Wine tasting

Yesterday it rained.   We had planned on going into McMinnville to see what their Farmer's Market had to offer and then to walk along 3rd street to soak up its atmosphere and perhaps taste a little wine.    Doing that while holding an umbrella didn't appeal to us so we stayed home, did laundry and took care of a little travel planning.

The rain let up a bit  in the afternoon so we decided to treat ourselves to a good dinner at Nick's on 3rd.    A very good idea.   A very good meal and a very good bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir that cost more than our food.    Life is short.

On our way home the Rose Robber struck.    While I was looking the other way he leapt into our Jeep with a beautiful, velvety red rose and we sped away.    Shhhh, don't tell.

 


Today was still quite cool but the clouds were broken and it didn't look like rain so we decided to hit a few winery tasting rooms and explore a bit of McMinnville in between.

We followed Lange Winery signs up into the Dundee Hills.  While we were in Bend we shared one of their nice Pinot Noir's with Pamela and Vic so our interest was piqued.    The road turned to gravel and we wound up through a deep ivy clad forest before it ended at driveway leading through rows of beautifully manicured vines.

We were greeted by a small flock of Cedar Waxwings that flew along with us, in and out of the grape vines.

Oh Dave.....

We enjoyed a delightful tasting and left with a few bottles of our favorites including a really nice Pinot Gris.

Our second tasting was at Dobbes Family Winery.    I was hoping they would be pouring their 2013 Wine by Joe Pinot Gris as I'm always looking for a good, reasonably priced white wine.     Too bad, it wasn't on their tasting menu today and neither was a Viognier I'd heard about.

We sat outside on their pretty terrace on a comfy red couch and enjoyed a personal tasting and pleasant conversation with our hostess.    I didn't take any pictures while we were there but we did, once again, walk out with a few bottles of our favorites.

In between tastings we went into McMinnville and strolled around the quaint and pretty downtown.     Unfortunately, the internet has slowed down again and I can't load anymore pictures.    Tomorrow is another day.