Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1399
D / the tasting panel / july 2009 H O T E L The view off a balcony: The Woodmark is the only hotel, yacht club and spa on Lake Washington, east of Seattle. Woodmark F&B Director Dain Kurita at Bin Vivant, in front of his Enomatic preservation system that, with its food-grade argon gas, allows the 72 wines by the glass to be kept stable for up to 30 days. The restaurant is celebrating its fi rst anniversary this month. Weddings at The Woodmark Hotel are spectacular. Here, a couple shares vows overlooking Lake Washington on a warm summer night. In the elegant Seattle suburb of Kirk- land, the Woodmark Hotel sits grandly on Lake Washington, proffering an awe-inspiring view to Seattle and the Olympic mountains across its shores. Its showcase spot is Bin Vivant, a wine-centric dining and sipping venue. "I think I've done every job there is to do here at the Woodmark," says Dain Kurita, F&B Director for the luxury ho- tel. "I always seem to circle back to food and beverage." A seven-year veteran at the MTM- owned property, Kurita can name dozens of wines that have inspired him along the way and motivated a global list (the majority of which is Washing- ton State) and an array of fascinating fl ights. "I've traveled to 40 countries and have witnessed the refl ection of the land through the wines, and vice versa." Kurita and Executive Chef Scott Lents collaborate on signature dishes and the key elements of wines' fl avor profi les. "Once Chef creates the dish, we continue to tweak," says the 32-year-old, whose ability to pick up aromatics, acidity, weight and texture shows up as he matches each dish with precision. D W o o d m a r k