Instead of helping with a stewardship campaign today I got to go on a special wine tour with some wonderful friends. Doug and Linda Cruikshank had bid on this special tour at some charity event. They could take four friends, so we got to tag along with Bill and Jane Moore. The 
winery was Trisaetum (rhymes with I ATE 'em). Our tour was lead by Andrea Fry who with her husband, James owns this beautiful estate. Actually they own two estates. The winery building is located just outside of Newburg, and the other estate is just outside of McMinnville.They are still processing fruit. Andrea explained that they were going to let the Riesling hang even a bit longer, but when James went out to check on the fruit and grabbed one of the clusters all of the grapes fell off. James appeared at one point in the tour looking a bit haggard. Turns out he hasn't have a day off in 42 days. (They are hoping to have Thanksgiving Day off!) James has some almost finished Sauvignon Blanc that we get to taste (poured from a beaker which I just think is so cool.) I am impressed with the production facility. It is exactly what you would do if you had the resources to make it happen. They have a number of large wood fermenters which are located up on a ledge so that they do not need to be pumped out, but can be fed by gravity instead. I'm thinking that's pretty cool when Andrea shows us the secret tube that goes through the wall and down the floor into the barrel cave! So, when they are putting the wine into the barrels, they just feed the hose
downstairs and let it flow into the barrels. Once a year they do a club member's dinner in the cave. It is a very cool space. Andrea does a wonderful job of talking us through the production while at the same time moving us through their selection of wines. Three of the wines are from their Artists series. It turns out they have an artist on sight who makes a custom painting for each of the releases. And it's handy that he also happens to be the winemaker and owner. Really, that is just too much talent to be located all in one person. He can also figure out computer programs which just doesn't seem fair. There is a gallery of Jame's work just off of the regular tasting room. 
Many of the pieces of art include debris from the vineyard. Some have vines incorporated into them while others have grape seeds and some of the dirt from the vineyard. There is just something so right about art combined with wine. The fact that the same artist at Trisaetum makes both is even more fun. That and the barrel cave gives this winery a very unique and beautiful aesthetic. After our tasting we decide to stop for lunch at Farm to Fork in Dundee. It was wonderful. And the conversation was wonderful. And the wine was wonderful. And the fact that a very successful stewardship campaign took place this morning at McMinnville Cooperative Ministries without me? Priceless!
