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…

Greetings.  Last weekend was a fun and food filled adventure in one of my favorite cities, Washington D.C.  My daughter, Hilary, and I made a return visit to Michel Richard’s Citronelle, the restaurant where we began the celebration of her 21st birthday 11 years ago.  We were seated at an upper level table with an excellent view of the diningroom…

6:15 a.m. alarm.  Seth Miller, one of the vineyard managers picked me up at 7:00.  It was a dry and cool morning, perfect for the task ahead.  Tanager is owned by Ken’s brother and sister-in-law so this was a special morning for them-the first harvest of their new vineyard.  It typically takes at least 3 years for a new vineyard to…

Today is Saturday and our first order of business is a trip out to Shea Vineyard to sample.  Shea is an enormous 140 acre vineyard with acreage leased by a number of wine makers.  Ken leases 6 acres.  The grapes just aren’t ready.  They need some sun and the birds are an increasing threat.  Ken’s vineyard managers were out sampling the other vineyards and…

Today was a “play day”.  My first stop was a visit to Sokol Blosser Winery.  The lovely drive up to the winery was flanked by Pinot Noir on the left and Pinot Gris on the right.  Alison took me on a tour that included nearby vineyards and the winery. Sokol Blosser is in the heart of the Dundee Hills, famous for its red volcanic…