Oregon Wine Tours

New VIP tour

2009-05-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

I am very excited to offer a new level of VIP tour this summer.

I feel that one of the biggest things that seperate Oregon Wine Tours from the other tour companies is our education and my insistance that my guests on the tour always feel comfortable in the tasting rooms and are free to ask me questions...

Our VIP tours are generally higher end wine people with a good sense of knowledge about wine. On our VIP tours, we generally visit the boutique wineries where we can sit down with an owner and wine maker and taste their wines, do some barrel tasting and talk and learn about their wines.

On our new "Ultimate VIP Tour", I'm taking that concept one step further by having one of those wine makers join us for the day. We will get an insiders look into the Oregon wine industry. We will talk about and visit the vineyards and learn how to grow the grapes... We will visit the winery and learn how to make the wine and meet some of the most prestigious wine makers in Oregon.

That's only part of the day however. I love wine. I enjoy wine and appreciate more than anything being able to pair an excellent wine with food. I've got one of the valley's best restaurants and chefs to make us specially prepared lunches paired with the wines to enjoy on the tour. It's going to be an incredible tour with the best wines, the best foods and a truly VIP experience like no other. It's an all day tour. All day with one of Oregon's best wine makers. Lunch prepared by a chef specifically with wines tasted during the day that is so over the top it's crazy. It's truly an experience in Oregon's wine country that is exquisite and unparalleled. Please call us if you want more information. I'm very excited at this new tour and I think those that go on it are going to be really impressed!

Cheers!

Growth of the Grape

2008-11-18T08:02:00.000-08:00

I've documented the growth of the grape vine this year. In the following pictures, I've got examples of the vine from before bud break all the way through the year.

Since grape vines are self pollinating, there is no need for bees or any other insects to carry the pollen. This is a crucial time in the vineyard because the weather can't be too windy or rainy or it will effect the crop for the rest of the year. In 2008, it was late by a couple of weeks, but perfect.

Verasion - This is when the sugers start to rise and the aciditydrops. As you can see, this is where the grapes start to change color. This actually happens fairly quickly as the sugars start to rise.

I think that 2008 will turn out to be a very good vintage. The fruit looked great. The year started out about two weeks late which had everyone nervous in early September because we weren't sure if the fruit would be ripe or not. Our falls can be very cold and wet. Luckily, it turned out great. Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Cheers,

Ron

2008 Crush

2008-11-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

Bud break this year (2008) came roughly two to three weeks late. That simply means that in an already short growing season in Oregon that the date set for harvesting wine grapes in the

Northern Willamette Valley is going to slide from mid September into October. If you are familiar with the weather here, that is also a point of concern for the vineyard managers and wine makers. October here is typically wet and cold. As of mid September, people were getting a bit nervous. But then the weather got perfect and the grapes were allowed to slowly ripen to near perfection and now the wine makers are all very happy people - though very tired.
I've had the opportunity this year to help two wineries out at crush this season. In the picture, I'm forking in Pinot Noir grapes into a de-stemmer at Styring Vineyards. They are a very small winery making some excellent Pinot's but since they are a very small operation, many things are done a bit more manually. I literally, by hand, shoveled in 10 1/2 tons of fruit into a destemmer over a period of three days.
Between, before and after that activity is cleaning. Many people ask me what all you do when you make wine. Well, you clean - A LOT! Everything that the fruit touches has to be completely clean and sterile. So everything goes through several cleanings before and after each use. I spent one day while working at Anderson Family Vineyards cleaning 5 gallon buckets. Everything has to be clean, clean, clean. It's not always fun, but it has to get done and done well. I figured that if I'm going to clean buckets, these are going to be the cleanest darn buckets around! Why not?
I'll run you through the process of wine making. When the grapes are picked and brought to the "crush pad" (this is where it basically starts for the winery", the grapes are weighed. Then they are sorted. When you sort, you are removing leaves, un ripe grapes or grapes that are bad anyway and anything else you don't want in the wine. Then the grapes are de-stemmed. The grapes fall into a fermentation bin and the stems go into another bin to be composted into the vineyard. Once you fill a fermentation bin, the bin is taken into the winery where the wine maker is going to do some quick lab tests to check the PH of the wine, temperature and suger levels. The exposed area of the inside of the bin is cleaned again (seriously) and then if the grapes are too warm, dry ice is added so the grapes can go through what is called a cold soak. After 3-5 days in a cold soak, the temperature is allowed to raise gradually and then fermentation will start. That will take about a week or so for the grapes to ferment. Then the grapes are pressed, put in French oak barrels and allowed to age for 8 - 18 months depending on the wine maker.
I think 2008 is going to go down in Oregon anyway as fantastic vintage and maybe one of the best in a long time. It's hard, wet work, long hours and you are very tired and sore for weeks, but it's worth it! I can't wait for next year.

Cheers!

Vista Balloon Adventures

2008-09-03T14:54:00.000-07:00

We recently had the great pleasure to enjoy a ride with Roger at Vista Balloon Adventures. The day we picked was about as perfect as you could hope for.

We lifted off at 7:08 am from the air park in Newberg, Oregon.

I have an incredible fear of heights so I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this...

I have to say that it did not bother me at all! The

crews are exceptional and very professional. You will have a great time and see the country-side in a way you can only enjoy in a hot air balloon. The one thing I really noticed and enjoyed was how peaceful it was. The burner on the balloon is a bit loud and warm, but after that, it's so peaceful

. It truly is just floating on the breezes. There is no sensation of movement at all and I don't know why, but I felt completely comfortable. I can't even stand near the rail on our hotel room balcony if we are above the third or fourth floor! Seriously - the balloons are incredibly easy to ride and comfortable.

At certain elevations you would suddenly feel a breeze and then as you gently ascended or descended, the breeze would change or just vanish. Roger took us down to the Willamette River and sat us down ever so easy just on the water for a minute before slowly rising up above the river once again. What an experience.

The ride is short because the air currents become a bit more turbulent as the sun warms the air. You have landed by 8:15 or so where the ground crew is waiting to load the balloon up and take you to an excellent breakfast and champagne

toast. The brunch was excellent with a nice variety of foods, a chance to share your experience with others and the ability to talk more with the pilots if you like.

This is an exciting and beautiful way to start your wine tour. I would be happy to pick people up from their flight and continue on with a tour of the wineries you were just looking down on like a soaring bird.

The area is some of the most beautiful countryside anywhere. You can see vineyards all around, mountian peeks, rivers, wild life and rich farm land.

Call Vist Balloon Adventures for more information.

Cheers!

Corked Wines

2008-07-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

Have you ever opened a bottle of wine to find it smelling like a wet dog? That is commonly caused by a bacteria in the cork called trichloroanisole or TCA. That is why so many wineries are looking to different closures for wine. The most common is the screw cap or Stelvin Enclosure. There are also synthetic corks and a new product which is a glass cork. I'm thinking you will start seeing more and more of these. I've attached a link to this entry which explains cork taint, how to identify it and what exactly it is. You won't get sick or worse drinking "tainted" wine, but it sure takes the enjoyment out of a good bottle of wine. That is exactly why I think that the screw cap is going to be the way to go.
Like you, I still enjoy hearing that "pop" when a bottle is opened, but I absolutely hate smelling that wine and realizing that the very nice, non replaceable bottle of wine I just opened for my dinner guests is worse than a jug of cheap wine...
The question I have is; if a bottle of wine that has been ruined by cork taint is corked, is a bottle of wine which has gone bad because the seal on a screw cap failing, is it "screwed"?

Cheers!

VIP Tours

2008-03-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

Oregon Wine Tours was recently chosen to provide a VIP tour to her Excellency Claudia Fritsche; Ambassador of the principality of Liechtenstein. We were referred to the Ambassador by two resources as being the best tour company in the area. We were able to provide a very high end tour for the Ambassador and her group with private tastings with some of the areas best wineries. Pictured is Doug Tunnell of Brick House Winery showing the Ambassador his vineyards and the surrounding Chehalem Ridge AVA. We also were able to provide an excellent lunch thanks to the help of the Dundee Bistro. They were able to set up an excellent meal on short notice for us and did a splendid job.
The ambassador was in town for a speaking engagement at Lewis and Clarke college and for an opening at Lawrence Galleries in Portland for a prominent artist from Liechtenstein. Being from a family that has made wine for hundreds of years, she loved the beauty of Oregon's wine country and enjoyed the local wines very much.
I really appreciate being referred to the Ambassador and her group. I think we have worked hard to be recommended to such a high profile person and I'm proud to be thought of so highly.
Remember though, the reason I started this was to be able to make sure that anyone could walk into a tasting room and not feel intimidated. When you join us on a tour, I want you to meet the people that have created that passion for wine in me and experience that for yourself first hand.

Cheers!

Ron

Fantastic Wines - 2002 Panther Creek Temperance Hill Pinot Noir

2008-03-05T11:42:00.000-08:00

Being in the wine industry and being a person who really appreciates wine, I have to say that my wife and I enjoyed a bottle of wine the other night that really made an impression with me. We happened to be at the beach and enjoying a nice meal of Salmon with some shrimp and brown rice with a bottle of 2002 Panther Creek Temperance Hill Pinot Noir.
Michael Stevenson is the wine maker at Panther Creek. Not only is Michael a very nice person but I respect his wine making abilities tremendously. This wine was absolutely beautiful. Everything about that wine was really enjoyable to me. I've cellared that bottle for several years and decided that this was a good night to enjoy a special bottle. You don't always need some special occasion to enjoy a nice bottle of wine either. I feel that every now and then, you should just enjoy one of your nicer bottles instead of waiting for your anniversary or New Years Eve...
When you go out tasting or on our tour and you taste a wine you really like, please buy it from the winery. Cellar it properly and give the wine at least a couple of years to come to age. My wife is a great cook and this evening was just a good opportunity for her and I to enjoy a really nice wine with a really nice meal.
The wine was, to me, just the thing to make that evening a very special evening. No special event. No birthday or anniversary. But Michael's wine making "gift" in a bottle made from a great Northwest vineyard created a very memorable experience.
So thank you to Michael Stevenson at Panther Creek Cellars for a great bottle of wine. Thank you to my wife for making a fantastic meal!
There have been a few evenings within the last six months where a wine has sincerely left a mark on me. The last wine I had that really, really impressed me was a bottle of 1996 Domaine Drouhin Pinot Noir. We opened that on vacation in California this last December 8th at the Napa Rose in Anaheim California. The master sommelier on duty that night thought that we had brought in a bottle of 1989 DRC La Toche. Not sure if I'm spelling that correctly... Again, a wine that made an evening incredible. So don't wait for some special event, create the event by enjoying one of those wines with someone special. That's the special event!

Cheers,

Ron

Beginning Our Fourth Year with Exciting New Things!

2008-02-06T17:27:00.000-08:00

Ok everyone. You are the first to hear the news. I'm starting a new business as part of Oregon Wine Tours, Inc. I've been thinking (honestly) about doing some wine education, but one of my pet peeves is a person doing wine education with out the proper education or certification to do so. Harry Ryan has been a good friend of ours for many years and has taught me a great deal. He has driven for me since I started and now it's time we take this a step forward. Harry is a certified sommelier trough the Court of Master Sommeliers. He is also certified as a wine educator. He is a professional wine judge. He has worked for years making wine and in the tasting room. He has taught hundreds of people in a class room like setting. He is highly sought after for his knowledge and experience. He knows more about biodynamic farming than most. He has worked under what I consider one of the best wine makers anywhere. He has been studying for his Master Sommelier title for several years now. I'm very lucky to be able to work with Harry and to call him a friend. He knows his wine, he is passionate about it and is excellent at teaching it. I've learned a great deal from him and I hope you can too.
I'm introducing Wine Education To Go. I'm combining a wine tour and structured, class room wine education. When you think about it, who wants to learn about anything in a room? The best way to learn is to be interactive. Well, we can't exactly go into a winery and start stomping on grapes, but you can see the equipment, touch the equipment and even smell the equipment. You learn about the soils by looking at, touching and yes, smelling the soil.
We will have three different classes all built on the same structure. We visit three wineries. Each one with a specific focus on a wine topic. You will be given a booklet at the start of the tour with all of the information you will cover during the day. Plenty of photographs, drawings and easy to read text on your wine course.
First is the wine evaluation. Basically how to taste and evaluate the wine from the perspective of a wine judge. After all, Harry Ryan is a wine judge. You will learn in detail what the color and other visual attributes mean to a wine. Learn about the bouquet of the wine and start to develop that sense of smell. Taste the wine and learn to pick up those hints in the back of the taste...
The next stop we start to learn about Oregon's wine history, the soils and AVA's and what makes Oregon, Oregon. We go into the winery where we see the equipment used in making the wine and talk about the different choices the wine maker has when making their wine. Why they use native yeast instead of packaged and other choices they make. One thing I am frequently asked is how do they get that strawberry or cherry taste in the wine? Do they put berries in when fermenting the wine? We talk about that.
Then wrap it all up at the end of the day with extensive food and wine pairings. We provide several types of foods and a couple of different wines to try different combinations of whites and reds with fruits, cheeses, meats, nuts, chocolates and so on. You might be surprised what you can learn here. I've certainly learned to keep an open mind!
I've just posted the web site so we are now official. I've spent hours and hours to prepare this. Again, I've designed the web site myself, created the logo which isn't a huge stretch from Oregon Wine Tours, but it's that way for a reason. Harry Ryan has done the printed material and I've edited it and put it in the format which we use in each class.
The groups will always be between 6 and 10 people so you get very individual attention. The classes are fun, interactive, you taste some nice wines and learn a ton about wine. It is an intense day of learning.
Ultimately I want to start providing tasting room consulting, train tasting room staff on wine and how to better serve their guests. I've seen too many tasting rooms with people who knew nothing about wine and trying to b.s. their way through answering questions. I've seen too many tasting rooms where they pour the wines in no particular order and trash talking other wineries. I am the biggest preacher on wine should be fun and unpretentious, but... Not stuffy, just proper. Be able to answer basic questions and be able to make the experience more enjoyable for everyone.
I hope this works as well as I think it will. Any comments? Please give me your thoughts on this.
Go enjoy a nice bottle of wine with a loved one.

Cheers!

Thanksgiving Weekend and Beyond

2007-11-26T16:19:00.000-08:00

What a weekend. We met some very enjoyable people on our tours this weekend. I sure appreciate you all joining us for Thanksgiving Weekend. I hope you tasted some wines that you maybe didn't know about and found something you loved. The weather was certainly cold, but other than that, very nice. It was sure better than the last two years. I can't remember past that...
I really want to thank our friends at Owen Roe and Styring for being such awesome hosts. They both do such a fantastic job and are such nice people and make such nice wines. I really enjoy those wineries.
We had several vans out on Friday and Saturday and I think that every year that we do this I learn a little more. I think that when Memorial Day weekend comes around I will do specific tours. A high end Pinot / Red wine tour, a more fun tour featuring places with great foods, live music, gifts, etc..., and a more custom tour. Any comments on that? I find that sometimes I try to just focus on the very high end, small boutique wineries which also have higher prices. Some people are out more for just the fun of it and not to just taste the best wines necessarily.
Now it's time to look at getting some wine for the Christmas dinner and for presents. Don't forget to think of us when your family comes into town for a wine country tour. We also do gift certificates in any amount. You can buy someone an all inclusive wine tour with a wine makers dinner or $100 towards a tour or what ever you like. I want to try to provide an easy alternative for you for that hard to buy for wine lover or a special treat for the love in your life. Don't forget mom and dad, they love wine too.
Have a fantastic holiday season everyone. Now go open up a nice bottle of wine and enjoy a festive holiday show on tv with someone you love.

Cheers,

Ron

Winter Wine Tours

2007-10-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

I am constantly getting calls asking if we do tours on Sundays or tours in December or.... The answer is YES! I'm open all year for wine tours. The best days are Wednesday through Sunday and honestly, I think the winter months are an excellent time to go wine tasting because the tasting rooms are less crowded so you get much more one on one attention from the tasting room staff. Every time of year has pros and cons so overall, the winter months are a good time to get out and enjoy some fantastic wines.

Cheers,

Ron

Oregon's Wine Harvest

2007-10-31T10:12:00.001-07:00

Well this has been an interesting harvest in 2007. Right in the middle of September when everyone is almost ready to start picking, the rains came... At this point, I'm sure that all of the wine makers are on the phone with the other area wine makers asking, "we'll are we going to pick or wait for the sun to come back...?" You see in Oregon, we usually get a beautiful Indian summer, but when and will it actually come are the key points there.
2007 will go down as a year of the real wine makers. This will separate the men from the boys and the women from the girls. Those who are good, will make some exceptional wines and those who aren't... won't... I've already heard some very interesting stories of what some are doing in the wineries.
I guess you'll just have a book a tour to find out who's who...

Cheers!

Ron

It's Fall in Oregon???

2007-09-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

Well, it sure seems like fall anyway. Here is a shot I took on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2007 at Bethel Heights Winery outside of Salem, OR. They have a beautiful location and some great wines. They are one of that areas first wineries and one of the earlier wineries in the Willamette Valley.
It's been a bit of a cool summer. The grapes are looking fairly good overall, but we just need a couple weeks of solid, warm, intense sun to finish these babies off. Quantities are good too so this has the potential to be a very good year. Tours have been very busy and we are taking out a lot of very interesting and enjoyable people. I've taken people out this summer from all over the country and world. I think people are really catching on and finding out about our wines here. They are good. We went to the Salem area again today and visited some excellent wineries. One in particular, Firesteed, is really a great stop every time. Michael, the tasting room manger there is honestly one of the best, most well informed tasting room staff anywhere here in the valley. If you ever stop in to Firesteed Winery, you will see what I mean. People just like Michael are exactly why I became so pationate about wine. He really makes the experience a good one. It is still a joy to go to a tasting room at almost all of the wineries here. You find very well informed staff, very excited to talk to you about wine and where to eat, the next winery to go to or which wine would be best to buy to enjoy with their lunch out on the patio.
I am a very lucky person to do what I do here in Oregon. We really do have a lot of very excellent people here who really love wine and sharing it with others.

Cheers!

Ron

Wine Facts

2007-09-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

I'm often asked how many clusters of grapes make a bottle of wine or things like that. My answer is usually "I don't know"... I hate saying that, but I don't know everything and I don't want to lie to you either. So I decided that I would put that information out on the blog along with the link to web site that I found all of the information on. This is a lot of fun stuff so I hope you enjoy it.
There are about 400 species of oak, though only about 20 are used in making oak barrels. Of the trees that are used, only 5% is suitable for making high grade wine barrels. The average age of a French oak tree harvested for use in wine barrels is 170 years!
As of this year (Sept. 2007) the average cost of a French Oak wine Barrel is $900 each! The price can go a little lower and a bit higher, but that's a good average.
The figures below are adjusted for Oregon Pinot Noir so to reflect this area. Also remember these are averages...

2 grape cluster = 1 glass
80 grapes = 1 cluster
6 clusters = 1 bottle
40 clusters = 1 vine
1 vine = 10 bottles
1200 clusters = 1 barrel
1 barrel = 60 gallons
60 gallons = 25 cases
30 vines = 1 barrel
400 vines = 1 acre
1 acre = 2 tons
2 tons = 132 cases

Another question I'm frequently asked is what the different sized wine bottles are called. I know the first couple, but you would be surprised how big they can get.
How big can a wine bottle get?
Capacity (Liters) followed by the number of standard size bottles contained:
Standard (.75) 1
Magnum (1.5) 2
Jeroboam (3) 4
Rehoboam (4.5) 6
Methuselah (6) 8
Salmanazar (9) 12
Balthazar (12) 16
Nebuchadnezzar (15) 20
Tell me... How does Nebuchadnezzar rate anyway?

Some more interesting stuff.

What is the ideal temperature for wine?
Whites: chilled (45-55 degrees F) for a few hours in the refrigerator.
Reds: slightly cooler than room temperature (about 65 degrees)
Sparkling Wine: thoroughly chilled; refrigerate several hours or the night before serving.
Dessert Wine: room temperature. (I prefer it ice cold myself).

Chilling tones down the sweetness of wine. If a red wine becomes too warm, it may lose some of its fruity flavor. Just don't put an ice cube in your red wine. OK?

Well there is some interesting facts for you. Hope you enjoyed it. Now go open a nice glass of Pinot and enjoy!

Cheers!

Wine Tours

2007-06-08T11:57:00.000-07:00

I guess if you are looking at this blog then you probably found me through my web site. First of all, thank you for checking us out. I do hope that you find us to be the right service for you and that you give us a chance. We do appreciate your business.
I've only been doing this for a little over three years now and we have honestly learned a ton. I am constantly doing continuing education because I feel it's important to you. I want my guests to be able to feel comfortable in the tasting room, learn a little about wine and to have a great time.
Some tours really want to learn a lot about wine, the vineyards and gain in knowledge. Some tours want to go out and drink wine and have someone drive them around safely. Some tours are on day outings through work and really don't care. Honestly, I do prefer the first group. I love to share with you the things that I am passionate about. But I also know that all three groups are still out to have a fun day and I want to make sure that I do everything I can to make that happen for you. I love what I do and feel very fortunate to be able to provide our service to you, no matter what category you fall in.
We have such wonderful people here in the Oregon Wine Industry and you find many exciting things happening all the time. This is a wonderful industry to be part of and I really want to share that with you, our guests.
I recently read a little advertisement about us and was a little taken back by what I read. I won't tell you where it was. They wrote the little article without talking to us at all. They said that we are a family run business which is true. My wife and I own Oregon Wine Tours together. They did say that we are a "no frill" tour company and that I have to argue with. Well, I've never run my van off the road and I've never had a fight break out in my van and we've never seen alien space vehicles while out touring a vineyard so maybe that's what they meant? We do provide very customized tours which can include wine makers dinners / lunches. We can do side trips, we provide full winery tours at select locations to show you how the wine is made from vineyard to tasting room. We do what ever you want of us, within reason. It's your day and we want to cater to your needs. As much as possible anyway. We've even played disco on the stereo and had rousing sing-alongs. That was a long day! We have excellent relationships with the wineries and can get you into many places that are by appointment only. We don't think wine is so special that it can't be shared by all. We just want to have fun and make sure you do too. It's really that simple.

Cheers,

Ron

What's an AVA?

2007-04-20T16:42:00.000-07:00

Wine grape production occurs in predominantly five regions of Oregon: the north Willamette Valley, south Willamette Valley, Umpqua Valley, Rogue and Applegate valleys, Columbia Gorge, and Columbia Valley. Within those regions, Oregon now has 15 AVA's. Big whoop you say! It's a good thing actually. A.V.A. stands for American Viticultural Area. Some of the requirements necessary to petition for an AVA are evidence that growing conditions such as climate, soil, elevation, and physical features are distinctive. Obviously you have to have very distinct boundries outline on a map. Petitioners are required to provide such information when applying for a new AVA.
Once an AVA is established, at least 85% of the grapes used to make a wine must be grown in the specified area if an AVA is referenced on its label.
State or county boundaries — such as for Oregon or Napa County — are not AVAs, even though they are used to identify the source of a wine. One twist that will daze and confuse you I'm sure is that A vineyard may be in more than one AVA.
For example, there are many hills and valleys here in the Northern Willamette Valley that have very different soil or climatic zones than the areas around them. The Red Hills of Dundee for example has red clay-loam soils that were deposited here by ancient floods. Jory soils are typically 4-6 feet in depth and consist of a brick colored silty, clay loam. Also, the Dundee Hills benefits from being drier and warmer than many pockets that surround it. The Red Hills is also in the Willamette Valley AVA.
The Chehalem Ridge is Oregon's newest AVA (just approved on Dec. 27, 2006). It's home to over 31 wineries and has over 1600 acres planted on it. The Chehalem Ridge stretches for almost 20 miles from as far South and East as Wilsonville and as far West and North as Forest Grove.
As of February 2006, Oregon viticulture comprises more than 14,000 planted acres, 314 wineries, and 15 American Viticultural Areas (AVA’s). The first vineyards in Oregon were planted in the southern part of the state in the late 1800’s in Jackson, Josephine, and Douglas counties. Not until David Lett planted Pinot Noir on the Red Hills outside of Dundee in 1966 had anyone thought about planting any grape vines this far north however. Boy if I could go back in time and buy land in that area then... Of course I don't think the sale would have been legal since I didn't even know how to spell my name at that time.
All in all, AVA's are good. They designate a wine to a specific growing area. Once you know your growing areas, you start to taste a difference. You start to see areas that are best for growing certain types of fruit. You can't grow a good cabernet here in the Northern Willamette Valley but the Umpqua region can grow very good Cabernet. Honestly though, I prefer the Cabernet from the Walla Walla AVA. That's what AVA's are all about. Giving you more information to help you choose wines you like more than others. We have all gone into a wine store and looked at all of those labels and just wondered which one to pick. This is just one more piece of information to help you out. Now all you have to do is memorize and become familiar with all 235+ AVA's in the United States and you are well on your way to becoming one of the foremost experts in American Wine. Good Luck!

Cheers!

Ron

Bud Break / Spring Time / Soil Types, etc...

2007-04-08T07:51:00.000-07:00

I've been out in numerous vineyards over the last couple of weeks and just the last few days have been seeing some of the vineyards experiencing bud break. The vines go into dormancy over the winter months and when the warmer weather and longer days come, the vines will come back to life. You can look at the shoots and begin to see the little buds popping out. Now is when all of the vineyard managers start to get excited and a bit edgy. It's imperative that we don't get any bad frosts or heavy cold rainy weather. That's what causes the years when they don't have a lot of fruit or poor quality fruit to make the wine with. At least one of the causes. This is farming after all. The weather is now in the drivers seat. There is only so much we can do to the crops to bring them to the perfect fruit that we all desire.

The elevation and soil type are also huge factors which I didn't understand when I first got into wine. There are several types of soil just here in the Willamette Valley. The soil is a large part of what the French call Terroir(tear-wahr). In Burgundy, which is the area in France where they grow Pinot Noir, their soil is a limestone composition. Ours is much different. Vineyard acreage here is mainly divided between hillside sites on basaltic-origin, clay-loam soils yielding grapes with intense fruit character, and lower-elevation sites on sedimentary, silt-loam soils providing grapes with great structure. To simplify that more, think of the higher elevation sites as having fruit that is rich with red fruit (strawberry, raspberry, etc.)characteristics and the lower elevation sites have more black fruit (spicy black raspberry, blackberry, dark cherry) characteristics.
Of course these are generalities. There are several soil types and varieties of each that are unique. That is exactly why there are AVA's. American Viticultural Areas. I'll go into more detail about that at another time.
The elevations are also key because small elevation changes not only effect soil types, but growing conditions. The higher you go, the cooler it gets. Even from 200 feet elevation (the valley floor is around 100-150 feet above sea level - generally speaking) to as high as 1250 feet. Those vineyards don't always produce fruit because they are not able to fully ripen. The days don't get as warm and the growing season is just a tiny bit shorter. I tend to really like the higher elevations sites for several reasons. One they tend to produce fruit that is a little more earthy in character because the vines have to go down so far to get water. Those vines then pull much more of the minerals from the soil which also produces those rich red fruit characteristics I mentioned.
Do I have you confused yet or do you think you understand a little more about wine? Let me know. I would really love to know what you think. The main thing and most important, just enjoy the wine that you enjoy. Don't let anyone else change your opinion of what you like. Wine Spectator is not the end all to what are the best wines. That's only some people's opinion, not necessarily yours! I know I've had people tell me they didn't like a particular wine or winery and I let that influence my opinion until I, later, tasted that wine again and thought to myself, I really like this wine. I may know more than some on wine and there are plenty of others that know way more than I do. Just because someone else knows more doesn't mean that you will agree with "their opinion". Amen. Now go drink some wine!

Cheers,

Ron

Food and Wine Pairing

2006-12-19T10:05:00.000-08:00

With the Holidays just a few days away, I thought I would try to help some of you who are not sure what wine to serve with dinner. If you click on the title of the blog, you will be linked to a great resource to help with those questions you have. Don't think that I have all of the answers. Between my wife and I, we usually are able to serve the right wine with the course. Last week we had a dinner for our drivers and served four wines for dinner. We started with a Gypsy Dancer Pinot Gris to get things going when the guests arrived. Starting with a nice white wine is easy on the palatte and works nicely with the appetizers. We had a steak and salmon for dinner so we had a medium to heavy bodied Pinot Noir. We could have gone a couple of directions there, but we chose a Pinot from Panther Creek. For dessert, we chose Deglace which is a dessert wine from Adelsheim. I'm not sure if I spelled the wine correctly, but you'll get the idea.
Don't get all worried about what wine to serve with what course. I'm sure that everyone who reads this will be thinking, I would have served... Great! Sure, some wines work better than others, but the point is to enjoy the wine and food together with friends. Dont let it get all overblown into a big stressfull mess. Just eat, drink and be merry! Check out that link and learn a little and have a wonderful holiday season.

Harvest 2006

2006-12-16T15:11:00.000-08:00

If you have not heard yet, 2006 is looking like a great year for wine. Wineries got perfect weather for the entire year. Yields were way up from the previous three years in Oregon. Quality overall is excellent. Some great wines will begin to be released later next year. I've talked with many winemakers in the area and the general response is the quality is very good and the overall harvest is a great one.
It will be nice to not be running out of Pinot around here for a change. Many wineries were closed over Thanksgiving weekend due to low amounts or no wine available.
If you find a wine you really like, I highly suggest you buy as much as you can afford and safely store. If you are like me, you will find a really good wine and then go back to buy more and find yourself not able to get any and then you are seriously bummed out! Wine is meant to be enjoyed, not just coveted too. Enjoy it, but when it's that good, enjoy more of it! Boy that makes me sound like a real lush! Hmmmm?

Gift Certificates / Holiday Wine Tours

2006-12-16T13:07:00.000-08:00

With the holidays coming, now is a great time to think about giving wine tours as presents. I offer colorful gift certificates that you can give in any amount. You can customize them just like you can my tours. I can add lunches, tasting fees (over and above), special tours with stops at antique malls, Evergreen Aviation Museum, etc..
Also, in time for Christmas are tours focusing on great wine values for holiday meals or as presents. We also plan on stopping at Sleighbells in Sherwood with great holiday cheer and also at some of the wineries with great gift selections. We are going out every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Wine Tours are great thing to do with family members from out of town and a nice break from all of the Christmas malls and hectic pace of the holidays. Slow down for a day and enjoy some great wine and relax as we travel the backroads of wine country.

Call us at 503-681-9463 or at ron@orwinetours.com

Merry Christmas!

Oregon Wine Education

2006-06-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

Oregon VINworks is a local wine education compnay run by a certified Sommelier and wine educator by the name of Harry Ryan. Harry is the only person locally who is a certified wine educator by the court of master sommeliers. He also holds many other certifications on wine education. If you want to learn anything about wine, please check out his website. You can link directly to it from the title on this posting. He has lots of great information and it's certainly worth checking out.
Harry joins us on many tours. He adds a fantastic element to the tour. He can answer any question and create a lot of excitement for the tours. He also puts together some great wine makers dinners. If you need any wine related corporate event, he can do that too. Check him out and enjoy!

It's Wine Season at Full Speed

2006-06-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. I haven't posted now in awhile so I thought I better get something out there. Many things have happened. I got married on May 20th. We only had two days away before Memorial Day Weekend. If you are one of the people who joined us on Memorial Day, thank you very much! We really do appreciate your business. I also hope that you had a great time.
We are going to have a new website very soon. I've had so many troubles with our current web host that I'm going to make an entirely new website, change web hosts and see if that can't make things a little better. If you have had a tough time getting ahold of us, I apologize for the troubles. It's meant a huge loss of business for us. We are much slower than last year. I've posted on my web site to email me direct at ron@orwinetours.com instead of filling out the form on the "contact us" page on our website. Every day it seems there is a new glitch to overcome. SO,

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN A WINE TOUR OR MORE INFORMATION ON TAKING A WINE TOUR, CONTACT ME AT: ron@orwinetours.com
or call us at 503-681-WINE.

NEW SERVICES - We are working with www.oregonvinworks.com to host a number of wine education classes. These will be held at the Kingstad Center in Beaverton. Classes will cover a broad range of topics from a basic Wine 101 to advance courses designed to prepare you to take your sommelier test with the Court of Master Sommelier's. This is no average sommelier course. It's very intense and highly regarded in the industry. We are providing high end VIP wine tours for these classes in conjunction with VINworks.

*** We are getting more into high end winery dinners with exceptional chef's and fantastic wines. We have a few venues that pair some the best wines around with food that's just out of this world. The one's I've attended are events you will remember for a lifetime! Seriously!
From the exceptional wine, food, view and overall atmosphere, they are great ways of "wooing" the high end customers (or potential customers), thank you to clients for great business partnerships, and to have a night of a lifetime. You can call us for more details. Each one is entirely unique and very special.

Thanks again for visiting the wine blog. Please drop us a note just to let us know that you read the blog and a quick note on what you thought. Do you want some wine education here? More information on featured wineries? Ideas on food and wine pairings? Stories about our tours? Tell me what you would like to see here.

Cheers,

Ron

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND

2006-05-08T08:15:00.000-07:00

If you want to join Oregon Wine Tours on Memorial Day Weekend. I've only got four seats left for Saturday and I can take a group out on Sunday yet.
We will be going to wineries that are not normally open. These are the small craft wineries that you don't see in stores or even hear much about. They are making some outstanding wines however and sell extensively due to weekends like this and from word of mouth. These are the people that have tremendous passion for what they do and are extremely good at making wine.
You will have to call soon if you wish to go with us. Please, if you go out on your own, don't drink and drive! The cost is way too high and the chances of being caught are very good. They patrol the roads very heavily on these weekends. Allow us to show you around, teach you a bit about wine, the wineries and guide you through the maze of wineries.
Cost is $80/person. Call 503-681-WINE or via email: ron@orwinetours.com.

Cheers!

Website problems

2006-05-02T16:44:00.000-07:00

Hey - If you have been to my website and requested information on a tour and I have not got back to you, it's because my website is not working properly at the moment. My web host (Yahoo) is doing nothing to fix the problem, so I have to get a new web host. This is going to take a week or so to transfer everything over. In the mean time, I've posted my telephone number and email address.
So please feel free to call me or send an email and I will get back to you as soon as I can. I am sorry for the inconvenience.
Let's see, I'll quit "wineing"... ha, ha, ha...
New 2005 white wines are being introduced around. Memorial Day weekend is coming. That is the BIG wine weekend around. Many new wines, the country side is breathtakingly beautiful. I can't even start to tell you how beautiful it is out right this second. Too bad we aren't at a winery right now, but you haven't called me! I've had so many requests for tours for Memorial Day weekend, I've added even more vans. So if you tried and I turned you down, I can take you now. Call back and I'll reserve a seat for you. We are going to some really good wineries this year and I'm very excited. Call us at 503-681-WINE to reserve your tour today!

Cheers,

Ron

Join us for a tour of Oregon's Wine Country

2006-04-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

Many Exciting Things Going On!

2006-04-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

Hi people. I want to draw your attention to several new things. One, we now have Oregon Wine Tour merchandise available as you can see. I'm very excited about this. I've had so many people on the tours ask if we had this stuff and until now, all I could do was to say, "Someday...".
Also, I want you to realize that Memorial Day weekend will sell out very quickly! If you wait, you won't be able to go. If you want to enjoy the kick off to Oregon's Wine Season and get into some of those little craft wineries that are NEVER open, call soon! 503-681-WINE.
Next - Check out our Yakima Valley / Red Mountain wine tour in June. It's going to be an incredible weekend. Save your money because you are going to want to buy a lot of wine. I always do and I usually wish I would have bought more. I'm only taking six people total so again, if you want to enjoy this weekend, book now. You wait and you won't be able to go. Every year we have to tell people the week before that there are no seats available. Remeber, the early bird drinks the good wine... (that's it isn't it???)

Cheers!

Oregon Wine Tour Merchandise

2006-04-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

Oberglas 15oz. wine glass. Sturdy glasses with Oregon Wine Tour logo etched in glass. $8.50 each or two for $15.00.

The hat is a 100% cotton, adjustable band hat with full color embroidered logo. Hats are $16.00 each.
To order, call us at 503-681-9463 or email at: ron@orwinetours.com. Shipping and handeling charges will apply if glasses are shipped.

A Recent Tour

2006-04-09T12:33:00.000-07:00

Oregon's Wine Country

2006-04-09T12:28:00.000-07:00

2006-04-09T12:25:00.000-07:00

Spring time is Beautiful in Oregon's Wine Country

2006-04-07T06:17:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post today. I took a group out yesterday. One had just moved here from the Bay area and the others were from New York City. We were focusing on red wines and I have to say, they tasted some of the best wine in the area. We started with Natalie's Estate Winery. They are a very small producer of some very good Merlot's and Cab's along with some other wines. I always love to take people there. When you go to Natalies, you sit down with the winemaker (or his wife, President of marketing) and get the real inside scoop about the grapes, the wine and how it was made. It's really why I started doing tours. Nothing like sitting down with the winemaker and feeling the passion about their wines.
I have to say, even though we were tasting some great wines yesterday (April 6, 2006), the real hit for the day was the weather and the look of Spring. Trees are blooming, flowers are springing up, it's getting absolutely beautiful. If you haven't been on our tour yet, now is the best time of year to do it. It is stunning in Oregon's wine country now. I'll have some pictures posted in a day or two. I'm doing a tour today and tomorrow and the weather is perfect, so I'm taking the camera. It's funny to think that less than a month ago I was shooting pictures of it snowing in wine country and now I'm telling you how incredibly beautiful it is. Isn't Oregon something? Cheers!

New wineries

2006-04-02T14:34:00.000-07:00

We don't get the opportunity to go out and taste wine very often anymore. I'm not complaining, but it's hard for us to be able to stay up to date with wineries, when I'm going on tours all the time. Again, I'm not complaining!!!

Yesterday we had the chance to visit three wineries that we just have not had the chance to go to. Our first stop was the Pinot Station in Dundee. I don't feel right taking guests to someplace we have not been to before to make sure the tasting room staff is knowledgeable, friendly and that the wines are good. The Dundee Pinot Station was a very pleasant surprise. They have a very nice tasting room, nice staff and a great selection. We will be adding this to our regular stops now.

Second was De Ponte Cellars. What a beautiful location. Up in the Dundee Hills and in a beautiful, new tasting room. There are three wines to taste ( 1 white, 2 reds) and all were excellent. Again, this will be a great stop for our tours. Aaron is the tasting room manager and very eager and willing to provide you with the best tasting experience possible. Again, I was really impressed here. The atmosphere was comfortable and fun. It's well worth stopping at!

Finally, we stopped at Domaine Serene. I have to be honest now. I went to Domaine Serene one time several years ago and was not impressed with the wines or especially the staff. They were not the most friendly people and the wines, I thought, were way too expensive. I was not impressed with the place at all! I try to be open minded and fair, so we decided to stop and visit the tasting room one more time.

We were greeted very kindly by Nicole, the tasting room manager. She asked for us to sit at a table and she would be out with some wines to taste. At this time, there was about 20 other people in the tasting room. We went and sat at a table over by some windows to look out at the view. Nicole came over with our glasses and the wine very promptly. She poured the wine, explained it very well and then excused herself so she could assist the other guests in the tasting room. As far as I could see, all guests were consistantly treated very well, very promptly and all seemed to be having a great experience. We tasted the wine, wrote down notes, talked about it and just really enjoyed the experience. When we finished the wine (a nice chardonnay by the way), Nicole was over at our table with the next taste. I was honestly impressed with how she was paying attention to her guests and making sure all were being served promptly and politely. Again, we tasted, wrote down notes, etc...
This went on through five tastes. Nicole was always willing to answer questions and never made us feel like she was rushed or didn't have time to talk to us.

Out of all fairness, Domaine Serene was an excellent experience. The wines were incredible, very enjoyable and certainly worth purchasing. In fact we bought three bottles of wine and will be back to buy more! Nicole is to be commended for providing excellent service and turning around our feelings about Domaine Serene. My apologies for the previously negative attitude. They have a $15 tasting fee, which is a bit high for some, but I felt well worth the wines and experience. I will absolutely be taking my guests there in the future!

So we added three more wineries to our tour line up. All three stops were excellent. We are so lucky to live here in Oregon. Come visit us and experience some of the best wine in the world.

Memorial Day Weekend

2006-04-01T09:39:00.000-08:00

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND - May 26, 27 & 28.

This is the BIG weekend in the wineries. It is the official opening to the wine season. All of the wineries open their doors and excitedly present you their wines. They usually offer nice food to eat, plenty of wine to taste and other surprises.

We take out extra vehicles this weekend. We encourage you to put together a group of friends, family or coworkers and spend the day with us in Oregon's beautiful wine country. We usually go to those small craft wineries that are not normally open. Visit those hidden gems that may only produce 600 - 1000 cases of wine a year. Meet the wine makers / owners. Talk to them about their wines and share in their passion of wine.

Enjoy a great day. Book early, we always sell out!

Cost: $75.00/person.

RED MT. / YAKIMA VALLEY WINE TOUR

2006-03-30T19:05:00.000-08:00

June 23rd through June 25th. We leave on Friday, June 23rd around 4:00 (I'm open to leaving time... I realize people need to get home, but I don't want to leave too late.).
I've arranged to stay at a nice hotel in the area at a discounted rate. I'm only taking six people. Cost is $185.00/person. Price does not include hotel or meals.
You MUST MAKE YOUR RESERVATION WITH ME BY JUNE 1st!!! If I don't get six people by then, the tour will be cancelled! NO EXCEPTIONS. Just so you know... My regular one day tour price is $85.00/person. So considering this is two full days, the price is pretty good!
We will visit 10 wineries while there. I've recently been able to taste some of these wines with the wine makers and I have to say I was really impressed. That is why I had to do this tour. I just have to share this wine with someone. It's too good to be missed.
If you are not familiar with Red Mountain, it's east of Yakima about 50 miles. They are growing some very good fruit there and naturally, making some excellent wine too. We will actaully be staying in Prosser. That's closer to Red Mountain than Yakima. It's a nice new hotel, so don't worry there.
I'm also working on a nice wine makers dinner for Saturday night. I really want this trip to be high end and one to remember. High end does not necessarily mean super expensive though. I'm trying to keep my price as low as I can. I also arranged to get lower than winter rates at the hotel. I'm contacting all of the wineries that we will be visiting and trying to work out deals for you. Eather no tasting fee or discounted wines or something special. I promise you that I'm doing everything I can to make it my best tour to date! I'm also throwing in a few extra special things for you. I want my guests to be treated the same way I would want to be treated. And that's to be treated very well!
If you have any questions on this tour or our Walla Walla tour in September, please call soon. I don't think these seats will last long. I want you to go, but you have to call me soon. 503-681-WINE or by email: ron@orwinetours.com.

Cheers,

Ron

Client Appreciation / Day of Fun

2006-03-30T11:00:00.000-08:00

One of the things I like most about my business is the great people I get to meet. Last week I took out Stephanie and Irene. Two great ladies who were fun and as nice as two people could get. Turns out that they not only have a working relationship, but a friendship as well. Irene flew into town for a long weekend, and Stephanie thought it would be fun to go on a wine tour. After the tour, I think they signed a pretty big deal, so... what a great investment on Stephanies part huh? Not to mention they got to go to some very good wineries, taste some great wine, see some beautiful country and just relax and have fun. Thanks ladies for a nice day. I really appreciate having guests like you two.
Yesterday (March 29th, 2006) I was lucky enough to take out the catering crew from Cirque du Soleil. Once again, a very enjoyable group of people. They started out the day working in the van on the way to wine tasting. I'm thinking to myself that I am so glad to be out of that environment. They were ordering supplies, checking on orders, confirming deliveries, etc... But by the time we got to the first winery, they were in full RELAX mode. It was great. We had a wonderful time. Our first stop was with Adelsheim Vineyard. Tim, who is the "guy in the tasting room" is always a fantastic host, as well as Katherine. They are by far the best winery to visit in the Willamette valley in my opinion. Not only because they have good wine, but because they are the best at their jobs and they care about you, the customer. They are very polite, fun, knowledgeable, responsive and just enjoyable to be around. Speaking of Tim, I have to tell you a "twilight zone" type of story. I took a couple in there a couple of weeks ago. The lady is tasting the first wine, looks at Tim and says, " you look familiar... What is your name?" Tim steps back and says, "Alicia???" Turns out they use to work with each other in North Carolina. In fact, they were very good friends out there. That turned out to be a long stop. They had years of catching up to do. Isn't it amazing though how people from the opposite side of the country can run into each other while on a wine tour? Wine really can bring us together.
Hope to see you soon. Check us out.
Cheers,

Ron

Featured Wineries

2006-03-19T12:18:00.000-08:00

We have been asked to add DePonte winery to our list of "Featured wineries". I was very honored to be contacted by the winery and have them ask to be a part of our regular tours. They make a very good Pinot too. We have had a bottle of their wine in our wine rack for some time and decided we needed to give it a try. I was very impressed. It was a 2002 Pinot Noir. Excellent nose, taste and finish.
We have also added Lawton winery. These guys are great. They make just a few wines, but what they do, they do very well. They have excellent price points and are a very kind and welcoming couple. I look forward to taking people to both of these wineries. You will be very impressed with each.

It's Snowing in Wine Country

2006-03-19T11:59:00.000-08:00

It's March 10th and snowing in Oregon. If you are from many places in the country, I can hear you now saying, "big deal, it always snows here in March...". Not in Oregon it doesn't. I had to alter our wine tours to lower elevation wineries. Many of our wineries are on the hills, and I couldn't take the van up there. I took some nice pictures of the snow.
We still got some great tasting in however. There are so many excellent wineries here, that we can still visit some outstanding wineries. It amazes me how many new wineries have sprung up in the last year. Many are very small boutique wineries, and I think that's great. Not many of Oregon's wineries are what many would consider large. In fact very few are what I would call large. The average winery in Oregon produces on the area of 15000 cases of wine. Many are smaller and a few are larger.
We are getting numerous calls for tours ranging from next weekend to October. It's amazing how many people come here to taste wine and still how many more people have no idea how great the wine is here. Oregon is the second largest producer of wine in the United States. The wine growing region is mainly up and down (north and south) in the area between the Cascade mountains and the coast range. It's a beautiful area with moderate temperatures and in many cases, perfect for growing wine grapes.
Well, I hope to hear from you soon. If you looking for going on a winery tour, give us a call and mention that you read our wine blog.

Cheers,

Ron

Feb. 18-19 wine tours

2006-02-17T18:44:00.000-08:00

I'm going to write my blog before the tour this week. This weekend is incredibly cold. Luckily, the van's heater works great. You know that this is an excellent time of year to visit the wineries. I think this weekend will actually be excellent out in wine country because it's so cold. The crowds associated with summer, will be very small. In fact, I'm guessing that the wineries will be darn happy to see us. I wouldn't be surprised to get some barrell tasting in, maybe a tour and certainly some extra pours of wine. That's worth putting on a coat to me!
For anyone who is keeping up on our blog, Cindy and I are thinking of May 20th as a wedding date. If that doesn't follow for you, read the blog from last weekend. The problem we are having is where to hold the reception. Any ideas? A winery you say... Gee, I didn't think of that... Actually very few will allow that and those that do are out of my budget range. I'm trying to keep my prices down so anyone can enjoy a wine tour. That was the reason we started Oregon Wine Tours. We wanted to share our passion and excitement for wine and wine tasting. Some other companies charge just too much money. I don't think thats right. Wine Tasting is not just for the wealthy. At least it shouldn't be. Anyway, I would love our wedding reception to be at a winery, I just need to win the lottery. Then we will do it at a winery in Italy!
I've got to get our itinerary done for tomorrow and Sunday. Every tour includes a nice printed itinerary. We always provide cheese, grapes, crackers and water too. Sometimes Cindy throws in some truffels too. Then we clean the van inside and out very good. You will never go on a tour with us in a dirty van!
You all have a great day. Stay safe. I hope to see you on a tour soon. Be sure to let me know that you read the blog. I'm curious if anyone reads it and what the thoughts and comments on it are.

Cheers,

Ron

2/11/06 Wine Tour

2006-02-14T13:08:00.000-08:00

Well this tour will go down as one of my most exciting tours! Today was a special tour. One it was our guests 30th birthday. Her husband arranged for the entire day. I have to say I was very impressed with him. He had four of her friends come out to their house where he had breakfast all prepared early in the morning. Then we showed up and the girls were surprised that they were going on a wine tour. The husband stayed home and watched the kids all day so the moms could relax and enjoy a wine tour.
We started the day off at Oregon's Winery of the year for 2005, Cuneo. They specialize in Italian style wines. They make, in my opinion, some of the areas most enjoyable wines. We love bringing groups to Cuneo. The owner, Gino Cuneo is a great guy and the tasting room staff is fantastic too. Our next stop was Panther Creek. Great Pinot there. Several different single vineyard pinot's to choose from.
We had lunch at Golden Valley Brew Pub. I have to say that they make a very good lunch. We have been stopping here more frequently. They have a great variety and the food is very enjoyable.
Our third winery was Adelsheim. I included a link to them on today's Blog. They make some very excellent wine. I always tell people that I feel Adelsheim to be a perfect example of an Oregon winery. The selection of wines, the atmosphere, the style of wines and the location of Adelsheim make them an excellent stop for anyone wanting to sample Oregon wines.
This stop today however had a little extra twist to it. I had arranged with several of our friends and family to meet us there today precisely at 3:00 pm. We arrived at 3:10. When Cindy and I walked in, Cindy looked around the room and started to notice several people. She noticed more and more people. Then she looked at me and asked, "What's going on Ron?" I grabbed her hand and led her to a area of the room where our friends and family were all gathered. I told her that I invited our friends all there because I wanted to share with them this day. I then got down on one knee and asked Cindy to marry me. Her jaw about dropped down on the floor. She, very excitedly responded, "Of course I will!" The whole room started to applaud. In Cindy, I have truely found the perfect person for me. She is my sole mate and I love her with all my heart.
So that added a little excitement to our stop at Adelsheim. It didn't stop there however. I also arranged another person to finish the tour from there. I did take them all to the next winery, along with all our friends to make sure they got taken care of. Afterwords though, while the other driver took everyone home, our group went out to dinner. Our final winery by the way was Lawton. This is a small winery up in the hills. A very romantic stop with some very fine wines.
That was our wine tour for today. Not your average wine tour. A very special tour. I hope you can join us for a tour someday. Many exciting and fun things are possible in Oregon's Wine Country.

Yesterdays Wine Tour

2006-02-05T09:35:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, Feb. 4th Oregon Wine Tours hosted three gentlemen on a tour. Steve was from the great state of Minnesota while both Chad and Dan were from Washington. We picked them up at 10 am at their hotel in downtown Portland. We then started off the day with a visit to Domain Drouhin on the Red Hills of Dundee. The wine there is spectacular but honestly our guests were much more interested in Amy, the tasting room manager. She is very attractive with a matching personality.
Our next stop was to White Rose winery. This place has personality. The tasting room is like nothing in the area. You are not sure what to think as you approach what you think to be the front door. When you step inside, you step into a whole different time and place. It's worth the visit just for the tasting room. The wines are good too.
The third winery during the day was Panther Creek. This is always one of my favorite spots. The wine is very good and the staff are very friendly and knowledgable. I always enjoy our stop there. The guests love the wines there too.
After Panter Creek, we made the terribly long and tedious one block ride to Golden Valley Brew Pub for a delicious lunch. All of the guests tried various hand crafted beers that they make on site.
The afternoon held to be two of my favorite wineries. The first stop only eight miles away is Solena Cellars. Solena really specializes in big red wines. They have a few Pinot's and a Zin, Merlot, Syrah and Cab's. All of their wines are of excellent quality and priced reasonably. Once again, our guys are loving the wine, the gal in the tasting room. In order to impress the nice lady in the tasting room, all guys buy wine. I'm noticing a pattern here with Steve. ALL the wineries with cute gals in the tasting room, get special attention from Steve. Can't say I blame him.
Our last stop is Cuneo. Cuneo has all red wines. They make italian style wines. It's always a favorite stop with our guests. Rarely do I leave Cuneo without guests buying wine there. The staff is very friendly, the atmosphere is warm and inviting and no matter what time of year I go there, there is alwyas a busy tasting room. It's the only winery I know of that is always buzzing with excitement. Just goes to show that they make good wine at reasonable prices and serve it up in a fun manner. Cuneo is certainly the biggest contributor to our wine rack at home.
After a very enjoyable day in Oregon's beautiful wine country, we head home. It's getting lighter again. It's nice to finish the day in the daylight again. The ride home is mellow. We listen to music, talk and laugh. I like to make sure that everyone is having a good time. That's what it's all about. Enjoying life.
I like to say on my web page; Join us for the day... Remember us for a lifetime. I sure do hope that's true. I really do want to provide our guests with the best day possible.