Road Trip 10 - The Pacific Northwest
Page 7
Friday the 13th!
There were lots of deer around
We headed to the Historic City of Carlton which is along Route 47 on the northeast side of the Valley
This is Carlton, Oregon
First stop: Troon
Lorri at Troon
Troon is actually a Southern Oregon winery. No Pinot here but their wines were good and a nice contrast to the local Pinot Noirs.
I guess we bought a couple bottles
Next up was Kramer, a little more casual of a place.
And then it was on to Seven of Hearts
Where they also sold some fine chocolates
Our tasting room hostess was very nice
Lorri outside of Seven of Hearts with the highly recommended Horse Radish Diner in the background, known to some locals as the "HoRad"
Up the street was Carlton Winemakers Studio, sort of a co-op.
You can taste and purchase wines from a few different vintners.
We were running a little late for our 2:00 PM appointment at Big Table Farm so we didn't spend much time there
When you see the big table, you know you're at Big Table Farm
This is Clare. She and her husband run the show here
Clare is an artist and designs all their labels
Clare's studio
Clare's dogs
All btf wines were excellent
The front porch
Clare's pigs
Clare and the farm house. We had a great time here. Clare was a very gracious host and treated us like long lost friends.
Friday evening we enjoyed an excellent dinner at Bistro Maison in McMinnville
Highly recommended!
We ate on the outside patio and had a great dinner
And a great bottle of wine
Saturday, September 14
We had lunch at McMenamins
Not so sure what this means but McMenamins is in this hotel in McMinnville.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Another day of wine exploring, today mostly in the Chehalem Mountains AVA
Starting with Anam Cara
Celtic for "friend of the soul"
The owner brought in cuttings from all of there clones and we tasted them! They were mostly pretty sweet. Harvest time is just around the corner!
Here is Sheila signing a bottle for us. She and her husband own Anam Cara.
Up the hill a way we stopped by Alloro
Alloro had the feel of a Tuscan estate
A real old-fashioned hot tub!
Part of the ambiance, an outdoor room
The cellar
Talking about new French oak! These were still wrapped from shipping
Lorri studying the menu
Ponzi was highly recommended so we schemed our way there.
The architecture was very interesting, not my style, but very well done!
All clean lines and no nonsense.
Speaking of clean lines and no nonsense....
Ponzi
Across the ridge from Ponzi we discovered Raptor Ridge
A lot smaller and cozier than Ponzi
Good wines and good fun
Looking back at Ponzi
Finally back "home"
"Yellow Man" was used to scare the birds away from the vines.
View of our valley
And our chairs!
Monday, September 16
We got most of our things packed since we were to leave the next day and then took a stroll around our vineyard
Looking across the vineyard at our house
a view of Lorri and the main house
Our house again
We decided to take the opportunity to visit a couple last wineries and went south into the McMinnville AVA looking for ones that were open on a Monday
We found an amazing Winery/Inn
We were treated to a tasting by the assistant winemaker
This is the view from their deck
The Inn consisted of eight rooms and plenty of public space
In contrast to Youngberg Hill,
Coeur de Terre was a bit smaller and more intimate
Jacques from Annecy, France, a place we visited last year, was a great host.
Coeur de Terre vines
Coeur de Terre
Well, that's it from Willamette Valley!
Tuesday and Wednesday, the ride back to San Diego
Tuesday we camped at Red Bluff Recreation area on the Sacramento River
A nice quiet spot
Wednesday night we camped north of LA in the Los Padres National Forest
My kind of camping: free (with my Senior Parks Pass), quiet and virtually deserted.
Here's to my lovely wife and a great road trip! And here's to all fans of Superstork who made it to the end of our Road Trip 10!
(I know there must be one or two of you out there!)
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