The Boys are Back in Town
As I started writing this, Thanksgiving was just a couple days away. In response, the machines in our life seemed to be staging some kind of insurrection. As if the web server wasn't bad enough, last week the fridge, taking a cue from the horrible headlines of today, took it's own life and all the food with it. The start relay died so it just blew hot air on the food all night. Thawed everything. Left a big puddle of meat juice on the floor for me to walk through on the way to the coffee maker in the morning. We got lucky and found a service guy willing to come out the same day and deal with the thing. It lives. Carolyn made chili out of everything that thawed. The silver lining was the chance to really clean out the thing.
Two days later Carolyn's cousin Gil and his partner JD arrived for the holiday. We've been getting together with them for years. Oh, the cocktails flowed! It rained like hell the whole time so there was little to do but lay around in front of the fire or bake or mix drinks.
Friday we lit out for the wineries. For those not resident in Oregon, Thanksgiving and Memorial Day are the two big wine holidays of the year when all the wineries open their doors and you go for tastings, buy futures, rub elbows with winemakers and generally clog up the roads. We paid visits to Ken Wright Cellars, Scott Paul Cellars and Zena Wines.
Ken Wright is one of the legends of Oregon wine. His wines are great but difficult to find and expensive to purchase. It's been so long since I've had any, I can't really tell you what they're like. Nonetheless, the winery is a great stop. They do barrel tastings that are really informative so you'll learn something trying wine straight from the barrel. It's only a $5 cover so it's a screaming deal too. Just don't expect to walk out with a bottle of Pinot.
Scott Paul just opened up his winery and tasting room. We've been fans of his for several years. I find his wines prettier than many. More balanced and less of the fruit bomb style that seems to be popular these days.
Zena is just down the street. They are a young couple making a Riesling, Cab Franc, and a Merlot. Their Riesling is in the German style so it's less fruit forward than American Rieslings. I like their wines and I think they'll go a long way but I really love their energy and packaging. I think the new generation of winemakers understands that it's a crowded field out there and if you're going to get someone to spring for your bottle, you need to give them a reason.
I'm about to lose my battery so I'll pick this up later. Stay tuned...
Two days later Carolyn's cousin Gil and his partner JD arrived for the holiday. We've been getting together with them for years. Oh, the cocktails flowed! It rained like hell the whole time so there was little to do but lay around in front of the fire or bake or mix drinks.
Friday we lit out for the wineries. For those not resident in Oregon, Thanksgiving and Memorial Day are the two big wine holidays of the year when all the wineries open their doors and you go for tastings, buy futures, rub elbows with winemakers and generally clog up the roads. We paid visits to Ken Wright Cellars, Scott Paul Cellars and Zena Wines.
Ken Wright is one of the legends of Oregon wine. His wines are great but difficult to find and expensive to purchase. It's been so long since I've had any, I can't really tell you what they're like. Nonetheless, the winery is a great stop. They do barrel tastings that are really informative so you'll learn something trying wine straight from the barrel. It's only a $5 cover so it's a screaming deal too. Just don't expect to walk out with a bottle of Pinot.
Scott Paul just opened up his winery and tasting room. We've been fans of his for several years. I find his wines prettier than many. More balanced and less of the fruit bomb style that seems to be popular these days.
Zena is just down the street. They are a young couple making a Riesling, Cab Franc, and a Merlot. Their Riesling is in the German style so it's less fruit forward than American Rieslings. I like their wines and I think they'll go a long way but I really love their energy and packaging. I think the new generation of winemakers understands that it's a crowded field out there and if you're going to get someone to spring for your bottle, you need to give them a reason.
I'm about to lose my battery so I'll pick this up later. Stay tuned...
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