Today was the day of Ginger! She was chauffeured around to four different vineyards in the Willamette Valley area of Oregon. The Willamette Valley has over 900 wineries and 37,000 acres of planted vineyards. which is crazy since they didn’t start establishing themselves until the early 1970s. As someone who doesn’t like reds and Pinot Noir being the primary wine in the region, we were able to find a number of vineyards that had a decent selection of whites. Let me tell you a little bit about our day,

Winery #1 Sokol Blosser

This vineyard was one of the first in Oregon, created by a husband and wife team in 1971 – Bill Blosser and Susan Sokol. We didn’t get to meet Susan, but we saw her on the property walking around. The winemaker is a woman, one of the few around. Sokol Blosser has survived, grown and prospered as a family-owned and run operation, and they are proud to have been part of developing and shaping Oregon’s now prominent wine industry. The Vineyard has grown to over 120 acres. The winery is located in the Dundee Hills of Dayton, OR. The building and grounds were breathtaking. The 5,700-square-foot building is clad inside and out with striated wood that draws inspiration from the vineyard rows. The centerpiece is the tasting room, which includes a bar, outdoor terrace, sitting area and hearth, and is flanked by a library and kitchen. The building is organized to accommodate a variety of tasting experiences in each distinct space.

As one of the few wineries that opens at 10 AM, we were one of the first people there. We had a fabulous seating area on the outside terrace. We got lucky with the weather again today; it started off cloudy, but the sun came out while we were here. Our tasting associate was wonderful – knowledgeable about the wines, family, and ensured mom had the wines that were right for her. While I only drink water, Ginger tasted six wines, including the following:

• 2020 Dundee Hills, Estates Chardonnay
• 2020 Willamette Valley Sauvignon Blanc
• 2021 Estate Riesling
• 2022 Rose of Pinot Noir
• 2022 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris*
• 2021 Bluebird Curvee Brut Sparkling*

Winery #2 – Brooks Winery

Our next tasting reservation started at 12 o’clock. When we arrived at Brooks Winery, we were a little perplexed by the dragon symbol – this is not you average winery. It’s a story of life, growth, death and the support of community.

Brooks Wines in Amity, Oregon is the living legacy of Jimi Brooks – a Portland native who fell in love with winemaking while working a harvest in Beaujolais, eventually making his way back to the Pacific Northwest to start his own project. With a reverence for the land and vines, Jimi became a path-breaker in biodynamic and organic viticulture, showing the excellence of terroir in Oregon’s Pinot Noir and Riesling production. When Jimi suddenly passed away in 2004, he left behind Brooks to his young son Pascal, who is now the sole owner of the winery, and his sister Janie Brooks Heuck, who has since volunteered to manage Brooks Wines while Pascal finishes school. He’s cutting in France learning from the masters. Read this if you’re interested in learning more about the family.

Our tasting associate, Logan was wonderful. Knowledgeable about the family their story, the wines, his favorites, etc. Since we were his only customer, when we arrived, we got 1:1 attention for much longer than we anticipated. Even though mom didn’t get to taste their Viognier, she ended up buying one because of his recommendation. He got a nice tip from us. Here are the wines mom tried:

• 2022 Rosé of Pinot Noir
• 2022 Pinot Blanc*
• 2022 Amycus white blend
• 2019 Hyland Riesling (dry)
• 2021 Bois Joli Riesling, (medium dry)*
• 2021 Sweet P Riesling (medium sweet)*

We at first were perplexed by the dragon symbol on the sign. Were the owners Chinese? Nope. It’s an ouroboros, which is an ancient symbol of a snake or serpent eating its own tail, variously signifying infinity and the cycle of birth and death. Jimi had this tattooed, so it became the symbol for the brand. As we were leaving the winery, a woman with a bowl of salad opened the door for us. We realized later than that was Janie Brooks, bad bitch in charge. Another interesting fun fact was in the tasting room had walls had boards made originally from barrels. Branded on some of the boards were names of other wineries, who supported them after Jimi died and helped them save their business. Interestingly enough the name of the vineyard above mom‘s glass in the picture below is the last vineyard we went to on our tour. Coincidence?

Winery #3 – Willamette Valley Vineyards

The estate was beautiful. Vineyards all over the hills and beautiful views, but not our favorite. This was the largest winery and it felt more mass produced, less personal and fine. Mom tried five different wines all in a white flight. But none of them were worthy of purchase. Not that they were horrible but they weren’t special enough. They also didn’t come with the story or the family owned business that you felt like you were supporting by the other two. We chose to order lunch, which was quite delicious. I had a beef bourguignon soup and mom ordered a cheeseburger.

Here are the wines , she tasted:

• 2019 Brut Rose
• 2021 Pinot Blanc
• 2022 Pinot Gris
• 2021 Viognier
• 2017 Bernal Block Chardonnay

Winery #4 – Cristom Winery

Our last stop was Cristom wineries located in Salem Oregon. The Cristom name was a combination of the two owners children’s names combined – Cristina and Tom. We didn’t have enough time for a tasting so mom just ordered one glass of wine. The only thing they had opened in a white was a Pinot Gris. The ambience was peaceful. The sun was lowering, so not blazingly hot, and there is soft music playing in the background that made you just want to close your eyes, enjoy the moment, and take in your surroundings.

So if you’re counting, you should notice that she tasted 18 wines today and bought nine bottles of wine. Ginger’s comment tonight was – “At least I didn’t buy 18 bottles.” Yes I might have highly recommended that if she enjoyed the wine and wanted to bring some home with her that buy it and ship it home, and stop freaking out about the price. I think that was sage advice.

Tomorrow – Tillamook, Cannon Beach, Astoria