Fall is by far the most beautiful time to visit wine country in Oregon. Today the temperatures were in the 70's and the trees were showing off their amazing colors. Wine harvest is almost complete. It is going to be a good year for those who waited a bit for all of the fruit to get ripe. In mid September it looked as though the rainy season might have come a bit early, but after a week or so of intermittent rain everything cleared up beautifully.
We were out tasting in the Eola Hills last week. There are some amazing wineries in the area. St. Innocent Winery is turning out some of the best value Pinot Noirs in the state. Just around the corner is Cristom Winery with a spectacular tasting room and friendly staff. Next door is Witness Tree Vineyard. I love their wines. We tasted everything and were impressed with the over all quality. Their pinot have that deep, earthy quality that I love. They also have an ice wine that is unique around these parts and makes a divine dessert all by itself. The tasting room is a no-nonsense type of affair. I like that in a winery. You get the sense that you are visiting a place that produces wine. The efficiency of the setting is passed on in the value of the wines that they are creating. We had a bottle of their Witness Tree Vineyard '06 Willamette Valley, Estate Bottled, Pinot Noir with dinner tonight and it was just amazing. There is something about the hills of this area that produce wines of incredible depth and beauty.
I had the pleasure of meeting the owners of Witness Tree, Dennis and Carolyn Devine. We were at a fundraiser for the Northwest House of Theological Studies. Dennis was busy pressing the flesh (he is required to do so as a member of the board of directors.) It turns out that they are life long Lutherans. Carolyn shared their story of moving from California to the east coast and then back to Oregon to pursue her husband's crazy passion for wine making. I'm glad he did. It is wonderful to meet such authentic people of faith who love God and love wine making.
Our wine store's web sight is up and running. You can visit us at http://www.wednesdaywines.com/.
Joy and Peace!
Mark C. Pederson
We were out tasting in the Eola Hills last week. There are some amazing wineries in the area. St. Innocent Winery is turning out some of the best value Pinot Noirs in the state. Just around the corner is Cristom Winery with a spectacular tasting room and friendly staff. Next door is Witness Tree Vineyard. I love their wines. We tasted everything and were impressed with the over all quality. Their pinot have that deep, earthy quality that I love. They also have an ice wine that is unique around these parts and makes a divine dessert all by itself. The tasting room is a no-nonsense type of affair. I like that in a winery. You get the sense that you are visiting a place that produces wine. The efficiency of the setting is passed on in the value of the wines that they are creating. We had a bottle of their Witness Tree Vineyard '06 Willamette Valley, Estate Bottled, Pinot Noir with dinner tonight and it was just amazing. There is something about the hills of this area that produce wines of incredible depth and beauty.
I had the pleasure of meeting the owners of Witness Tree, Dennis and Carolyn Devine. We were at a fundraiser for the Northwest House of Theological Studies. Dennis was busy pressing the flesh (he is required to do so as a member of the board of directors.) It turns out that they are life long Lutherans. Carolyn shared their story of moving from California to the east coast and then back to Oregon to pursue her husband's crazy passion for wine making. I'm glad he did. It is wonderful to meet such authentic people of faith who love God and love wine making.
Our wine store's web sight is up and running. You can visit us at http://www.wednesdaywines.com/.
Joy and Peace!
Mark C. Pederson