A Car Full of Wine and a Japanese Bridge

When I drove back to Portland on Wednesday I stopped at Drakes Seven Ds and picked up a 5 foot by 3 foot wooden Japanese Bridge Linda and I had purchased last weekend. Yes, it JUST fit in the back of my Subaru wagon! So the wine case goes to the front seat and away we go. I went straight to the hotel in Newburg, ate at the local diner and caught up on email as THIS hotel has internets and googles.
Up and out early for breakfast in the lobby with twenty school kids attending some event at George Fox. Love the automated waffle machine!
I drove around a great deal looking for open wineries and just enjoying the drive. Forest Grove and the area is really interesting and the view from David Hill is breathtaking.
Lunch in Gaston and went up to Kramer Vineyards for a bottle of 2005 Chardonnay and a visit with the dogs. Thistle also makes wine there so I picked up their 2003 Pinot Noir and took off for McMinville. Panther Creek was holding a Stevenson-Barrie 2006 Freedom Hill Pinot Noir for me and as luck would have it Michael Stevenson, the winemaker, was there to hand it over himself.
I found Walnut City Wineworks a real joy. Jennifer was great to deal with and I added Z'ivo's 2002 Pinot Noir, 2006 Walnut City Reserve Pinot Noir, and Bernard Machado 2005 Pinot Noir to the list.
Next week is Carlton, Medford, and a few more random stops along the way.