We're off for a bountiful weekend

September 29, 2006

We hope you've all been enjoying Greg's "On the Road With Oregon Bounty" segments. Greg and Laura (she's our videographer) are taking a well deserved weekend off. Don't fret though...they'll be back on the road next week, bringing you an eclectic hodgepodge of ranchers, bakers, chefs and farmers, cheesemakers, brewmasters and more!

If you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend, there are a host of unique events going on all around the state. Visit our bounty page and use the map find your perfect event.

Happy Friday!
Michelle & Mo

ps: Tom Green was in Oregon recently to search for the "Most Interesting Person in Oregon." Check out the clip from last night's Tonight Show. (Thanks to our buddies at KGW.com for the clip!)

Oregon Bounty 2006 Day Two: Mt. Hood/Columbia River Gorge - Pinot Envy

I’m no stranger to the world of Pinot noir, be it from California, Burgundy, or right here at home. And, I’ll admit it: I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to this grape. Partly out of citizenship, but mostly because I’m hard pressed to find anything I’d rather drink than a well-crafted Oregon Pinot noir. Of those, I’ve limited my sphere of Pinot reality to the Willamette Valley. If it wasn’t grown in that narrow strip between the mountain ranges of the Coast and Cascades, well, it couldn’t really be Pinot noir.

On The Road With Oregon Bounty Lesson Learned #1: get your sorry glass out of town once in a while.

Day Two of my road trip took me to Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge. There, I met Christie Reed, who along with her husband and partners, are pushing the boundaries of Pinot noir a lot farther east than snobs like me thought possible. Their Mt. Hood Winery is one of a growing number of producers that are popping up amid the apple and pear orchards of the Hood River Valley.

The winery is small, almost sub-boutique. But, what they lack in fussiness, they more than make up for in the bottle. I loved their 2003 Pinot noir, with a jammy nose (that’s wine dork for “smell”) and ripe berry finish. Not a steal, but well worth the $22. And their 2005 Pinot gris ($16) was pleasingly subtle, with aromas of melon and lemongrass. As I tasted the Pinot gris, I couldn’t help but hope we’d see an early Dungeness crab season this year. They’d be a perfect match.

If the Mt. Hood and Columbia River Gorge region is on your radar during Oregon Bounty, you couldn’t pick a better time of year to go. The harvest of aforementioned pears and apples is underway, and you can’t drive far without happening upon a roadside farm stand. We must have past a least a dozen, from slick country stores, to the guy selling Galas and Bartletts out of the back of his pickup. This fruit fervor all comes to a head during the annual Hood River Valley Harvest Fest on the weekend of October 20.

To see what’s happening throughout this region during harvest, check out the Mt. Hood/Columbia River Gorge section of traveloregon.com/bounty and click on Festivals/Events. To see a video diary of my experiences here today, just click on the video window here. Read about my reflections of some of my special places in this region.

See you soon On The Road!

Oregon Bounty 2006- Day One: Portland Metro - The Shazam!

September 27, 2006

For Day One of “On The Road With Oregon Bounty” I visited the Portland Metro region, and spent the morning learning how to make the “Shazam!” (more about that to come). People often say that Portland is like Paris: a great city surrounded by a year-round bounty of products and an army of top chefs. I’m not saying that a walk along the Willamette River rivals a stroll on the Seine, but there are some awfully talented food artists here.

Take Cheryl Wakerhauser. Her Pix Patisserie has quickly launched itself into the forefront of desserts in Portland. My day began with a visit to Cheryl’s North Portland kitchen, where I tried my hand at being a pastry chef (“tried” being the operative word here). For Cheryl (aka “Pix”), becoming a pastry chef was second on her list as a career choice. As a kid, she wanted to be an astronaut. Portland’s collective sweet tooth is thankful she discovered sugar, eggs and flour instead.

Cheryl showed me the fine art of working with chocolate, and I learned how to mold it into the towering “Shazam!”, her signature caramel mousse with salted almonds, chocolate cake, more caramel, and a topping of “magic dust.” I got the hang of it pretty quickly, although I don’t think she’s going to be making me a job offer anytime soon. If you’re pondering a trip to Portland during Oregon Bounty, there’s a package available where you can spend the afternoon honing your own pastry skills with Cheryl. Check out the Portland Metro section of traveloregon.com/bounty and click on Experience Packages.

I followed up my morning pastry lesson with a tour of one of Portland’s many farmers markets, this one downtown in the city’s cultural district. To see a video diary of my experiences today, just click on the video window here. To read about my reflections of watching Portland grow into the restaurant city it is today, click here.

See you tomorrow!

Oregon Bounty 2006 - A Seven Day, Seven Stop Tour.

September 26, 2006

We started things off by sending our very own Greg (a native Oregonian), on a seven day, seven stop, 1,250 mile scenic roadtrip. Why? To experience first hand what makes Oregon taste so good and meet the people and places that make it happen. He met ranchers, bakers, chefs and farmers, cheesemakers, brewmasters and more.

Check out Greg's adventures: Day 1, Portland | Day 2, Mt. Hood/Gorge | Day 3, Eastern Oregon | Day 4, Central Oregon | Day 5, Southern Oregon | Day 6, Willamette Valley | Day 7, The Coast

If you like what you see and hear, take a look at how hotels and inns, restaurants, wineries and events are ready for your road trip during Oregon Bounty this fall.




win an oregon bounty getaway!

Welcome to the Travel Oregon blog...

Welcome to the Travel Oregon blog!

As team mates at Travel Oregon, we're constantly telling folks about our legendary fishing rivers, Sahara-like sand dunes, snowy mountains, wide-open ranchlands, and a bounty that includes some seriously good wine, micro-brews and a host of fresh fruit and veggies! This blog is an up close and personal narrative of our experiences living, vacationing, traveling and working in Oregon.

As you read our blog entries about these experiences (starting with Greg's "On the Road With Oregon Bounty" segment on Sept. 27th), you’ll see why things are not “business as usual” here in Oregon.

~Cheers on behalf of the Travel Oregon team

Mo

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