Spend Labor Day weekend exploring 9 Clark County wineries

What is the essence of a great wine-and-food pairing?

For one thing, the late Carl English, founder of Vancouver’s English Estate Winery, liked to misquote jazz composer and bandleader Duke Ellington, who famously loved bending, breaking or simply ignoring rules.

“If it sounds good, it is good,” Ellington said about music, and that’s just how English viewed wine: “If it tastes good, it is good.”

“There are no rules. The best wine to pair with food is whatever your palate enjoys,” said Andee Mowrey, the tasting room manager at English Estate. “What I always tell people is, taste the wine and enjoy the flavors. Then enjoy the food and taste those flavors. Then, retaste the wine, and see how the food has adjusted the flavor of the wine.”

It’s a little bit art, a little bit science, a little bit personal preference and whole lot of exploration and experimentation. Don’t worry about doing it “wrong,” just get some practice over the long Labor Day weekend — Saturday, Sunday and Monday — as members of the Southwest Washington Winery Association show off great wine-and-food partnerships.

“It’s fun to try things and see how texture and flavors are enhanced by a good pairing,” Mowrey said — and, having waived any strict adherence to rules, she cited one “good general rule: the more flavorful the food, the more flavorful the wine should be.”

For example, English Estates Winery will match up its wines this weekend with Italian delicacies from Pasta Gigi’s, a Battle Ground bistro. The winery’s spicy, floral, semi-dry 2017 Gewurztraminer should partner nicely with a tangy goat cheese and roasted grape bruschetta with fresh rosemary, Mowrey said. And, like the historic Riveter of the same name, English Estate’s “Spunky Rosie” (rose) is bold and original, “So let’s pair her with some spicy roasted nuts and manchego cheese and olives and add to the experience,” Mowrey said. “Let your palate explode with great flavors.”

Meanwhile, English Estate’s full-bodied pinot noirs will dig into similarly earthy flavors: the 2014 with a mini-mushroom and herb tart, the extra-bold 2015 pinot with zesty pesto sauce on roasted sweet potato bites. English Estate produces many varieties, Mowrey said, but its bedrock is pinot noir — generally considered the easiest, most universal pairing wine. “It fits a full spectrum. It’s a fun one that pairs with everything,” she said.

Mowrey added that her personal favorite pairing this weekend will be English Estate’s dessert wine — a pinot fortified with brandy and aged in oak — with blue cheese and candied pecan crostini and local honey. “Strong cheese, strong wine,” she said.

English Estate, a historic family farm, started growing wine grapes in 1980, making it the leader of what’s grown into a thriving local winery scene. There are nearly two dozen family-owned, boutique wineries and vineyards in Southwest Washington now, according to the Winery Association. Not all are participating in this weekend of pairings, but the following are. Each one has its own pairing plans and fees, so check for open hours and other details — including what’s on the menu this weekend.

• Burnt Bridge Cellars, 1500 Broadway, Vancouver. 360-695-3363, burntbridgecellars.com

• Confluence Vineyards & Winery, 19111 N.W. 67th Ave., Ridgefield. 360-887-2343, confluencewinery.net

• English Estate Winery, 17806 S.E. First St., Vancouver. 360-772-5141, englishestatewinery.com

• Heathen Estate Winery, 9400 N.E. 134th St., Vancouver. 360-768-5199, heathenestate.com

• Heisen House Vineyards, 28005 N.E. 172nd Ave., Battle Ground. 360-713-2359, heisenhousevineyards.com

• Pomeroy Cellars, 20902 N.E. Lucia Falls Road, Yacolt. 360-686-3785, pomeroycellars.com

• Rezabek Vineyards, 11700 N.E. 279th St., Battle Ground. 360-896-0218, rezabekvineyards.com

• Stavalaura Vineyards, 29503 N.W. 41st Ave., Ridgefield. 360-887-1476, stavalaura.com

• Windy Hills Winery, 1346 S. 38th Court, Ridgefield. 360-727-2200, windyhillswinery.com

Pick up a passport at one of the participating wineries and get it stamped at five of them to be entered in a drawing for winery gift certificates. Let this one additional quote, from the great rule-breaking wit and oenophile W.C. Fields, speed your journey: “I cook with wine. Sometimes I even add it to the food.”