slow

If I thought the internet was slow before, I was wrong.    Now I know what slow is......   I can't begin to show you any pictures, and I have some great ones.

We spent our last day here exploring the vineyards around the Dundee Hills,  stopping here and there for tastings (tasting and buying).     We sipped Pinot Noir, Viognier, Rose, Dry Riesling, Pinot Gris, a wonderful port made with Syrah, and  more Pinot Noir.    The wineries, their tasting rooms, their wines and staff were all very different from each other.

Lange Winery was high on a hill, filled with roses and lavender.  The young woman doing our tasting was funny, personable and very knowledgeable.   The tasting room was small and pleasant.   We left with 3 bottles.

Sokol Blosser's brand new, award winning contemporary tasting room was spectacular.    It fits the land like a glove.     Inside and outside space invite you to linger and savor their wines and the beautiful views.   We enjoyed wandering around and admiring the building and its garden.   Our tasting, however, left us flat.     Perhaps it was the young man serving us.   We tasted four wines, each poured without comment from him, one after another as soon as our glass was empty.   End of story.    We left feeling very unsatisfied.

Then we found our way to Torii Mor, a real gem.   Their wines were fabulous, the young man serving our tasting was a real personality.   He knew his wines, the winery and his customers.   He was happy to pour more than the normal 4 tastes, happy to revisit whatever we were interested in, even offered a small taste of the brandy they distill on site to make the yummy, chocolaty port style we all loved.   He was full of history and anecdotes about the winery and its owners.   After our tasting and purchasing we strolled the pretty Japanese Gardens surrounding the small tasting room.  

I really wish I could show you pictures of each of these places.   Sigh.

Just one more.....we had an hour before our dinner reservation so we decided to just follow the road up into the hills to see what we could see.   White Rose Winery was at the end of the road, and since I live with a certified Rose Robber,  it was only fitting to check it out.     No white roses on the property but so much lavender.....every variety I've ever heard about were growing in beautiful curving beds backed by the thick and perfectly trimmed grape vines.   Magnificent views in all directions, birds singing, expanses of closely trimmed grass bordered by fragrant purple lavender.      We found our way to the tasting room and went inside.      Inside into a dark, cool, cave like building with no windows.   Dark except for a chandelier above and a long bar on one end.    Wow!   After the sensory overload outside that door, this quiet dim room was a real surprise.  We could concentrate totally on what we were tasting.   Extremely interesting experience.    Our server was pleasant but a little aloof.   He had a very heavy accent so it wasn't easy to understand what he was saying.   The wines were very good, all Pinot Noirs, but so expensive that we left with only the delicious taste  in our mouths.

A wonderful comfort food dinner in McMinnville ended our day and we headed home, extremely happy campers.

Tomorrow we break camp and head west to the coast and our Elks Lodge accommodations in Florence, Oregon.

I'll try and get the pictures on there, finger's crossed.