Sniff, swirl, sniff, sip, swish, swallow, close eyes in pleasure, repeat. These eight actions can allow one to enjoy a wine on their own, but when performed alongside others, they open the door to a communal experience. By sharing a toast, taste or bottle, wine can be a conduit for deeply rooted community connections.

“Who puts people in dirt in white?” Celeste Shaw, community staple and owner of Chaps, jokes as we stand on the ground that will transform into a 275+ person table in two short days.

An event two years in the making, coordinated with great professionalism, and even greater patience, by Walla Walla Valley Wine, Celebrate Walla Walla Valley Wine made a comeback in 2022 worth the wait! With a style distinctly Rhone, but with a reach that defies region, Syrah was the subject of celebration this year, bringing people from all over the United States, as well as destinations beyond, to the Walla Walla Valley, and most importantly together.

Tim Schotzko was already closely — “but not obsessively” — following barbecue when he tasted the life-changing bite of brisket. And that’s when it turned from a backyard hobby to an obsession. Four and a half years after that inspirational bite of brisket and about a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the Shotzkos opened Miss Huddy’s Barbecue, bringing a taste of central Texas to the people of the Palouse.

Nothing against your average grocery store—I’m grateful to have so many options in one place, something that would baffle my ancestors—but going to the farmer’s market has brought me so much closer to the natural world. I’m aware of the seasons in a way that I never was when I blindly bought zucchini all year. I know what it’s like to wait patiently for those first perfect blueberries, and to jump on the rhubarb before it’s gone. I can taste the difference when produce is in season.

It’s almost the Fourth of July. Is there anything cuter than kids in their red, white and blue, waving sparklers or American Flags? We sure don’t think so, and we’re here with some tips and tricks to help you plan a delicious and festive Independence Day.

Nothing says summer like enjoying good food, good music and good friends in the great outdoors. Crave! Spokane’s premier foodie event of the summer, offers just that and more! The largest culinary event in the Spokane area returns July 14-16, 2022 at the Centerplace Regional Event Center in Spokane Valley, gathering the best from the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene regions. Hosted under outdoor tents, attendees get to watch each chef and their team as they prepare tapas-style dishes inspired by each night’s theme.

Settlers Creek in Coeur d’Alene boasts the largest collection of woodfired cooking equipment in the Western US, drawing events and visitors from around the country. Residents of the Inland Northwest are uniquely fortunate to have this mecca of wood-fired cookery in their collective backyard and can attend From the Ashes Idaho, a festival featuring Anthony DiBernardo of Swig & Swing and others showing off their BBQ skills each summer.

Spokane author Kate Lebo is known for her love of pie, whiskey, and the local arts community. In The Book of Difficult Fruit, Lebo explores a variety of tasty but troublesome items. This exploration of produce ranging from the mundane to exotic is sure to teach you something new make you think twice next time you’re offered fruit salad!

Despite its global influence and larger-than-life reputation, Diedrich remains headquartered in Sandpoint, Idaho, its home home since the early 1990s. Specialty coffee roasters are utilizing the company’s machinery not only in the Inland Northwest but across the world. They’re trusting Diedrich with their beans for some very good reasons.

What started online in 2015 as an inspiration for better health for her family has quickly become more than just another packaged food company. Idaho’s Snacktivist Foods is a Gluten Free and Vegan, Woman Owned, B-Corp company that actually works towards the true goal of making a better product for everyone, including the earth.

After honing their coffee craft in Portland, Jamie Kay Christianson and Hope Hines return to Spokane with Espuma Coffee. Now the pair plan to build a brand that can make an impact on both a local and global level.

Bolstad studied pastry at New York’s French Culinary Institute, but it is the memories of cooking with her father as he imitated the Swedish Chef and enjoying Scandinavian sweets with her grandparents that influenced her nostalgia-inducing treats as much as her work in a Michelin-starred kitchen and with Seattle’s Relay restaurant group.

In 2017, Katy and Ethan Bean decided to start baking pies with as many local ingredients as possible. Now, Bean & Pie is a mainstay at locals farmers markets and has their own shop in Downtown Coeur d'Alene.

After years as a pastry chef and consultant, Ricky Webster used COVID-19 to make himself the client. The result is his Browne's Addition bakery & cheese shop, Rind and Wheat.

You won’t find Snickers or birthday cake flavors at Spokane Cheesecakes, with chef-owner Thomas Speight opting for real, natural ingredients like berries and citrus at his outpost on Sprague, just east of Downtown. Spokane Cheesecakes instead showcase the simplicity and authenticity of what a good cheesecake can be without compromising flavor or quality.

MiFlavour's flagship store takes its cues from contemporary French retailers, with mirrored surfaces and video screens that tempt you with all of the bakery's sweet desserts. The aroma of coffee and chocolate greets customers as they peruse the carefully curated display cases, full of locally-crafted pastries, gelato, macarons and more!

In 2019, two powerful women came together with one question: "How can we make gifting unforgettable?" After a holiday season of gift-wrap waste, forgotten cards, and overwhelming junk—Jane Park and Taylor Hoit thought up the coolest and easiest way to make your gift truly memorable: The Tokki Bow-Card!

River City Youth Ops seeks to create opportunities for youth to grow and enrich their community in Spokane's West Central neighborhood. Teaching adolescents what it takes to get food onto a plate from seed to sale, students use a small plot of land as the site of their urban farm and sell the produce they grow at local farmers markets.

Huckleberries are a popular summer staple across the Inland Northwest, but after a career of having to use them in beers and BBQ sauce, Joshua Martin explains why he hates this forageable fruit.

Stacie Kearney never expect her bread-making hobby to go any further than the confines of her home kitchen. But when COVID-19 shut down businesses and yeast flew off store shelves, Kearney sprung into action selling loaves of her Lucky Lady Bread and sharing her beloved sourdough starter “Carl" with those in the community in need of a little lift.

Free Little Pantries (LFPs) is a grassroots effort to fill the gap in our food system, ensuring that there is access to food 365 days a year. LFPs are popping up all around the country, and the Inland Northwest has taken this mission to heart. Spokane has 20 locations and counting.

With a mission to provide access to good, clean food, volunteers with the Spokane Community Garden Alliance use public spaces to grow healthy, fresh produce to the under-served and local families in need.

Sometimes you want to relax, get some peace and quiet, and sleep in. In many lodging establishments, this isn’t strictly possible. A quiet moment with a book beside the pool becomes a splash-fest with sound effects. The buffet breakfast is punctuated with negotiations over how many more bites must disappear from a small plate. The walls can be thin, and the hours different from the ones you’d like to keep.

Emily and Luke Black of Lone Mountain Farms moved to Athol, Idaho to get away from the hustle and bustle, but their farm and brewery operation are now bringing new crowds looking to enjoy old-style beers straight to their door.

As the owner of Chaps and Lucky Vintage & Pretty Things, Celeste Shaw is one of the most recognizable personalities around Spokane. While all her outward achievements are enough to keep her busy 24/7, Shaw’s benevolent work behind the scenes doesn’t get as much attention. So it should come as no surprise that in the days following the COVID-19 shutdown, Shaw devised a plan to benefit others. The message being spread was simple, but universal: “food is Love.”

After developing a loyal following at local farmers markets, Annie Stranger and her ice cream company, Sweet Annie’s Artisan Creamery are set to open a shop of their own in Liberty Lake.

Barely an acre in size and nestled on a hillside in Davenport, Washington, Renegade Farm exemplifies a unique way of growing crops that relies mostly on the self-sustaining nature of its terrain.

If you have visited any of Spokane’s local farmers markets recently, you have likely heard Jared Kuck of K2 Greens asking passersby “Have you ever tried a microgreen?”

What started out as just a first job at age 16 quickly became a passion for Chef Austin Conklin, head chef at Inland Pacific Kitchen in Spokane’s historic Washington Cracker Co. Building. After harvesting nettles at Urban Eden Farm, Conklin returns to the kitchen to whip up an avant garde dessert.

For many immigrants, finding the flavors, ingredients and dishes they were raised on in their adopted home countries can be difficult. But the Inland Northwest offers Almaz Ainuu, owner of Spokane’s Queen of Sheba, a unique link to her native Ethiopia: teff.

Between Au Croissant and Fery's Catering and Take-Out, Fery Haghighi has been an icon of Spokane's local culinary landscape since arriving in the Inland Northwest after fleeing her native Iran in the late 1970's.

Born in Seoul, South Korea, Jeannie Choi grew up in a family of restaurateurs. Now she brings a lifetime of world travel experience and culinary techniques to her Airway Heights restaurant, D'Bali Asian Bistro, sharing an array of Southeast Asian flavors and specialties like curries, noodles and fried rice.