Misuzu, who is a wine distributor from Japan, was interning at Ken Wright Cellars when I visited in 2011. She was back in the U.S. for a combination vacation/business trip and we had the opportunity to go to some wineries together while I was in Oregon.  We share some favorites and our first stop was Alexana where our friend, Christie,…

On Sunday, I packed up and headed south, back to Willamette Valley.  I checked into Ken Wright’s Winery Lofts, feeling like I had “come home.”  Carlton’s Walk in the Park was in progress, so I caught the trolley to the park.  It is an annual festival to benefit local charities and includes wineries, food, art, and music.  The wineries included…

Saturday was a very busy day featuring a diverse array of workshops and sessions. My friends, Mary and Lorie, and I decided to divide and conquer in order to get as much as possible out of the content being offered. My sessions included a blogging workshop that was very helpful and a fascinating session entitled ‘The Neuroscience of Wine Tasting’…

Friday got off to a fast start with an Argentine Food and Wine pairing brunch at 10:00 a.m. I wasn’t hungry and I wasn’t ready to drink, but neither of those factors were relevant. My favorite pairing was a Beef Empanada with Raisin Balsamic, Kalamata Olives, and Red Pepper Puree with Bodega Catena Zapata Alta Malbec 2009. The spice and…

Day Two and we were headed to Salem with our fantastic tour guide, Irene. Our first stop was Willamette Valley Heritage Center which includes the site of  a woolen mill established in the 1889. Peter Booth, the Executive Director, took us on a fascinating tour providing  a good understanding of the history of the mill and how it functioned as…

Wednesday and day one of the 2012 Wine Bloggers Conference. Several pre-conference excursions were offered and I chose the Salem option. Our first stop was the Evergreen Aviation Museum – they decided (wisely!) that we should see more than wineries!! It is an impressive campus containing an aviation museum, space museum, IMAX theater, and water park. One could easily spend…

A second visit to Two Boroughs Larder on August 3 proved to be as good or better than my first experience. The Larder was happy to allow me to bring in a bottle of wine and I selected a bottle of the 2008 Newton Unfiltered Cabernet Sauvignon that was mentioned in my post about the Newton Wine Dinner at Carolina’s….

Slightly North of Broad (locally and fondly known as “SNOB”) is offering a new Chef’s Table Dinner on Sunday evenings.  There are two seatings, one at 5:30 p.m. and one at 8:00 p.m.  My daughter, Hilary, and I occupied two of the six seats at the chef’s table overlooking the kitchen and were joined by two couples who were visiting…