What does a week in the life look like for the Willamette Valley Wine Girl? I guess you're about to find out.
Sunday Started with a flight home.... from Vegas.
Arriving at PDX following a weekend of happiness, tears of joy, and one too many mimosas… I felt overjoyed. Why Vegas, you ask? This may say a lot about me really early, but I flew to Las Vegas to see Miss Americana… aka Taylor Swift.
A little background on my history of loving Taylor and how people approach her today- whenever she is playing in the car or at a party, people typically don’t remember her from childhood. She’s a fabulous artist and so damn intelligent, that’s for sure! But so many of my friends love her because they found her while in an emotional rut and connected to one song, then two, then a full album, and now anything they hear from her strikes a love for music and connection to a past memory.
And then there is me. I remember hearing, “our song” for the first time at a birthday party… I think I was 9years old? Anyways, I loved everything about it. Went home and immediately purchased it on iTunes for $0.99. I was hooked.
I went on to purchase the album Fearless from a bookstore. I never have thought about this until now, but my god-mother used to gift me bookstore gift cards & I never once purchased a book… That being said they have SO many little games, CDs, toys, and board games at bookstores. It truly is fantastic for a kid.
In short- live, love, Taylor.
But my opinion on Vegas still stands… I would literally choose to go anywhere else for a weekend trip. 1/10 city. Although, with unlimited funds and we could bump it up to a 7/10 because of the food culture.
Enough about Vegas. Let’s talk about wine.
On Monday, I was fortunate enough to visit a new project this week led by Jared Etzel. Rodeo Hills Wine is a boutique winery projected to open summer of 2023. The building is one of a kind & the views are outstanding (even on an overcast day).
The focus is centered around small production Pinot noir and Chardonnay coming from the Dundee Hills & Eola-Amity AVAs. This is significant in my mind because the Dundee Hills are kind of like the father figure of WV AVAs. And then Eola-Amity really has this up & coming personality right now. Everyone I speak to has a huge crush on the wines being produced from Eola-Amity fruit. My prediction is that in the next few years, the talk of Eola-Amity is going to extend well beyond the wine industry. Everyone is bound to fall in love with what’s to come from that American Viticulture Area.
This week’s goal: taste at Jared’s ongoing project, Domaine Roy & Fils. (Please note: I'm embarrassed that I live in the Willamette Valley and haven’t yet tasted here).
**I also have a “real” full time job at a software company, so I will fill you in as the audience- any time I say something along the lines of, “real work,” (I.e. after a completed my real work for the day..) that’s what I mean.**
That being said- after I completed my real work for the day, I popped over to Potcake Cellars. This label took the space that Methvan Vineyards used to reside in. (Rest in Peace Dr. M).
Potcake Cellars is special for many reasons. The first is their mission: The owners, Roy & Sondra Armstrong, are passionate about animals. Bringing stray dogs in from the Bahamas to foster and train in order to acclimate them for local adoption. The second, their wine: they have options from bubbly to white, rose, and Pinot noir. Something for everyone, really! The third is their amazing winemaker: if we have a similar train of thought when you hear the name Isabelle Dutartre, you think De Ponte Cellars. (When you think of De Ponte, you think “wow,” “amazing,” “love it,” etc). However, Isabelle is deemed as the, “Quintessential French Winemaker,” and she also works with the Armstrongs to make wine for- you guessed it- Potcake Cellars! And last but not least: Potcake Cellars’ amazing team! Everyone who works at Potcake is passionate about the mission & what they’re doing to take part. It’s exciting to see so many people have such comradery in a tasting room setting. It sets the pace for comfortability as a visitor and an ease of creating community within the wine industry.
As mentioned, Potcake is right in the middle of Dundee, so swing in for a tasting or attend the Friday evening music festivities.
We’re only through Monday. So let me continue the weekly review.
Tuesday was a very rainy day in the valley. If you got outside, good for you! I ended up making my way to Carlton to freshen up my hair & broke into a cider from 19 Acres Cider. They’re local to Sherwood & literally the sweetest people ever… if you haven’t heard of them, go visit for a tasting & tell them Lucy from Siltstone sent you.:)
Wednesday after my real work, I got to visit a tasting room I drive by every day, but haven’t visited since 2017- Rex Hill. Although this establishment is still under construction, Rex Hill has a bright new Tasting room that is perfect for an afternoon wine tasting or glass of bubbly. Jeff, our host, was kind & knowledgable, the wine was good & RH offers a strong lineup with a lot of history.
I was fortunate enough to meet up with another familiar name in the Oregon wine industry- Dante Zapata. He’s well known for performing his acoustic music at wine events, wineries, and other events such as weddings. Although he’s busy, it was a great time connecting with Dante to establish a relation over some wine! If you have yet to have a conversation with Dante, I recommend approaching him at the next event you see him at. His views on music, the wine/events industry, religion, and of course life in general are so insightful- and he’s a very curious & kind person!
Oh! In addition to the awesome tasting- Joey Myers, the owner of Narrow Window Wines & worker of A to Z (and son of Siltstone Wines owners Joel & Louise Myers) was able to come join us for a few minutes of light hearted and fun conversation. If you haven’t followed his wine page, go check out @narrowwindowwines on IG.
After the wine tasting I ran over to one of the best run soccer programs in the Yamhill Valley- Yamhill Carlton Soccer Club. Karen Wright, the owner of the non-profit, was kind enough to host a spring break tournament that drew over 50 people out to play some footy. If you’re interested in getting involved in playing (no matter the age/level of play) follow Yamhill-Carlton Soccer Club on Facebook & Instagram.
Thursday!
The rest of the week was pretty relaxed. Highlight of Thursday & Friday included working pretty hard at my real job (end of quarter hits hard in corporate America) & doing my taxes. If you like waiting until the last minute to do things, here’s your extra special personal reminder to go get those done before it’s too late.
Saturday was a day filled with joy- Anne-Amie Vineyards hosted a friend’s bridal shower. Highlights for me included their brut rose bubbles, as well as their offerings of Gamay & Cab Sauv. All of these were favorites of the group I visited with. It was also a perfect venue for ~20 ladies to celebrate the future bride.
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That pretty much wraps up the weekly review. If you’re looking to plan out some springtime wine events, look into these:
-Flavors of Carlton 4/15
-YC AVA Tasting 4/23
-AAPI Tasting Event 5/21 **FIRST EVER** @ Stoller Family Estate
-McMinnville Foothills Tasting Passport Through 4/30
-Chris James Cellars Spring Floral Workshop
-2nd Tuesday Trivia @ Abbey Road Farm
-Trivia @ The Grove in Mac (old cornerstone coffee building)
Okay that’s it- if you like this type of blog, leave a comment below. I’m trying to figure out if a newsletter might be better?? Anyways, I love sharing with you guys (and by you guys I mean my mom and my 4 friends who read this lol) if there are any ideas, please leave a comment!
Oh! Also- “LIKE” <3 this below if you enjoyed the chaotic read ;)
Hoping everyone enjoys learning a little more about what it’s really like to be involved in the Oregon wine industry. If you’re interested in this community and want to get involved, please reach out via Instagram or by commenting below.
Look forward to another Willamette Valley Wine Girl Blog post this Wednesday.
-LB