A Tasting Tour of Oregon Wine Country

By Joyce, on April 21st, 2020
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Oregon graciously brought parts of its Wine Country to San Francisco on a recent day in March 2020. The event showcased wines from some of the state’s primary wine regions. Over 50 wineries participated in pouring their wines to an appreciative very audience. Samples of Oregon cheeses and charcuterie complemented the large, walk-around wine tasting. [Read more …]

International Pinot Noir Celebration, Willamette Valley

By Joyce, on September 10th, 2018
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For Pinot Noir fans, there is no better event then the International Pinot Noir Celebration or IPNC. IPNC is an annual celebration that is probably the premier global pinot-focused event in the city. Although roughly 60 percent of the hundreds of participating vendors in 2018 were from Oregon, it also has a number of representative [Read more …]

Willamette Valley Restaurants

By Tom, on August 15th, 2014

We love exploring restaurants. We were, however, otherwise occupied during our six-day visit to the Willamette Valley. The International Pinot Noir Celebration (IPNC) kept us full occupied for two and a half days (not to speak of another evening for our Pre-IPNC Dinner at Cristom Winery. And even during our time visiting wineries, we seldom [Read more …]

Best of our Willamette Valley Winery Experiences

By Tom, on August 15th, 2014

We enjoyed (and typically bought) one or two wines from the vast majority of Willamette Valley wineries we visited. In other words. We bought a lot of wine! A number of wineries, however, four stood out: Wineries were we enjoyed virtually every wine we tasted. Among this rare breed were: [Read more …]

Carlton/Yamhill and Eola-Amity Hills Area Wineries and Restaurants

By Tom, on August 13th, 2014

Yamhill-Carlton is at the northern end of the Willamette Valley, while Eola-Amity Hills is at the southern end. Given the diversity in the Valley, and among these two AVAs, one might expect the wines from each to differ greatly, as do those from the contiguous Newberg and Dundee Hills AVAs. Surprisingly, while the soil types [Read more …]

Dundee Hills Area Wineries and Restaurants

By Tom, on August 11th, 2014

As a reminder form our previously posted Primer on Willamette Valley AVA and Vintages, the Dundee Hills AVA is generally characterized by red volcanic (Jory) soil which holds heat, resulting in deep, red cherry and plum-based fruit-focused wines with iron-based minerality and spices such as cinnamon, clove and cardamom. Of the three vintages we [Read more …]

Newberg Wineries and Restaurants

By Tom, on August 9th, 2014

As a reminder form our previously posted Primer on Willamette Valley AVA and Vintages, Newberg is generally characterized by brown, loamy, sedimentary (Willakenzie) soil that drains better than volcanic soil, resulting in more intense, earthier, darker fruit flavors, with floral elements and subtle tannins and baking spices. Of the three vintages we tasted: [Read more …]