Willamette Valley Wine Tasting

Omid & I spent yesterday on the Willamette Valley Wine Trail. I happened to win a weekend pass ($90!) to the event. Omid was gracious enough to give up a precious fishing day so we could go together. We had an absolute blast & met a lot of nice people.

 

Our first stop was at Kramer Vineyards to pick up our tasting glasses & bracelets for the event. We were both chewing gum - which in turn had us quoting the movie Sideways. We cracked up at ourselves for how funny we were (& we hadn't even had our first tasting yet). We are both huge merlot fans which of course led to more Sideways quotes. ☺ All I can say is that my hubs is a lot of fun & I am so thankful he finds humor in the same things I do!☺

 

Let's get this party started!!
 

 We didn't care for any of the wines at Kramer. We really like Muller-Thurgau, but the MT at Kramer was too acidic for our tastes.

Our next stop was at Quail Run Creamery. J. Albin Winery was pouring at this event. While we didn't care for the pinots here, Lynn Albin, brought out a bottle of something that wasn't on the Wine Trail tasting menu: a J. Albin cabernet. We liked it so much, we bought two bottles.  My favorite part about the stop at Quail Run: baby goats! I neglected to get photos, but they were so cute & loved being pet/talked to. Of course, that opened up the 'we need a pet goat' conversation.☺

After this stop, we drove to Carlton, Oregon (ten minutes away) to stop in at the Noble Pig tasting room. I was hoping to get a chance to meet Cathy Pollack. I love reading her Noble Pig blog. Unfortunately Cathy wasn't in when we popped by & the tasting room was busy (so we didn't get a chance to taste). Next time!

We visited Plum Hill Vineyards next. Omid & the winemaker had a fun & spirited conversation. Such a nice man! PHV had a tasty chardonnay (tastes like vanilla!). But...since I'm not really a chard fan, we visited the alpacas (who were deathly afraid of us) then moved on.

Our next winery was Montinore Estate. I liked everything about this winery. From the entrance (a gorgeous wrought iron gate) to the tasting room. At Montinore, we finally tasted pinot noirs that started to taste delicious! We also got great service here. Super nice staff + a bonus discount to boot.

Cheers!
 

Montinore Estate panoramic view.

We decided our last stop for the day would be at David Hill Vineyard & Winery. This was my absolute favorite place of the day. We actually stayed at this winery for almost an hour & a half. The tasting room manager, Michele Andrich, was the nicest person. We chatted with her for a long time. We also joined the wine club at David Hill. The wines were just amazing. If you visit the Willamette Valley for wine tasting - please put David Hill Vineyard & Winery on your list.

Omid sampling the David Hill 2009 Estate Pinot Noir: 'Black Jack"

When I look back on the day, we started out at a winery which didn't fit our tastes at all & ended at a winery that fit our tastes to a T.

A most successful 'date' day!♥

Purchases of the day.
Already looking forward to our next dinner party so we can share these
fabulous wine finds with our friends.☺