful.  Take this “salad” for example.  Creamy boiled egg salad topped with just-blanched asparagus, fresh dill, pumpkin seeds, and then draped with cured pork.  Unexpected, simple, delicious.

Another surprise- a dish of simply poached chicken spiced with harissa, tangled around fresh greens and turnips.  This was an especially good match with the acidity of the Terredora Rose.

Of course no great meal in Seattle can end without a perfect cup of coffee…

And dessert….

And cookies…