A Southern Man Goes to Willamette Valley

This past Labor Day weekend, my wife and I, along with my sisters and brothers-in-law, met up in the beautiful Willamette Valley to run the Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon and drink some primo wine.  I'm happy to report that we did both...and had a great time.  But rather than prattle on about it, I've posted several captioned pics below from the trip.  Before you get started, a few observations:

• If I had to describe the Willamette Valley in a word, it would be "green".  Not only was the natural scenery a picturesque green (as opposed to the drier,and brown-er, California AVAs), but there was a clear emphasis by the wine industry on environmental responsibility.  LEED-certified wineries, as well as biodynamic, organic, and "salmon safe" vineyards, and a multitude of other "green" terms were everywhere, and a part of virtually every conversation.  Many of the wineries explained that they are using screwcaps instead of corks or environmental reasons.  Very cool.

• If you go to the Willamette Valley to drink wine, you better like Pinot Noir.  The stuff is ubiquitous.  Fortunately, we were all fans of Pinot, but even we were ready for something else by the time we sat down for our last dinner together.  We stayed around the Chehalem Mountains, Dundee Hills, Ribbon Ridge, and Yamhill-Carlton AVAs, and most of them share a relatively similar climate (coastal, cooler than California) and two predominant soil types:  Willakenzie (sedimentary) and Jory (volcanic).  These environmental similarities, as well as a more restrained style of Pinot, probably contributed to the Pinot-monotony.  I'm not saying that no wines were distinct or offered sense of place, but overall there was not the wide variety you find in a place like Sonoma.  For the record, we did taste some Chardonnay, Viognier, Riesling, rose of Pinot Noir, sparkling wines, and even a Bordeaux blend.  It's just that you might taste one or two of the other varietals for every 10 Pinots.  Surprisingly and a bit disappointingly, we didn't taste even one Pinot Gris.  I did try several great craft beers, though.

• 2011 was the most prominent vintage being poured in most of the tasting rooms, and I'd say the wines are OK.  With some exceptions, most were lean, trim and taut...I might even characterize a few as "weak".  2011 was a cold, wet vintage and it shows in the wines.  Penner Ash stood out as the best of the 2011s, able to coax some richness out of the difficult crop.  I'm talking about Pinots, of course, and the 2009s and 2010s we tried were more complete.  2009 was a hot year, which made for fuller, richer, bolder wines, not too unlike a "typical" California Pinot.  2010 was a quintessential Oregon vintage, producing wines that displayed great balance between spicy fruit and nervy acidity.  From what we heard, 2012 and 2013 should be solid, if not great, vintages.

• Oregonians love them some football.  This was especially refreshing for a Southerner who likes to talk football.  On Labor Day weekend, no less.  We actually watched LSU v. TCU while up there, and were pleasantly surprised that some locals took interest.  I was able to talk pigskin with many a tasting room worker.  Nice.

• Lastly, a stomach bug swept through our house like a plague of locusts a few days before the trip.  It was intense but short-lived, and I was able to run the half marathon.  While I did not (and did not expect) to get a PR, my bro-in-law crushed it, finishing in 1:43.  I have run more than a few great races in cool places, but this was the prettiest course I have run.  If you have a chance to experience the Oregon Wine Country Half, I strongly recommend it.

OK, to the pics!  All of the good images were shot by my little sister, Meredith Curtis Photography.  Here we go:

Our trip began with brunch at Veritable Quandary in Portland.  The above salmon scramble made a great,  protein-packed, day-before-race meal.  We ate outside, which we could never do in Louisiana in August.

After checking in to our hotel in Newberg, we ate a killer pre-race dinner at Recipe.  Gnocchi pictured above.

Recipe is a quaint, locally-sourced restaurant with small but exceptional menu and wine list.  We ate inside the old Victorian home and really enjoyed our dinner.

Sunrise at Stoller Vineyards just before race time.

Wow!  My Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon race medal doubles as a coaster.  Get out!

Post-race brunch at JORY, located in the swanky Allison Inn & Spa in Newberg.

Without question, the most incredible French toast I have ever eaten.  Too bad for my lil' sis, who ordered it and didn't get to enjoy much of it.  If angel food cake and rum cake had a baby, and that baby was covered in peach slices, blackberries, pistachios and creme fraiche, it might taste something like this.  I'm still dreaming about it, which explains the massive amounts of drool on my pillow.

The barrel room at Roco winery.  The 2009 "Private Stash" Pinot Noir was our favorite.  Note:  they also pour Purple Hands wines in their tasting room.  We left with a few bottles of that as well.  Pouring 2009s and 2011s.

The estate vineyard of Trisaetum.  Spicy, food-friendly Pinots and semi-sweet to sweet Rieslings.  Cool tasting room with lots of contemporary art.  Pouring 2011s.

Penner Ash's Dussin Vineyard, home of our favorite 2011 Pinot Noir.  Lynn Penner Ash makes or has made, like, every other wine in the Willamette Valley it seems.  That's a good thing.  Pouring 2011s.

Penner Ash tasting room.  A great way to cap off a day of racing and tasting.

Celebratory race day feast was had at The Painted Lady in Newberg.  This is in the top five of my all-time greatest meals.  Really.  That good.  We had the Chef's tasting menu with wine pairings.  Amazing.

I don't remember what this was but it was awesome.

Rabbit entree.

Getting dark, but this was the most incredible dessert I have ever eaten.  A pistachio souffle that you puncture and fill with chocolate sauce.  My hands are shaking typing this. 

A really cool experience:  tasting and tour of the Dusky Goose Rambouilet Vineyard.  They don't have a tasting room, but were more than accommodating when I called them up.  Cheers to Nancy and Linda for coordinating and leading a great tour.  Oh yeah, the wines were the best we tasted.  (also made by Lynn Penner Ash).  They were pouring 2009 and about to release the 2010 vintage.

Almost pickin' time at Rambouillet Vineyard.  We sampled a few grapes and they were quite tasty.  Rambouillet Vineyard cannot be certified biodynamic (the previous owners put in irrigation), but it is "salmon safe".  They do not use irrigation, pesticides or herbicides.

Lily's Block at Rambouillet.  They make a super-limited Pinot from this block that was my personal favorite.  The block slopes steeply down to a creek.

Lange Estate Winery.  Really good wines.  The just-released Freedom Hill Vineyard Pinot Noir was my favorite.  Pouring 2010s.

A wine country staple:  cheese and crakers.  At Red Hills Market in Dundee.

On every wine country trip, we reach a point where we just need pizza.  Awesome artisan version at Red Hills Market.

Nice views and Pinots at Archer Summit.  They have a nice patio at which to taste their wines.  This was our last winery to visit and, honestly, our palettes were blown, so not sure we did it justice.

The barrel room at Archery Summit, which one must traverse in order to get to their restroom.  Luckily, it smells like aging wine and not a bathroom.

Not pictured but worth noting:  Argyle Winery, Longplay Wine (and its quirky yet friendly proprietor), and Chehalem Valley Brewing Company.  Thanks to my fam for making this a great trip.