A Willamette Valley Wine Tasting Trip

On August 27th we made a trip out to the Willamette Valley to keep up with the latest and greatest in the area. We started out at Argyle, located in Dundee, OR - about a 2.5 hour trip from Bend, OR. They have a really nice lineup of wines, and great sparkling, which is always the best way to start out any wine tasting trip!

From Argyle we hit Archery Summit winery, Penner-Ash, Scott Paul, and Tyrus Evan. I can't say there was even one wine we didn't like at any of the wineries, however, the two spot light wines of the trip were the Scott Paul Le Paulee Pinot Noir and the Tyrus Evan Cabernet Franc.

On Monday the 28th we stopped at the Carlton Winemakers Studio for a wine trade tasting. This typically includes various wineries that set up tasting for those of us "in the trade", i.e. restaurant employees, wine shop owners, wine bar owners, etc. The highlights from this tasting were the Domaine Meriwether Captain Clark, Domaine Meriwether Prestige Rose, Hamacher Pinot Noir, and the Dominius IV Syrah.

It was a very relaxing trip, we had some great wines - and it's great to get out and meet the winemakers and folks that make it all happen!

Buzz from Domaine Meriwether visits Cork Cellars

Buzz, from Domaine Meriwether came to Cork Cellars August 19th to host a complimentary wine tasting. We had 4 sparkling wines open in honor of National Sparkling Wine Night (so-named by Ron Loutherback, founder of The Wine Club. The sampled sparkling wines:

• Discovery - made in the Brut style from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes
• William Clark Cuvee - their flagship wine made of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (different percentages than the Discovery)
• Fort Clatsop Cuvee Blanc de Blancs - 100% Chardonnay, made in the traditional Champagne style
• Prestige Rose - Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, turned rose at triage-time

The day was perfect - perfect wines, weather and customers. The group was a lot of fun - we had some locals (show here - Stephanie and Dennis), and also some tourists came in to enjoy the informative session, as well as enjoy some great wines.

We had some great feedback - primarily that people learned a lot, and thought that the wines were fantastic. We can't wait until next year so that we can celebrate this "holiday" again - in style.

More pictures from the event.