The Good Life

Paige & Dina picnic with their Dad Tom Stockley

My guests this week is Paige Stockley and her sister Dina Moreno, daughters of one of the wine worlds early writers and champions of Pacific Northwest wines and wine and food from around the world, Tom Stockley.  On Jan. 31, 2000, on a trip back from Mexico, Tom and his wife Peggy’s plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California, killing all 88 on board. Tom and Peggy’s deaths were mourned throughout the wine, houseboat and Seattle communities, and Tom received a number of posthumous awards.

2 decades after celebrated wine writer Tom Stockley’s death, his daughters publish the recipe journal he left behind: “A Collection of My Favorite Things to Cook – Plus Notes and Comments on Culinary Travels Everywhere,” 

Tom Stockley, as the wine writer for The Seattle Times during the industry’s earliest days, found himself at the epicenter of Washington’s transformation from ho-hum food producer to crafter and curator of wines that would eventually compete with the world’s best.
It is only natural that Stockley’s kitchen skills grew right along with his knowledge of Washington wines. As the old saying goes, wine makes a symphony of a good meal.

Stockley’s daughters, Dina Moreno and Paige Stockley, discovered their father’s recipe journal among his papers after his death. These are the dishes of an adventurer and learner, in their earliest forms; these culinary experiments were served when guests came to call (and it seemed they were always calling).

Interspersed with a selection of his Seattle Times Wine columns, family stories and observations from many journeys, we the readers are invited to far more than a bystander’s view of the past. Through Stockley’s recipes, written in his own hand, we are urged to see what he saw, taste what he tasted—to know the deep-rooted satisfaction that comes from sharing good food and a delightful bottle of wine with family, friends, and strangers. The latter were merely friends Stockley had yet to meet.  Get a copy NOW!

“You would want to read this cover-to-cover, like you’d read a novel or something,” Moreno said. “It’s not just about food and wine. It’s also about travel, the people he met during his travels and the special occasions that brought him a lot of enjoyment.”

Good Life Guy’s Wine of the Week:
Something from the Pacific Northwest that I’m sure Mr. Stockley would approve!
2017 L’Ecole No41 Columbia Valley Merlot
This serious and structured Merlot reveals intriguing aromatics of dark fruit, tobacco leaf, cedar, violet, and rose. Its rich texture is elevated by flavors of black cherry, peppercorn, grounded by Ferguson’s graphite minerality carrying into a flavorful persistent finish.

L’Ecole N° 41 is recognized as one of Washington State’s top producers of premium Merlot and this estate vineyard blend represents our best. The elegance and old world structure of Seven Hills Vineyard adds complexity to the earthiness and minerality of the basalt soil from Ferguson.

Fractured basalt – Estate Ferguson Vineyard 50%
Wind-blown loess – Estate Seven Hills Vineyard 50%

“The baking spice, dark raspberry and anise aromas provide appeal. Broad-feeling, textured flavors follow, with cranberry-tart acidity and brawny, firm tannins backing it up. It’s an extremely impressive offering of this variety, showing its more serious side—Washington Merlot at its best. It will shine at the dinner table and will have a long life in front of it, seemingly near immortal.” Wine Enthusiast 92