Wait, wait, wait – what clones? Makes wine sound like some kind of science-fiction plot from Lucas Films, right? And just when you thought all you needed to know were some basic French (noir, blanc, gris) color words to get you through Pinot.

Yes clones! In fact there are thought to be thousands of clones and mutations of Pinot noir around the world. The grape itself is highly prone to mutation given it’s surroundings and external circumstances, so just as little as moving vines from one location to another can trigger a change over time. There are certain clones that produce better wines than others, and so these are the ones that growers have tried to propagate and reproduce. Some have names like Pommard, referring back to one of the Burgundian Pinot Powerhouses, but others are just left with strings of numbers – as is the case with 667, 777 and 115.

Both 667 and 777 are considered top level Dijon clones (Ack! so many Burgundian references! You’d think they had something to do with wine!) They are blended primarily to create long-aging, well-structured wines. These 115 and Pommard are what Seven of Hearts uses for the Luminous Hills label.

2008 Estate Grown Pinot Noir Luminous Hills – Yamhill-Carlton

Appearance: Clear with very slight haze, rose or cherry red to a clear rim

Nose: Clean, spice, cayenne, dark fruit, perfumed, spiced fruit, saffron

Palate: Dry, medium acid and tannin, red cherry, strawberry, cranberry, some dried fruit, black raspberry, long finish

This wine is made from a blend of Pommard, 667 and 115. It really intrigued me with some of the spice characteristics that it offered. Byron explained how the fruit was drive by the 667 which is grown at higher elevation on volcanic soils while that spice we noticed was from the other two clones grown at lower elevation on more sedimentary soils.

2008 Estate Grown Pinot Noir, Lux, Luminous Hills – Yamhill-Carlton

Appearance: Clear, medium cranberry to clear rim

Nose: Clean, green vegetal, minerality, ripe red fruit, black cherry, herbaceous

Palate: Dry, medium acid and body, medium-low softer tannin, red fruit, strawberry, vegetable, raspberry, black cherry, spice, long finish

The Lux is then a blend of Pommard and 777 clones. The former is grown at lower elevation on sedimentary soil and the latter at higher elevation on volcanic base. Here I enjoyed the earth-driven minerality along with the tighter green vegetal characteristics.

So while it may be more of a clone party than a clone war (Sorry Mr. Lucas, we won’t be needing you after all. Dolly was cheaper), Pinot Noir clones definitely all offer some specific advantages and characteristics. I’d be really keen on a situation where you could taste each clone side by side, and if I ever find somewhere to do so I’ll be sure to write all about it.

Thanks for reading, and thank you to the Dooleys and Seven of Hearts for the great wines.

Cheers!

Ryan Reichert is originally from Northeast Ohio and recently relocated to the Willamette Valley where he works as the Tasting Room Manager at Trisaetum Winery in the Ribbon Ridge AVA. He has received both his Intermediate and Advanced certifications from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, and is also a certified French wine enthusiast and Spanish Wine Educator. Ryan strives to learn all he can about wine and to share his passion with everyone. You can read more of Ryan’s work at http://www.oe-no-phile.com where he posts about many wine related topics.

Oregon is home to nearly 500 bird species and when spring migration hits, thousands of exotic birds come to rest and feed under the Pacific Flyway. Gather the family to these bird sanctuaries around the state and witness their passage.

With the largest concentration of bald eagles in the Continental U.S., it’s no wonder Sunset Magazine rated the Klamath Basin Bird Trail in Southern Oregon one of the top five destinations for birding. In addition there are more than 40 bird watching locations dotted along the trail among the mountains and marshes of the area.

April 9-11 marks the 29th annual John Scharff Migratory Bird Festival in the Eastern Oregon town of Burns. Bird enthusiasts and beginners alike can witness the spring migration in high desert country at Harney Basin. In addition to round-the-clock birding activities, the festival also has historical and cultural events for the whole family.

Nestled in the coastal range foothills outside of Eugene in the Willamette Valley is the Fern Ridge Wildlife Area. Its extensive wetland habitat plays host to more than 250 species of birds during the spring migration. There are over 10,000-acres to explore a lake that’s popular with sailors and anglers.

For more information on birding in Oregon, check out OregonBirdingTrails.0rg

Located just outside of Portland, the Jackson Botton Wetlands Preserve is one of only 10 urban wildlife refuges in the country. The 725-acre wildlife preserve is home to numerous bird species, as well as deer, otter and beaver.

In the vast Willamette Valley—with a little imagination—you can travel into a turbulent and tumultuous chapter of geologic history, when gigantic icebergs carried by floodwater that was more than four hundred feet deep floated across the broad-shouldered valley.

It may be hard to believe, but it’s true! In the blink of a geologic eye, a series of tremendous floods occurred, perhaps twenty times every fifty years for two thousand years–beginning nearly fourteen thousand years ago near the end of the Ice Age.

Gigantic, glacial Missoula Lake (in what is now Montana), backed up by an ice dam several miles wide and half a mile high, burst through its western wall and raced across the plains and valleys between Montana and the Pacific Ocean.

Geologists say some five hundred cubic miles of floodwater and icebergs roared across the Northwest, carrying away anything and everything in its path. As the ice flowed, it broke into thousands of pieces, and many of the pieces ended up stranded along the flood route.

These “erratics”–a geological term that describes a rock found a considerable distance from its place of origin–range from pebble- to baseball- to car-size boulders that still dot the Willamette Valley.

Near present-day Sheridan, off Oregon 18, one giant berg melted and tipped its load, a massive rock that is called the Belleview Boulder. It is the centerpiece of Erratic Rocks State Natural Site and rests on the shoulder of a hillside overlooking the highway. As you hike, notice the gently rolling landscape of the surrounding vineyard-laden hillsides. This landscape is a stark contrast to the Belleview Boulder!

Notice the smoothed edges and scratches across the boulder’s surface and its sharp angles compared with the rest of the valley. It is a fine place for a picnic lunch and a pause to consider so much dramatic history.

There’s more geologic drama based at one of the most interesting historic homes of the Portland area; a home that houses one of the most magnificent collection of rocks and minerals in the region. The Rice NW Museum of Rocks and Minerals has been a drawing card for rock hounds for more than forty years – it provides even the casual visitor a stunning visual treat.

Editor’s Note: Grant’s Getaways is a production of Travel Oregon brought to you in association with Oregon State Parks, Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife and Oregon State Marine Board. Episodes air Fridays and Saturdays on KGW Newschannel 8 and Saturdays on Northwest Cable News Network.

Today we’ll explore four different Pinot noirs which we tasted in their Carlton tasting room with owner and wine maker Byron Dooley. As mentioned, Byron’s focus is to create wines that reflect the old-world French styles of Pinot noir from Burgundy. So let’s start by briefly exploring this famous French region.

First and foremost, I love maps, and this is a useful one showing most of Burgundy.

Divided into five major districts - Chablis (not shown above), Côte d’Or, Côte Chalonnaise, Mâconnais, and Beaujolais – you’ll find mostly Chardonnay and Pinot noir being produced. Gamay is grown as well, but primarily in Beaujolais, famous for those bright red, bubble-gum first wines of the year released in November. Chablis and the Mâconnais are renowned for their Chardonnays, but you’ll also find Chard alongside Pinot in the Côte d’Or (meaning golden slopes) and Chalonnaise. The terroir of any of these regions is characterized by many things including the climate, weather, soils, and growing conditions.

The climate of Burgundy is classified as continental and the region experiences harsh winters and hot summers. Weather is largely moderated by the range of mountains to the west, the Massif Central. This range offers protection from inclement weather leading up to harvest season. Regarding soil you’ll find predominately calcium rich clay, lime based marl, and granite. Chardonnay, Pinot noir, and Gamay are focused on these respectively.

Vineyard location is a driving force behind these wines, and over the centuries they have been bought, sold, bequeathed, and divided. For this reason, much of the wines are produced by co-op cellars or négociants who accumulate smaller plots from owners and combine their harvests under one label. Naming convention reflects where the fruit was sourced, and varies from region wide Burgundy AC, to Districts, and Communes. This is comparable to how we indicate Oregon wine versus that from the Willamette Valley or from the Yamhill-Carlton AVA.

Focusing on the Pinot noir, wines possess rich fruit characteristics in youth (strawberry, cherry, plum) and are considered age worthy (some 15-20 years!), allowing more complex floral, smoky, vegetal, mushroom, earth-driven attributes. Because Pinot noir is a thin skinned grape it is sensitive and difficult to grow. Also, with low tannin levels, stems are sometimes included in vinification to give additional structure. The region’s climate is responsible for a wide range in quality year after year. We’ll see this and more plays an equally large role in Oregon Pinot noir at Seven of Hearts.

2007 Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills AVA

Appearance: Clear, pale strawberry red to clear rim

Nose: Clean, light intensity, cherry-vanilla, light earthiness

Palate: Dry, light body, medium-low acid, short finish, light cherry cola/cough syrup, rhubarb, strawberry

This was the first Pinot noir Byron poured us. It is a blend of two different vineyards from the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. One vineyard is from the southern end and planted on Nekkia soil, and the other is located at the northern end of the region planted on Saum soil. It definitely is lighter in style but had almost a sweetness in the fruit flavors. There was a nice balance between the fruit and the oak, though the finish was not extremely long given lower acidity and tannin.

2008 Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills AVA

Appearance: Medium-pale cranberry red to clear rim

Nose: Clean, dark fruit, ripe cherry, smoky – like cured meats, soft spiciness

Palate: Dry, medium-low tannin, dark cherry, medium-low alcohol, strawberry, spice, subtle finish

This is the same AVA as previous wine, though the quantities from the two vineyards are slightly different given the harvest. With more of a smoky character this wine offers a little more personality than the 2007, perhaps because 2007 was not seen as a great vintage? The fruit was a bit more intense, and it was an interesting comparison between the two vintages. As a side note, Byron pointed out that more cluster fermentation was possible in this vintage, which may have helped impart some of the more smoky characteristics on the nose.

2008 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley AVA (Eola-Amity Hills and Yamhill-Carlton)

Appearance: Clear, medium-pale cranberry to clear rim

Nose: Clean, medium intensity, cranberry, cherry, vegetal, red fruit

Palate: Dry, medium body, medium alcohol, medium-low tanning with soft grip, full red fruit, cherry, raspberry, ripe strawberry, medium-light finish

Though this wine is labeled as being Willamette Valley Byron informed that the fruit was only soured from two vineyards in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA and some from his Luminous Hills Vineyard (Yamhill-Carlton AVA). Given state wine laws however, you cannot list a specific appellation/vineyard name on your wine unless a certain proportion comes from that location. Additional tannin gave this bottle a little more structure, and I could definitely see it aging well. Probably the best balance between fruit and vegetal/earth attributes.

2007 Pinot Noir Eola-Amity Hills AVA – The Cost Vineyard

Appearance: Medium-pale, cranberry-amber color, slightly faded rim

Nose: Clean, earth, dark fruit, bold aromas, toasted, medium high intensity, caramel, cooked milk and sugar

Palate: Dry, medium acidity, medium-low tannin, smoky, spice, light red cherry, cranberry, soft finish

The last Pinot noir in this flight (though we’ll have two more featured tomorrow which are estate grown, second labels) this bottle is soured from a particular vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA. Presenting a nice balance between fruit, earth, and oak this wine showed some really interesting characteristics (the caramel especially).

I think each of the four wines we sampled here definitely pay homage to the classic wines of Burgundy – fruit and earth, finesse and structure. Though I also think they exemplify the beauty of Oregon Pinot noir – offering easy to drink, fruit forward wines that are not bold or over the top. Pinot is a delicate but fickle grape. However it does well growing in both the Côte d’Or and the Willamette Valley, where wine makers are working to reflect the best wines they can. Seven of Hearts is doing a good job striking a balance between old and new world.

Cheers!

Ryan Reichert is originally from Northeast Ohio and recently relocated to the Willamette Valley where he works as the Tasting Room Manager at Trisaetum Winery in the Ribbon Ridge AVA. He has received both his Intermediate and Advanced certifications from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, and is also a certified French wine enthusiast and Spanish Wine Educator. Ryan strives to learn all he can about wine and to share his passion with everyone. You can read more of Ryan’s work at http://www.oe-no-phile.com where he posts about many wine related topics.

Salem's Elsinore Theater

Sprinkled throughout the state are historic theaters that illustrate times gone by. Through careful restoration and some local TLC, these establishments have been renovated and refurbished for a second life. Take a drive to one of these iconic Oregon theaters.

The Liberty Theater in downtown Astoria on the Oregon Coast is one of the last standing models of 1920s vaudeville motion picture palaces. Its ornamental structure, distinctive moldings and delicate lighting have been restored and updated for modern use. Get a ticket for one of the classic films they feature weekly.

When the Eltrym Theater in Eastern Oregon’s Baker City opened its doors in the summer of 1940, it received telegrams of well wishes from luminaries like Cary Grant and Bob Hope. Its debut film, “Ghost Breakers,” starred Mr. Hope. Today the Art Deco theater still shows modern films and thanks to two historic renovations, it added two new screens but maintained its mid-century charm.

Designed to resemble the castle in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, The Elsinore Theater in the Willamette Valley first opened its doors in May of 1926. It hosted Vaudeville Theater, silent films, live stage shows and modern film. In 1980, after years of neglect, a threat to turn the historic landmark into a parking lot motivated residents to save the sacred space and in 2002 the two-year “Return to Grandeur” project renovated the majestic theater to its original splendor. Today the venue hosts classic films, silent movies and live concerts.

The Rogue Theater in Southern Oregon opened its doors in 1938, during the heart of the Great Depression, showing the latest of the silver screen. It endured decades of prosperity and then economic decline, closing its doors in 1999. A year later it was renovated and reopened as a regional non-profit performing arts center. Today its Grants Pass’ most prominent historical building, its Art Deco exterior and glowing neon marquee is a local attraction, hosting international music artists and speakers year-round.

*Image Courtesy of Travel Salem

Inspired by classical French wine labels, the wines at Seven of Hearts depict an old playing card embellished with a crest-like image of one of the couple’s cats, Seven.

I’ll be sharing my tasting notes for these wines in thee parts this week – our first tasting notes will cover the two whites that Byron shared with us.

2008 Seven of Hearts Chardonnay
Evenglade Vineyard, Yamhill-Carlton AVA

Appearance: Clear, pale golden yellow

Nose: Clean, lemon and citrus, soft apple, minerality, sea salt, granite, mustard seed

Palate: Dry, medium acidity and body, soft vanilla, gentle citrus, soft yellow apple with a medium finish

Burgundian Chardonnay, notably from Chablis (not to be confused for Carlo Rossi), combines aspects that are dry and steely yet still rich and fruity. Milder climate, similar to that of Oregon, creates higher acidity and makes the wine a great pairing to shellfish.

Terroir is derived from Kimmeridgean soil, composed of limestone and fossils which results in fruit that produces those chalky, steel, mineral qualities mentioned. The ‘08 Chardonnay by comparison is well matched with it’s inspiration and would also make a great pairing to seafood. Regarding soil, Willakenzie is one of the three major soil types in this area and is similar to Kimmeridgean having high deposits of oceanic sediment.

This is the first Oregon Chardonnay that I think I’ve tried since moving here. Most of the white wine I’ve had at other tasting rooms/events has been either Pinot Gris or Riesling. I think that Seven of Hearts has definitely done a fine job in expressing the terroir with this wine. The minerality is well balanced to the fruity characteristics, and it is not overly oaked.

2008 Seven of Hearts Chatte d’Avignon
Viognier 75% | Roussanne 25%
Columbia Valley AVA

Appearance: Clear, medium golden yellow

Nose: Clean, ginger, citrus, floral, green apple, peach pit

Palate: Dry, medium-low acidity, medium-full body, citrus, stone fruit, ripe apple, medium finish

Moving from Burgundy, the white wines of the Rhône Valley are responsible for inspiring this white blend. Viognier is grown nearly exclusively in the northern Rhône and famous for the rare wines from the Condrieu AOC. Pronounced foral qualities are very common for the variety. Blending of two varieties, Marsanne and Roussanne is while not permitted in Condrieu, is approved in other areas for both red (Syrah based) and white wines. Blending imparts further aromatics, acidity, and aging ability to a wine.

The Chatte d’Avignon (a reference to the papacy’s former home situated in the Rhône delta) offers some of the aromatics one might expect in a Rhône wine, though a little softer around the edges. The acidity however is great, and along with the wine’s richness I definitely would love to pair it with food. The first thing that comes to mind is a savory ratatouille, a vegetable based stew originating in southern France. I don’t recommend pairing it with rat, though that might be something Seven the cat would prefer.

Check back next week as we explore five Pinot noirs made by Seven of Hearts, and discuss their old-world influence.

Cheers!

Ryan Reichert is originally from Northeast Ohio and recently relocated to the Willamette Valley where he works as the Tasting Room Manager at Trisaetum Winery in the Ribbon Ridge AVA. He has received both his Intermediate and Advanced certifications from the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, and is also a certified French wine enthusiast and  Spanish Wine Educator. Ryan strives to learn all he can about wine and to share his passion with everyone. You can read more of Ryan’s work at http://www.oe-no-phile.com where he posts about many wine related topics.

The time is right to travel down treasured trails in Oregon State Parks to discover the romance of waterfalls. While the Columbia River Gorge has long impressed us with its gigantic size, I cherish its nooks and crannies even more – especially where the water flows and famous falls whirl and shimmer and ripple and where you can leave all distractions behind.

At 125 feet, Shepperd’s Dell is small in size as Gorge falls go. It rolls out of Young’s Creek to become a foamy moment that resembles a bowtie turned on its side. The water boils and roils, then slips and slides down forty feet of smooth rock face before it twists and shoots up high to celebrate its freedom and falls into a rocky cradle. George Shepperd opened Shepperd’s Dell to the public in 1915 as a tribute to his wife. What a romantic!

One mile east of Shepperd’s Dell is Bridal Veil Falls State Park, a day-use site for a picnic or a stroll down a half-mile trail to a stairway and viewing platform. The park’s namesake drops in two tiers and it is best enjoyed with someone special. You’ll see why when you stand on the viewing platform and gaze up at the 160-foot waterfall plunging twice in a wide, steep slide.

If time is of the essence and you’re ready to head back toward Portland, travel west on the scenic highway past Shepperd’s Dell Falls a mile and a half to Latourell Falls, where an incredible show speaks for itself. Latourell Falls hisses and bellows and shouts for attention as it falls 249 feet. It’s the second-highest falls in the Gorge and seems to take on a life of its own you can’t help but appreciate. The falls was named for Joseph Latourell, an early settler of the area, and donated to the state of Oregon in 1929 by Guy W. Talbot. A paved trail allows you to hike to the base of this falls and continues across a bridge to a picnic area.

Ninety miles to the west, photographer Don Best likes to say he hasn’t met a waterfall he doesn’t love: “to shoot with a camera.”Best is a lifelong local in Tillamook County – his grandfather arrived by horse and wagon and his father told tales of old growth timber, giant elk and waterfalls galore.

So, Best looks up at Munson Falls, (the tallest waterfall in the Oregon Coast Range), with a nostalgic nod to a somewhat romanticized past and offered us a tip or two that might help you capture the best that falling water offers. Best says there are many waterfalls in the Tillamook State Forest that go unvisited and are under appreciated.
You’ve many spectacular waterfalls to choose from when you visit the 9,000-acre state parkland called Silver Falls State Park. It offers a gorgeous Trail of Ten Falls plus the rustic South Falls Lodge that stands large from rock and timber construction.

Campers can let the romance last longer inside rental cabins that offer many of the comforts of home. (Reservations are advised.) Remember – rain gear and hiking boots will make your hiking adventures more comfortable in winter.

Editor’s Note: Grant’s Getaways is a production of Travel Oregon brought to you in association with Oregon State Parks, Oregon Dept. of Fish & Wildlife and Oregon State Marine Board. Episodes air Fridays and Saturdays on KGW Newschannel 8 and Saturdays on Northwest Cable News Network.

So, when Travel Lane County invited me to be their guest at the Fifth Annual Oregon Truffle Festival this past weekend in Eugene, it took about five seconds to say “yes.”

I learned lots, including the fact that while three types of truffles (white, black and brown) are currently harvested in the Pacific Northwest, there are over 350 species living in these same forests. White truffles are found from northern California to southern British Columbia and are called Oregon White Truffles. That’s what we were after. They fruit twice a year: the “spring” bloom from January through June, and the “autumn” from October to January.

My truffle adventure started with a trip to a former Christmas tree farm outside of Cottage Grove, south of Eugene. Douglas Firs, it seems, are the perfect breeding ground for the Oregon truffle. Zoe the truffle dog wasted little time proving we were in the right spot.

I was joined by a few dozen other truffle hunters — young and old. We learned to be nimble in moving the mulch of fir needles, in hopes of finding treasure just below the surface.

Dogs help maintain sustainable truffle patches…they only signal where the mature fruit is hiding, protecting young tubers from indiscriminate raking.

When washed, a white truffle looks like a small heirloom potato, with skin similar in appearance to a crimini mushroom. Although the hard freeze last December appears to have stunted the bloom, I was able to dig up a handful of small morsels and take them home.

After the truffle hunt, we headed to Sweet Cheeks Winery for an all-truffle lunch prepared by John Newman of Newman’s at 988 in Cannon Beach.

General Manager Lorrie Normann and winemaker Mark Nicholl poured their 2007 Pinot noir, 2008 Chardonnay and Pinot gris, and non vintage sparkling wine… all great matches with the menu.

The crab ravioli with shaved white truffle was to die for.

Poached pear with black truffle mascarpone cheese topped off the meal. Yum.

After lunch, we headed back to the Valley River Inn for a much needed rest before the next event: the grand dinner prepared by several of the state’s top chefs: Philippe Boulot of the Heathman Hotel and Bar, Naomi Pomeroy of Beast, Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon, and Pascal Sauton of Carafe, all hosted Rocky Maselli of Eugene’s Marche. The menu was seven courses of truffle heaven, prepared and served beautifully with Willamette Valley wines.

If you’re serious about food, and want to learn just about everything there is to know about truffles, start making plans now for the 2011 Oregon Truffle Festival, which happens at the end of January.

Editor’s Note: Our Chef Cuisinternship Winner, Steve Loh, recently completed his week long adventure with Chef Gabe Rucker at Le Pigeon. Steve has graciously agreed to let us peek behind the scenes of his week in Portland. This is his final post. Read Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.  Enjoy!

DAY 6

Day off. After sleeping in a bit, we decided to hit the Saturday Market on what must’ve been the coldest day of the year. A good scene, nonetheless. We both bought hats. For the girlfriend: a warm, wool cap. For me: a hipster fedora (that’s too hipster for me), and a straw cowboy hat (that’s too hipster for me). But she liked ‘em, and she has yet to steer me wrong with new clothes.

I don’t plan on wearing either, however, for the big day of wine tasting we have set up tomorrow.

DAY 7

The last day of my cuisinternship…my last day in Oregon. After a week watching Chef Gabriel Rucker and the Le Pigeon crew, my education was taken out of the kitchen and into the vineyards of the Willamette Valley wine country. Gabe and his wife Hana took my girlfriend Leah and me on a VIP winetasting tour set up by Le Pigeon’s Andrew Fortgang.

Early in the morning, we hopped into Gabe’s ‘83 Caddy and rolled out in style. We picked up coffee and breakfast burritos (wise to get something in the stomach before a day of vino) from Meat Cheese Bread. I’m a fan of just about any breakfast burrito, but these had a green chile salsa that put ‘em over the top. Good grub.

We stopped at a few different vineyards. At Belle Pente, we tried some white wines which changed my mind about whites. Unlike a public tasting room experience, we were right in the winery with the kind owner, sampling all sorts of his fine drink. We bought a couple bottles of his complex Gewürztraminer to enjoy later.

Gabe and Hana treated us to lunch at Jory Restaurant at the Allison Inn & Spa. As with all things culinary this week, the meal was top notch. Having opened not long ago, the place was pristine. A fine destination for all you spa type people out there. We sat at the counter around the large open-air kitchen, and I enjoyed the roasted cauliflower soup, the rotisserie lamb sandwich, and more wine chosen for us by Gabe.

In the afternoon, we hit Sokol Blosser, and then finished the day at Cameron Winery, where Jean Paul led us around the barrel room with his glass wine thief, giving us samples straight out of the casks. He and Gabe have a good relationship, so this was definitely an insider’s tasting. We sampled a few barrels that were “in-progress,” which gave us a good example of how wines change over time.

All in all, an educational, fun day. With wine. It was the perfect way to cap off my week in Portland. Having spent these days behind the scenes with Gabriel Rucker at a world-class restaurant like Le Pigeon, I feel like my culinary voodoo has been pushed up a few levels. My eyes have been opened to all kinds of new wonderments in the food world, and I can’t wait to return.

Thanks to the Oregon Bounty folks and especially Chef Rucker. Oregon is chock-full of culinary adventures, and I look forward to hearing about the other cuisinternships.

Willamette Pass
Sunday, December 27, 2009

My “base camp” for this central Oregon ski trip was my parents’ home in Bend. From there, Willamette Pass is an easy 1-hour and 15-minute drive. The base of the ski area is right at the summit of Highway 58, and at 5,100 feet, Willamette Pass is one of the higher Cascade passes.

Being the Sunday after Christmas, I was prepared to battle the holiday crowd. My concern was unfounded – I skied nearly 20 runs, and on all but two of them, I skied right up to the chair and boarded as a single. Lift-line mazes weren’t even set up. If this is what it was like during the Christmas holiday “peak” period, I can’t imagine how quiet the place must be on a regular midweek day!

Willamette Pass is much larger ski area than it appears to be when initially looking up the mountain from the base. Only the wide Success and By George top-to-bottom run is easily-seen from the parking lot. The other 500 acres of terrain you can’t easily see – and that terrain can be divided into three zones: The lower front side, the upper front side, and the backside.

Served by the Twilight triple chair, the lower front side is where the most of the beginner and intermediate runs are clustered. Aside from the wide-open cruiser By George, most of the runs are narrow and tree-lined. This is helpful, because this area is south-facing and can suffer from excessive sun exposure. The snow doesn’t get particularly deep here, but it doesn’t need to get deep. Even with the meager 15-20” base when I was there, these runs were well-covered with groomed corduroy snow (thanks in part to the snowmaking machines scattered around this pod). The intermediate runs have a perfect blue-square pitch – steep enough to allow for some speed, yet not steep enough to be intimidating to the average immediate rider. For beginners and novices, there are several green-circle trails here that round the western edge of the ski area. These runs are a natural next-step from the Sleep Hollow first-timer area, a well-placed & isolated learn-to-ski/board zone near the lodge.

The upper front side is accessed by the Eagle Peak Accelerator, Oregon’s only high-speed six-passenger chairlift. It climbs 1,500 vertical-feet from the base to the 6,666-foot summit of Eagle Peak in just a little more than 5-minutes. The final push to the top is one of the steepest climbs of any chair in the state. In fact, a run (named “RTS”) that drops off the west side of the Eagle Peak summit is the steepest in-bounds run in Oregon. Other drops from the summit aren’t quite as steep, but their black-diamond label is well-deserved. Unfortunately, most of these steep runs are south-facing – which means that they can be excellent when the snow is new, but rotten with just a minimum amount of sun exposure. Intermediates can drop from the top to the bottom along the Rosary and Perseverance trails. But unlike the nicely-pitched blue-square cruisers on the lower front side, these long summit-to-base trails are narrow cat-tracks for most of the route. They serve their purpose of providing an intermediate route to the base, but they’re not ideal for lapping or cruising.

From the top of Eagle Peak, straight off the back side is the trail network of Peak 2. This north-facing pod is like a different ski area. The day I visited, the difference was especially noticeable. While the front side featured partial sun and hard-packed snow, fog & low clouds socked in the north side and light snow intermittently fell. The snowpack was much deeper, and the powder & packed-powder was light & fluffy in the absence of any sun exposure. The Peak 2 lift, a triple chair rising 800 vertical-feet, accesses the seven blue-square and black-diamond runs in this area. I spent nearly two hours back there, having fun on the cut trails and in the trees. Whereas the snow base at the front-side was less than two feet deep, the snow depth on the Peak 2 back-side was easily double that.

My ski day lasted nearly five hours at Willamette Pass. Having never skied there before, I didn’t know exactly what to expect upon arrival. (One can only learn so much about an area from looking at the trail map!) With no lift lines even on peak days, a speedy base-to-summit express lift, a wide variety of terrain for all ability levels (including some of the steepest runs in Oregon), a spacious yet cozy base lodge, and very reasonable lift ticket & food/beverage prices, Willamette Pass rocks! I highly recommend that you give it a try sometime. I doubt you’ll be disappointed. Those of you who are regulars there – you know what the others are missing. And now I know too!