We recently celebrated our one year anniversary of Wednesday Wines. It's is a grand experiment. According to Lenard Sweet in The Gospel According to Starbucks, what we need in our culture is a third place--somewhere we can go and relax and hang out with people and just be. For me our wine shop fills that need. It's a place I love to go and hang out. Every once in a while (like today) Kathy, our proprietor, will become so desperate that she will ask me to watch the shop. This is a dangerous situation. I don't do details. I like the big picture. Things like making change do not come easily for me. I hope everyone was keeping track with me today. If I shorted you I'm sorry--it wasn't on purpose.Thursdays are especially fun because it's the day of the Farmer's Market right outside our door. We have a special called "Thirsty Thursdays" where we serve wines by the glass for $3 each. It's a great bargain. Quite a few folks go across the street to Harvest Fresh and grab a sandwich and then come to our place and get a glass of wine. I just love to see people sitting outside on the sidewalk enjoying a glass of wine. It is such a beautiful picture to me. Today we wanted to linger and enjoy this last gasp of sunny, beautiful weather in the Willamette Valley.
Fall may be my favorite season here. The days can be sunny and beautiful. The nights are cool and temperate, and, yes, it's time for grape harvest. It's such a gamble for the wine makers to figure out when to harvest. According to those I talked to over the weekend, it's going to be an early, wonderful harvest.
I tasted a 2008 Pinot Noir as it was going into the bottle and it was fantastic. Were 2007 was a difficult year if you didn't wait for the fruit to get ripe, 2008 was perfect. That means you may want to pay more money for a wine from 2007--find a great winemaker who could handle a difficult vintage, or buy a slightly more expensive wine from your favorite winery than your normally would. In 2008 you can probably buy a less expensive wine, and it will quite likely be very satisfying. From every indication 2009 will be another great harvest. Get out and enjoy the wineries in the area. Fall is the perfect time to go for a visit. The crowds are gone, you may get to see the winery in action and there is just something wonderful about tasting a beautiful glass of wine with a slight chill in the air and the leaves turning colors. Skip the football games and hit the wineries.