New VIP tour

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

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

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

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!