Wine and Gifts

I left the coast on Tuesday morning, and I drove to the town of McMinnville, in the heart of the Oregon Wine Country. As I left the coast, I drove through some densely forested areas with large hills, but suddenly, the terrain flattened out somewhat and the blue, blue sky appeared overhead. Barns appeared on the hills, and I saw dairy cows in fields and rows and rows of planted trees. Eventually, I came back to rolling terrain, and then appeared tons of grape vines. I'd arrived in the wine country. And what a sight, actually: the green vines, all lined up like soldiers, the pale green Oregon grass (totally different than the grass in Texas and Atlanta), and then the nearly cloudless sky with occasional barns scattered throughout the area. It was absolutely pastoral, and to this city girl, incredibly lovely.

I had arranged for a Bed and Breakfast in the adjoining town of Carlton. I stayed in a very cute place, the RR Thompson House B&B. My hosts were Roselyn and Mike, and they were wonderful. My room was on the third floor. I was the only guest who stayed there! So although I didn't have other travelers with whom to bond, I definitely had time to chat with Roselyn and Mike, which was great.

When I arrived on Tuesday, Roselyn recommended I go to the Tyrus Evan Tasting Room, just across the street from the Ken Wright Winery, and owned by Ken Wright himself. I had six wines to taste there, two white and four separate pinot noirs. And it was hard to keep them all straight -- and they were all really ineresting -- but if I had to guess, I'd guess that my favorite of the pinot noirs was the Savoya Vineyard pinot noir.

Anyway, after I drank my fill (I was a little tipsy after 6 tastes which I did NOT pour out), I walked around the tasting room, which has a little gift shop area. As I did so, a man walked into the room and started talking to the woman behind the counter of the tasting area. I had also been speaking with her, and so the three of us started a conversation about cookbooks, and how we learned to cook. It was an interesting conversation, and the man said that he had met Julia Child several times, and once went to a food and wine conference, and was accidentally placed into Jacques Pepin's hotel room (the mistake was discovered, and he was moved into a different, and smaller, room). That seemed quite impressive, but I didn't put two and two together until it was too late....after he left, the woman behind the counter told me that I had been speaking to Ken Wright himself. So there you have it. I met the man, one of the rock stars of the wine world, and I had a conversation with him about cookbooks. Oh, well. At least I didn't fall down drunk in front of him, I suppose....

Anyway, I didn't really do anything else that night, but the next day, I went to FIVE wineries. I started at Lange, because I really like their wines. They recommended some others to go to: Argyle (for sparkling wines), Domaine Drouhin, and De Ponte (for a specific white wine, the melon). I also went to Erath, just because it's a wine I can find in Atlanta; and Anne Amie, because Roselyn recommended it to me and because it was close to the B&B.

So, the run down: I found wines at each and every place that I really enjoyed. However, the wine that really blew me away was the melon at De Ponte. (For those interested, it is the De Ponte Cellars 2009 DFB Estate Melon.) So I inquired: melon was a vine that was planted at multiple Oregon wineries by mistake; it was thought to be a pinot blanc. It took a while, but at some point, people realized it was the wrong vine. Every vineyard except for two decided to pull it out. De Ponte was one of the only vineyards which kept it in place. They said the melon (pronounced "mel-OAN", BTW) has "done very well" for them. It blew me away. Thanks to Lange for recommending it to me.

I also really enjoyed the Erath 2008 Pinot Gris Knight's Gambit Vineyard, the Lange 2008 Pinot Noir Freedom Hill Vineyard, the Anne Amie 2007 Prisme Pinot Noir Blanc, and the Argyle 2006 Knudsen Vineyard Brut. And I learned that, regardless of the deliciousness of the wines, that I needed to pour out the wine after 1-2 tastes, or else I'd be too tipsy to see more than 1-2 wineries during the day.

Unfortunately, I never made it to Domaine Drouhin. They closed earlier than some of the others, and I didn't time it right, so when I arrived there, they were closed for the day.

I was given two really nice gifts while I was in the wine country. First of all, the De Ponte wine tasting host was incredibly nice. We had a long conversation about my trip and my Jeep, and even though I didn't buy anything (I figured wine and a 6-month long road trip don't mix well), he gave me my tasting for free. He told me to have a wonderful time, and thanked me for the conversation. The second gift came the following morning. After an amazing three-course breakfast which included french toast with homemade berry compote, they brought me out a cake! It was a pecan-carrot single-layer cake, frosted with white icing, and covered with fruit, like a fruit torte. There was also fruit layered around it, and chocolate drizzled around. They told me they made the cake because they were inspired by my trip, and wished me well on the journey. I was overcome by the gesture, and I immediately teared up. But despite my feeling full enough to pop, I ate a piece of cake, and basked in the warmth and good wishes they bestowed upon me.

One hour later, holding the leftover cake and a rose cut from their garden, and trying once again to hide tears, I told Mike and Roselyn goodbye, left Carlton, and drove to Portland. It was a really nice stay. Once again, I am impressed by the beauty and naturalness of Oregon, and by the friendliness of the people who live here. What an amazing place: from Medford, to Crater Lake area, to the coast, and now the wine country, Oregon has been truly a wonderful place to visit.