Barrel Tasting

The Abbey wine warehouse lets me store all the wines I have gathered for free so on Thusday I took a few cases up for safe keeping. Rebecca took me over to Carlton Cellars where she took some samples of her Pinot Blanc.

Dave and Robin gave me a magnum of the '07 Lands End Pinot Noir. For those of you still laboring under the false idea that '07 was a bad year, go get that bottle of '07 you have hidden and taste it. We tasted the 1879 '07 on Friday at Authentica and it is outstanding! Most of the '07s I have tasted have developed in bottle and are beautiful. This magnum should be a big pleaser!
We went over to Horse Radish for lunch and were treated to some great chow! Julie has done great job on the place and the food says it all.

After lunch I joined Rebecca on  visit to  De Ponte and their wonderful winemaker, Isabelle. We spent a good hour tasting out of the various barrels and enjoying the various tastes and smells. I love watching someone so skilled do their job. She gave me a bottle of her '08 1789 Pinot Noir to take to auction.
Next stop was at Vista Hills. If you need a few moments to relax, have a great glass of wine on a comfortable deck overlooking a beautiful valley, this is the place. I am always struck by how lovely the feel of this place ids. The pond in front sets the tone of elegance that stays with you all the way through the tasting. 
This year they gave us a bottle of the Marylhurst Pinot Noir. Hear is what they have to say about it:
"The 2008 Marylhurst is a single-vineyard pinot noir with a big, earthy nose and a smoky, fruit-driven palate. From young vines planted in 2005, this wine displays notes of tobacco, leather and red raspberries. 180 cases produced. The Wine Advocate: 89 Points. With densely packed red fruits, this savory, smooth-textured Pinot will evolve for 1-2 years and provide pleasure through 2018."

On the way back down the hill I stopped in at Red Ridge Farms for a bottle of Oregon Olive oil. They have over 17 acres and 13,000 olive trees on the property. The oil is currently supplemented with oil from down south but is mostly Oregon grown. Great tastes! I bought a bottle of the Arbosana Extra Virgin Olive Oil
and have been using it to fry my eggs and on my toast in the morning.

Ghost Hill at Sabai

I stopped by Sabai today for a sip after a long drive back from Portland where we saw an "odd" version of Tourandot (more on that later). Tim had a drink for me that he said would relax me, put me in a better mood, and make the rest of my day one of "no worries". "Sabai Sabai" is made with ginger infused simple syrup, fresh ginger shavings, rum, and alime twist. He was right! Not overly sweet and with just a hint of lime over the ginger's warmth, it hit te sot.
Now, about the opera: Winderlea Wine Co. sponsored the Portland Opera's Tourandot and I thank them endlessly for supporting the arts here in Oregon. They have always been generous with their donation to our :"One Bottle" project. That said: WHO MAKES A TENOR SIT DOWN TO SING NESS EN DORMA???
For those not familiar with the story, here is a brief synopsis from The Met.
Here is a review by  James McQuillen for the Oregonian:

Some of the visual touches are brilliant: In Act II, the color-coded ministers Ping, Pang and Pong work at identical red desks under a banner proclaiming "Gli enigmi sono tre, la morte è una" -- "the riddles are three, death is one," referring to the princess' deadly test; at the beginning of the next scene, the banner is torn down to reveal the chorus in a glowing green gallery. Others are less effective, such as the prince's garb, which suggests nothing in particular except "black leather tent." More

It was staged in ( this is pure conjecture on my part) Milan in the late 1930's by someone who watched too many bad Italian dramas. The usual flourish of bright costumes were replaced by the black and white shirts and pants of office workers, the main character had been replaced with her grandmother, and , well I will leave it here and you can go see it for yourself.
We are subscribers so we enjoy most of what they do. This, save for small bits, was the exception.
Back to Sabai. Tim is serving Ghost Hill '08 Pinot Noir , a wine that will stand up to ANY spicy foods you care to bring on. I was surprised at how well it matched with Thai foods but we will be trying a glass this Sunday!

A Quick Trip North

The Airlie road from Highway 99 N to the coast range is made for a fast, tightly wound sports car. I drive a 200 Subaru Legacy Wagon (with HX rated Michelin tires).
I was on my way to pick up a donation from Mary Olsen, owner of Airlie Winery. Her two Irish Setters came out to greet me and make sure they got lots of attention. Mary gave us a bottle of 2004 Dunn Forest Vineyard Pinot Noir.
I tasted her 2007 Chardonnay: vanilla and very slight oak with a rich after taste of spice. The Pinot Gris was fresh and bright with a little grapefruit and floral hint with a bit of mineral.
I plan on coming back in April to get a few bottles of both.