Part I is here. After enjoying the views and the wines at Youngberg Hill, our next stop was J Wrigley. Owned by John and Jody Wrigley, the winery is located on 200 acres outside of Sheridan, OR. While a majority of that 200 acres isn’t currently suitable for vineyard land, it is certainly in the […]
In My Backyard
A Day In the Willamette Valley: Youngberg Hill
I live within an hour of the Willamette Valley. Being so close, you’d think I would spend plenty of time down there, exploring wineries, meeting the producers and consuming plenty of delicious Pinot Noir. And I do…but I, like everyone else, get stuck in a rut. I don’t take the time to truly explore the […]
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Where the Country Meets the City: Walla Walla comes to Portland
I’ve raved about the wonderful wines that come from Walla Walla before here. And for good reason. They’re amazing!! While browsing Facebook one night, I saw that the Walla Walla Wine Alliance was coming to Portland. From luscious, thought-provoking reds to delicate, crisp whites, Walla Walla wines never disappoint. I knew, without a doubt, that […]
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Turning Male Bovine Excrement into Filet Mignon: In Defense of IFBC 14
There’s a post out there that is critical of IFBC after the author attended a whole whopping two sessions, then walked away. The first two, to be exact, based on what this person wrote. The two kick off sessions and you discount the conference. Yeah…um, let me insert the popular photo of McKayla Maroney here. […]
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Off The Beaten Path – Cowlitz Wine Tour
The communities of Castle Rock and Toledo are not necessarily what you would think of when you think of wine destinations. To most, these towns are just names you see on a freeway sign. You may take a quick break to fill up your gas tank or take a quick run through the drive-thru restaurant, […]
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Summer’s Here!!!!!! What are you going to do???
Summer is here, and the start of what I’ve heard as the “Wine Tasting Season” is upon us. To which I reply with an emphatic, “HOORAY!” (even though I know there a lot of places that are open year round). With that said, I thought I’d take a moment to recommend some of my favorite […]
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Drinking For A Cause – Sozo Wines
Allow me to preface this post with an apology…after a fantastic summer, from the middle of August until about now, my life has pretty much been one crazy, wild, hot mess of a ride that is worthy of being filed away in the “Fuhgeddabit” file…and I do apologize… Sozo: to save, keep safe and sound, […]
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An update on my open letter to the Board of Clark County Commissioners
The Board of Clark County Commissioners hold weekly public meetings. On Tuesday, July 2nd, they met and announced that the proposal that would severely impact the Clark County wine industry had been tabled, pending more research by the Commissioners and their staff AND give the opportunity for more public comment! They will meet again on […]
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An Open Letter to the Clark County Board of Commissioners
Below is the text of an email I sent to my local County Commissioners on their recent proposal to set “rules” for winery operations here in Clark County, WA. You can read up on the background here and here. Now, I’m not against noise ordinances or rules set forth by the county, but when the […]
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Lunch with Planeta Winery – A Journey to Sicily without the Jet Lag!
So shortly after WBC, I got an email from the rep from Palm Bay International, who is the US importer for Planeta Winery, asking if I’d like to join them for lunch at Portland’s Serratto Restaurant. I had some use-it-or-lose-it time from work to utilize as I wished, so I said, “Sure!” Now, I seem […]
