Heading North to McMinnville

I stopped at Methven Family Vineyards just as the wine maker and some friends were getting ready to get to work. I went in to the tasting room and met up with Dave Walker who was working the counter. He gave me a bottle of the "06 Chardony and a great conversation. The winery has been very busy and growing fast.
I tasted the Pinot Gris and the Chardonnay and was very impressed.
I plan on going back for a more relaxed tasting when the time allows. They were very helpful and friendly and the winery is worth the trip just for the view!

I got to the  Ghost Hill tasting room and winery in McMinnville (fast becoming one of my favorite Oregon towns)  around 5:00 and Rebecca put me and Kelly Fox, who showed up a while later, to work right away. She was doing what is called a pump-over. You insert a colender through to cap (grape skins on top of the juice) and insert an intake hose, then pump the juice through another hose and pump it over the skins until they soften, This is gentler than a punch down and circulates fermenting juice   from the bottom of the tank over the skin cap that forms during fermentation to ensure optimal extraction and prevent bacterial spoilage. We took Ph , and brix data on all the tanks, then cleaned up and headed for the nearest food and beer.