O O Oregon

With our bellies full from lunch at Dundee Bistro & feeling good after a glass of bubbly on their patio we headed across the street to Argyle. They make some of the best bubblies in the new world, in my humble opinion, & some top notch pinot noir as well. The staff was friendly, boisterous, knowledgeable & just down right happy! Kelly went through the "Red, White & Bubbly" flight & I tasted through all the bubbles. I love the texture that the Argyle sparkling wine


After checking into our gorgeous guesthouse on Renegade Ridge Vineyard (part of Archery Summit Estate) we sat on the deck & marveled at the view. The Willamette Valley was laid out before us & it was a clear enough day to see all the way to Mt Hood.


Gazing at that view I was at peace & felt as if every sound had been sucked out of the air. The breeze was calm, crisp & consistent & the sunlight warmed our exposed skin. I walked down into the vines & got reacquainted. It felt as if I'd been away from a vineyard forever & I just couldn't stand to be away for any longer.




There is something very calming & primal about caressing a small green grape bunch knowing full well what it will grow to be & hopefully turned into.





I could have stayed on that deck forever & stared out until darkness fell on the Valley. However I wanted to show Kelly the Willamette Valley I love so we got cleaned up & headed to McMinnville. We tried to go have a drink at the back bar at Nick's Italian Cafe but they weren't open on Mondays. So we strolled down to Hotel Oregon to have a cocktail on the rooftop. I stayed at this old school Euro-style hotel last year during Oregon Pinot Camp & let me just say...it's cool. It's like a hostel but better & with a roof top bar where you can see all over the Valley. After a few drinks & listening to some interesting conversations by fellow rooftop gazers we made our way down the stairs & back to Nick's. It was 8:35 so I didn't think we'd have a problem getting in. The hostess at the door informed us that they were closed. I looked around at the full dining room & said out loud to her "are you kidding?" She said that they weren't seating anyone else & that the kitchen said they weren't taking anymore tables. AT 8:35 AT NIGHT WITH A FULL DINING ROOM??? What the hell? What else could we do except turn tail & head down the street. I was bummed because I really thought that Kelly would enjoy Nick's because he loves Italian food. Instead of Italian we dined on Spanish that evening at La Rambla.



This gorgeous platter was bulging with olives, chorizo, jamon serrano, fig bread, quince paste, mahon cheese, manchego, cabrales & blue cheese stuffed bacon wrapped dates. Perfect alongside a bottle of Westrey Pinot Noir 2007.