A visit to Portland

Today I delivered a painting by Allen Cox to the Cascade AIDS Project in downtown Portland. While I was there I went to visit one of our wine donors, GC Winery. They are out on 30th in the 2600 block in a new industrial building. Very modern and stylish. I went in on the off chance that John Grochau would be around. He was gone but I got to meet Athena, who, with friend, partner, and husband Stewart Boedecker makes Boedecker wines! Great luck. I ask her for one their wines and she graciously gave me a 2007 Grenache made from grapes grown in the Rouge Valley. She also gave me John's Grochau Cellars Toute de Suite 2007 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.
I recommend a trip to NW Portland and a stop to taste and visit!

A Sweet (cheeks) night out!

My wife and I were guests of the Manager of Sweet Cheeks, Lorrie Norman, for a dinner tonight. Fabulous! Lemon Grass soup paired with a dry Riesling, Duck, forbidden rice, and brocolini with the 07 Pinot Noir, and Crem Brulee' with the 09 Riesling straight from the barrel. Wow! They got a double gold last year for the Riesling (they beat out Germany!) and this year will be very close if not better.
I hung some of Anne Teigen's paintings there last week and one of the diners bought the one on the right this evening!

Recommendations from Readers

I was sent a note about contacting Noble Estate winery and asking them for one bottle bottle. The follow up led to Mark donating a wine that I plan to pick up today. Can't wait to see what he is donating!
If you have a favorite winery and think they may donate 1 bottle, please let me know.
I went out and picked up a 2006 Pinot Noir Estate, one of their best. Mark also gave us a wonderful Muscat, the 2008 Semi-sparkling! I tasted it and it is wonderfully bright with fine bubbles and a nice soft finish. Perfect wine for ending a good meal.
When I went there was a nice young couple tasting, Zharissa and Matt. Vanessa led me through a flight of whites and reds and was very helpful. A trip worth taking.
Besides good wine, they have a very different landscape than most Northwest wineries as you see here. They even have a pool!

A short but productive trip

Today I went on a short drive up Terroirtorial Road through the Southern Willamette Valley wine country and picked up a 2005 Blue Dot Pinot Noir from Pfeiffer Vineyard. I have this wine in my collection and was VERY happy to get one for the auction. Truly one of the best! I then stopped by Benton Lane (shown here) and picked up the 2007 Estate grown Pinot Noir. Still in bottle shock but lively and luscious with lots of aroma of strawberry with chocolate layered in . On the palate, it exhibits cherry flavors with red licorice. I stopped by Broadley in Monroe on the off chance that they would be there and my bet paid off with a bottle of the 2007 Shea Pinot Noir! That is Morgan with the wine.
I, like most men, hate to turn around, so I drove on to Corvallis and visited with Jerry at Wineopolis at 151 NW Monroe. As I walked in I was met by John Bacon who, with Jane Smith, is responsible for Nuthatch Cellars. Their wine was sold off the shelves so he is bringing down another for me. Jerry gave me a bottle of 3 Fools. This one is their Del Rio Reds and it will be a real treat to whoever gets it!

The response so far!

After about two weeks we have had over 60 wineries respond possitivly! What an amazing thing, to have so many Oregon wineries sharing their skill and taste with Oregon Mozart Players' patrons, one bottle at a time!
I will be posting photos and comments about the trips to collect the wine so stay tuned

Oregon Mozart Players' Auction

As the new President of Oregon Mozart Players I would like to present you with an idea we have for our auction on the 3^rd of April 2009 and would like your input.

I would like to get one bottle of wine, any kind, but hopefully one you are very proud of, from every winery in Oregon.

This will be a feat indeed, but it will also be an amazing collection to auction off to raise money for our performances. Also, it likely will make the news among the performance community outside and inside Oregon in all the related web and paper publications.

I love to talk about our great wines when I travel and this will indeed be something really cool to talk about!

Each winery will be listed along with the wine they donate and each will be thanked in the program and on the blog. http://oregonwineandmusic.blogspot.com/

I would love to hear from you about the idea and if you would be willing to give us one bottle.

In the process I will list EVERY WINERY in Oregon, even if they don’t donate ONE BOTTLE so if you know of any small, start-ups or any others who should be ask or included, please let me know.

We plan to auction them in “blind” cases so no one knows what they are getting. There will also be the chance to buy it all in one lot.

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