So, I spent the Fourth in Seattle with my sister, brother-in-law and little Clementine (who's almost two now). We did it right, by barbecuing these friggin' enormous steaks.



I mean, they were huge and, as if I needed it, I was given the fattest one, which you see here dwarfing an ear of corn (and, no, that's not a baby corn--it's normal sized). Needless to say, I could only eat about a third of it.



Anyway, it was a good opportunity to slurp up some big red wine. We went with a non-American one, a Sardinian wine from the grape called Cannonau, vintage 2003, the biggest vintage in the last century. We also had a nice Gigondas, courtesy of my brother-in-law, John, who as a chef and wine buyer in Seattle, truly knows his stuff. The only thing I regret is not drinking an American Cabernet. After all, with steak or some other form of beef is about the only time you can drink a lot of these monsters.



But, had I chosen a Washington red for the task, I wouldn't have picked one that's known for its extreme size. I probably would have gone for Cadence, one of the most balanced yet intense Washington wines. I've been tasting it since its first vintages in the late nineties, and it's only gotten better as the winery has evolved. You can find it here in town, holding its own against the Napa juggernaut (a testament to the wine's quality) as shops like the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant and K&L have stocked it for years.