Another Day Of Hiking, Dining & Wine Tasting in Oregon

May 22, 2007


Recently I had the pleasure of having my favorite sibling (actually he’s my only sibling) come to visit me from Columbus, Ohio. After much harassment, I convinced my brother visit for a weekend so that we could do what most Oregonians do: eat, drink, hike and drink some more.

On day one together, we decided to hit the hiking scene out at the Columbia Gorge and it was absolutely stunning. Why, you ask am I talking about hiking when I should be talking about wine? A girl needs to get out and about once and awhile and I’m also scheming my summer hikes and picnics this summer. I didn’t indulge in bringing wine with me on our hike together but I intend to do so in the future. With trail mix and berries in our pack, we hiked up Angel’s Rest near Multnomah Falls to find an incredible view. Once we reached the top we knew we needed a reward. And what do all hikers need post trek? Food, wine and drinks, of course.

Once back in Portland, we hit Masu Restaurant on 13th near Burnside, which serves sushi, exotic and tempting cocktails along with great happy hour treats. I couldn’t resist blackberries pureed with lemon lime juice and vodka in a drink called the Hello Kitty. My brother had the Masu Mojito, which incorporated the traditional mint but with the added sweetness of pineapple juice. These complimented their yum yum sticks, which were a mixture of shrimp and crab that had been deep fried in a doughy ball of decadence. Definitely “yum yum.”

On Saturday we strolled around the Farmers' Market at Portland State University (PSU) before heading over to wine country. We had a most incredible tour of Stoller Vineyard’s wine by the cellar master, Noah Bieszczad. Here we saw one of the top state of the art winery facilities in the country. Their winery is the first winery in Oregon to be 100% Gold LEED Certified. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and once you drive up to their facility, you can see why. Some of the electrical needs are drawn from solar panels on top of the building and among many other earth friendly practices they use, they try to incorporate a lot of gravity flow in order to be gentle on the grape juice.

Noah was generous in showing us all of their latest technology and techniques as well as sampling through some of their barrels in the barrel room. My brother was most impressed by being able to taste the difference between Pinot Noir juice coming from different clones. Whether it was 777 or Pommard, it was fascinating to taste the difference on the nose and in the palate. Not only is their facility amazing and their vineyard breathtaking, but their wines are something to take a second sip (perhaps many, many more) of. I was thoroughly impressed by their 2006 JV Estate Pinot Noir Rose. I’m already reaching for Rose’s these days with the heat rising, and this is one I’d definitely reach for first. Both the winemaker, Melissa Burr, and Noah are doing quite an incredible job. I’m already dreaming of going back.

Eventually my brother and I had to quickly run off after our tour despite my brother’s look of bliss. We soon set off for Bishop Creek Cellars Tasting Room in Newberg for a chocolate and wine pairing class taught by Kekau Chocolates. For those who’ve forgotten, I work for Bishop Creek Cellars and our largest tasting room is in NW Portland and called Urban Wineworks. We love educating the public and I truly enjoy teaching fun classes about wine, including our wine blending class and food and wine class. But recently, we paired up with Shane Tracey from Kekau chocolates to showcase how fun chocolate making can be and how good it can taste with wine.

Kekau is based in Eugene but Shane is kind enough to come visit us and show those who are chocoholics how to make their own sweet and savory truffles. Shane created some interesting fillings including chipotle mango, strawberry peppercorn and orange fennel. I admit, I’m a dessert and chocolate junkie but I’ve never been one for truffles. Somehow Shane completely changed my mind with interesting and beautiful truffles that actually compliment different styles of wine quite well. My brother seemed thrilled to be able to make his truffles on the spot for quick gratification. We promise to teach this class again in the future so keep your eyes peeled. I’ve eaten all of my chocolates already so I’m begging for more from Kekau.

Alas, my brother left early the next morning and I was very sad to see him go since I adore him so much. I look forward to finding a new path, a summer pleasing Rose, and chocolates to finish the journey. With that, I’m off to eat some more yum yum sticks.

Editor's Note: Leigh Brown works for Urban Wineworks in Portland and will be bring to life Oregon's wine scene in her bi-monthly column, Leigh's Wine Buzz.

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