How did I get from Idaho and Walla Walla back to California for the Petite Sirah Symposium? By way of some Oregon Pinot Noir of course!
Read on to get a taste and see where I went and what I did; more in depth blog posts to come about my stops in Willamette Valley AVAs including Barrel Fence in the Dundee Hills (pictured) and Coleman Vineyards in the McMinnville AVA (photos below).
via art predator
Hard to believe I’ve been on the road since July 2! In that time I’ve tasted wines from Idaho, Montana, and Washington, and I’ve spent quality time at wineries in Idaho and in Washington. I’ve tasted some fabulous wines from the Snake River AVA (Cold Springs vineyards pictured with owner Bill Ringert, Snake River winemaker Scott pictured, Cinder winemaker Melanie Krause pictured, Zhoo Zhoo and Hells Canyon family pictured below ) as well as Walla Walla (Sinclair Estates, Dunham Cellars, Amavi) and I’ve got lots of stories to share as well as tasting notes (subscribe!!)
Yesterday, Tuesday July 19, I spent the morning at Dunham Cellars with Eric Dunham then tasted through a number of wines including two reserve wines and a wine that Eric is making with actor Kyle MacLaughlan.
Then as a huge windy rainstorm rolled in, I did some writing at Walla Walla Roastery including the post that follows which I published at my The Write Alley blog. In it, I share two stories from the road–one about synchronicity and one about doing what you love which came from my interview with Eric.
My last stop in Walla Walla was to taste the wines and learn more about Amavi Cellars; pictured above is the beautiful new tasting room. There I met with Eric McKibben, son of Norm McKibben who was one of the first people to plant wine grapes in the region which he subsequently made into wine at Pepper’s Bridge (Amavi’s sister winery).
Now, after a day of soaking at Bagby Hot Springs, I’m staying with friends on the coast in Newport, Oregon and gearing up to visit more wineries and learn more stories! I’m off to McMinnville tomorrow afternoon!! I’m ready for some Oregon PINOT NOIR!
Yesterday, Tuesday July 19, I spent the morning at Dunham Cellars with Eric Dunham then tasted through a number of wines including two reserve wines and a wine that Eric is making with actor Kyle MacLaughlan.
I have more stories to tell about these wineries in a subsequent posts, but in the meantime, here’s the post with two lessons from the road accompanied by photos of Eric Dunham with paintings that grace his reserve labels.
via The Write Alley
YOU’RE INVITED FRIDAY June 24 2011:
“Please join us online, all day, from any time zone on Friday, June 24, 2011 to raise a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. By searching for conversations online mentioning #SauvBlanc you can see what the conversation is all about. By adding #SauvBlanc in your own online posts, you are PART of the conversation. Be a part of the wine tasting too – open a bottle (or several) of Sauvignon Blanc and let everyone know what you think, what food you enjoy along side the wine, what occasions are ideal for the wine, your favorite memories of the wine…it’s all relevant, it’s all fun!”
For Sauvignon Blanc Day, we enjoyed a 2009 Brancott Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand. Lots of lovely acidity and citrus, grapefruit, lime, lemon, a hit of white peach and nectarine, a screw top, and reasonable 12.5% alcohol.Widely available at a grocery store or restaurant near you for under $15; I found it on clearance for $7. I opened it on Wednesday and it was still in great shape by Friday.
I’m especially fond of this wine with arugala pesto so in honor of Sauvignon Blanc Day, my husband stuffed then grilled organic chicken breasts with oyster mushrooms, asparagus and my homemade arugala, rosemary and basil pesto with pine nuts and organic olive oil. On the side, I prepared a salad of organic arugala, basil, and cherokee tomatoes, all fresh from the farmers market, with fresh mozzarella and pine nuts. They all played well together!
June 25 will be quite a day for Santa Barbarians! Saturday is the HUGE Solstice Parade. Wildly decorated people will take over State Street and dance their way from one end to the other, concluding at a park where people can see the floats, dance to live music, and check out vendors. It goes on until 4pm but wine enthusiasts will bug out at 2pm and drive up the hill to the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum because YOU’RE INVITED SATURDAY June 25:
Saturday, June 25, 2011 2:00–5:00 PM
Tickets are still available day of/at the door $95.
“SWIRL, SIP, & SAVOR…wines from more than 70 Central Coast premier wineries complemented with savory and sweet delectable delights at the Santa Barbara Wine Festival™. Escape for an afternoon and enjoy the refreshing ambiance of being in nature as you take pleasure in tantalizing tastings of food and wine. This is a must-do summertime favorite and the wine festival you cannot miss. Proceeds benefit the Museum’s exhibits and science education programs for school children.”
The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is a wonderful venue and a chance to mix it up with the beautiful people of Santa Barbara for a good cause–my son and another mom and her two boys were just up there a month ago to see the butterflies, the exhibits, the creek, and the raptors in rehab. The 70 Central Coast premier wineries and restaurants presenting savory and sweet delectable delights are all top notch. This is one classy event!
Read more about The Santa Barbara Wine Festival at the SB Museum of Natural History on their blog. We were going to be out of town so I didn’t get myself a ticket–now we’re going to be here and I have to admit that, as much as I’d like to go, $95 is out of this Wine Predator’s budget!
Just what I need–a leather wine rack for my bicycle! Love this!!
While I have found that many wine bottles fit in a standard water bicycle cage (one of the many lessons in living from attending the Burning Man Festival), this is a very classy way to travel with your favorite beverage!
You can buy yourself one for $25 Canadian at etsy. Designer Jesse says,
“This thing is awesome! I had a lot of fun making it and doing the R&D 🙂 The rack secures tightly to the frame so that the two parts do not separate. I’ve tried it with a bunch of different bottles and it’s nicely flexible. The fittings and hardware are all brass. It only fits a 1″ bike frame!”
This would be a very special and unusual Mothers or Fathers Day gift for the wine lover in your family!
Now to figure out a way to carry wine glasses without breaking them!
I’ve been busy getting all the details figured out for the “Message in a Bottle: Ocean to Ojai” writing workshops that I’m doing with Danika Dinsmore as part of Ojai’s WordFest March 19-27, 2011.
A week or so ago I checked out venues for the winemaker dinner and open mic for Thurs March 24 and stopped by Old Creek Ranch Winery to talk with owner John Whitman and winemaker Michael Meagher. We also enjoyed some tasting: the petit sirah from the barrel is out of this world delicious!
And while I can’t make any promises, it’s looking likely that the cherry trees will be blooming at Old Creek Ranch Winery!
Here are all the fabulous details–menus and wines to come soon!
via The Write Alley
What are your Valentine’s plans? Maybe a little sherry and Belgian chocolate like I suggested in yesterday’s post? I’ve got more ideas for you coming up! But in the meantime, you might consider checking out the following:
The Ventura County Winery Association invites you and your valentine to a three-day wine tasting passport event to explore the wineries of Ventura County during Valentine’n Wine Passport Weekend.
Visit twelve participating wineries, taste award-winning wines and enjoy special food pairings at many locations from Friday February 11 to Sunday February 13.
Each ticket holder will receive one regular wine tasting flight at each of twelve participating locations, during their regular operating hours. Pay $45 online and pick up your ticket at one of several event locations; tickets may also be purchased at participating locations during the event weekend for $55 per person.
Find out which wineries are participating and more information about Ventura County’s Valentine n’Wine Weekend: http://www.valentinenwine.com/.
Because the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla Washington has filled up and sold out ALREADY, WBC scholarship applications will NOT be accepted until May as originally planned but closed a month early on Friday!
However, if you still want to apply for a scholarship to the WBC 2010, you can still send in your application over the weekend (like NOW) and it will be reviewed: wbcscholarship at gmail dot com. They need to know the following about you and your blog:
I am now working on my application in hopes that I will receive a scholarship and once again attend the fabulous Wine Bloggers Conference. I’d really like to learn more about Washington wines at the source–Washington!!–and share the experience here on Wine Predator with you as I did in Santa Rosa in 2008 and 2009 as well as in Lisbon 2009.
And if you can, please support the Wine Bloggers Scholarship fund and help send needy wine bloggers to Walla Walla Washington! The fund is $1500 short of its goal to fund 10 bloggers (and hopefully one of those 10 bloggers will be me!)
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 