Last Friday night my husband and I rang in the New Year a wee bit early with our group of winetasting friends in Portland. As I’ve written before, the core of these several couples has been getting together over good wine and food, sharing our friendship, childrearing and life’s joys and sorrows for almost 30 years.

Usually, we pick a theme, varietal, region or vintage; and everyone brings a bottle and a dish to share. This time, Harry was eager to make room in his cellar for some recent purchases while trying some great wines before they were too old. He offered to bring all the wine and some of our favorite cheeses from the Rogue Creamery, and everyone else brought the rest of the food.

I won’t go into exhaustive tasting notes (primarily because I don’t do those; I just sip and enjoy and mentally note the good stuff — and those mental notes are usually a blur by the next morning), but for you oenophiles out there, I’ll give a quick report. Aside from a few whites to start the evening, we drank Washington state Syrahs from 2002, mostly from Walla Walla and the Columbia Valley. There wasn’t an off or over-the-hill one in the bunch; every one boasted wonderful flavors, balance and finesse. It was a pleasure sharing these bottles with our good friends, especially as Harry and I have, over the years, come to know many of the owners, winemakers, their staffs and families from our visits to their tasting rooms and wineries. Check out any of these producers in your local wine shop or on a trip out West, and you won’t be disappointed:

Alexandria Nicole Cellars

Amavi Cellars

Fielding Hills Winery

Five Star Cellars

Isenhower Cellars

Rulo Winery

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor