I was at the McMinnville Grand Ballroom pouring wine for the "Salsa para el bien" fundraiser last night. The event was an effort by Lutheran Community Services here in McMinnville to hire a staff person to work to help people with their struggle for legal status in this country. It was a wonderful event. And I was totally struck by the generosity of this community. If you attend a fundraiser in this area there will, no doubt, be wine served there. And that wine was, most probably, donated by some generous person in the wine industry. Last night we were blessed with wonderful wines from Lisa Neal (OK, and Scott!) from Coeur de Terre Vineyard. They shared their new Rose which is just wonderful. (We have it in the shop at Wednesday Wines by the way!) We also poured their 2006 Estate Pinot Noir and it is presenting beautifully after four years in the bottle. We had wines from Susan Sokol Blosser, Kudos, from Northwest Wines, and a Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris from Anne Amie Vineyards. And then there was the food. Kristin from Harvest Fresh Groceries, Deli & Catering provided a sumptuous feast. It is Kristin, always Kristin who provides food for such community events. I buy almost all my groceries at Harvest Fresh. One reason is that I can walk there, but the other is that they are always giving of themselves for the good of the community. They are a gift to the city of McMinnville.
And to the left are two of my favorite, generous women. Remy of Remy Wines and Judy (who sometimes admits to knowing the guy pouring wine in the photo above.) Remy donated a case of her red blend called Three Wives. It is a wonderful medium bodied red with beautiful, spicy notes. (And, yes, we sell a lot of what we like to call the Mormon wine at Wednesday Wines--get it? Three Wives?) A lot of the details for the event were put together by Erin Stephenson who owns Third Street Flats. These are European style apartments which are located directly upstairs from Wednesday Wines.
I love these generous people. They help to make this such a wonderful place to live. They helped Lutheran Community Services raise over $11,000 last night which will help to staff this position for an entire year. If you missed this wonderful night of music, dancing food and wine you will be hearing about it for quite some time, I am sure. Support these businesses. When you visit one of their wineries on Memorial Day, say thank you. And for heavens sakes if you need groceries head to Harvest Fresh and tell Kristin she is loved and appreciated!