A Fly-by Occurance

This has nothing to do with wine, but I thought I'd share a great story to share from our recent trip to the coast.

For many years, I had a basic, little pocket kite that I would take to the coast, camping and basically anywhere I traveled. I loved that little pocket kite. 

Anyhoo, right after my Achilles surgery a few years ago, I was just starting to get around and we went to the coast. I thought, since I can't walk very far, I will just fly my kite. I was having a good time of it, it was just the right amount of wind for the kite. I had let almost all of the string out when I was distracted momentarily. As a huge gust of wind yanked the kite from my hand, I watched helplessly as the handle unspooled the last of the line. I made a futile attempt at chasing it down, but with my recent injury, all I could do was hobble uselessly after it, with Cotton chasing me and barking like it was all a great game. I watched as it continued to gain altitude and fly south, never to be seen again.

A while later, I bought a new pocket kite, it was bigger and more of a foil style. I took it with me as usual but had trouble actually flying the damn thing.  I decided at the last minute to take it with me last week to the coast. But, persistence finally paid off, boy, am I glad I did. I had a blast flying it and got a great story to tell as well.

We stopped at Ona Beach outside of Newport, OR to let Cotton, our yellow lab run for a bit.

River - and Cotton - running toward the ocean

It was a warm day and pretty windy, about 15-20 mph. I decided to give my kite a shot. As the line unspooled, I felt a familiar feeling. Almost like I knew what I was doing, the kite starting gaining altitude and I was able to guide it left to right and up and down. We walked along the beach and at one point, I connected it to Cotton's harness; that didn't work out so well, he kept biting at the handle as we jogged down the beach. I took it off him and kept on flying. As we walked back, I started reeling in the line. Justed before we got to the river, I fumbled as I wound the line, suddenly I dropped it. It started tumbling across the sand, racing toward the creek, with me in hot pursuit. I was running faster than I had since my surgery.  The kite was teasing me, laying out line as it flew away. I was gaining on it, albeit slowly. As the handle approached the river, I was almost upon it, I almost dove for it as it skipped like a rock across the river. Dejected, I looked up to see the kite get hung up on a short tree on the other side of the river. A couple was there and they waved and indicated it stopped.

I ran across a bridge to the other side, as I came to the end of the bridge, I met the couple who saw the whole thing. They were grinning and told me they were glad the tree stopped it. As we greeted each other, I suddenly saw my kite take flight again. Slightly panicking, I bid my goodbyes and raced over the rest of the bridge to save my kite before it too flew south.

Upon coming around the corner, I saw a man flying my kite and a lady collecting line. He said he was walking on the beach when he was almost garroted by the kite string. As a kite fan, he thought hmm, someone's kite, what is it doing here. He decided to fly it away and see what happened. As he saw me running, ever so out of breath, he realized it was mine. I located the handle - still in the river, and began to gather up the line. He flew the kite until I reeled in the last of the line.  They were from the Boise area on vacation to the Oregon Coast. We both had a big laugh about it and decided we had a wonderful story to take home.

I headed back over the bridge, kite in hand and told Jill the whole story. I now know how to fly that particular kite and we have a wonderful tale to tell.

Random Thoughts

Greetings!  I thought I would just share a few random thoughts with you this week.

Recently while working in the Tasting Room, the discussion arose regarding the tremendous proliferation of wineries in Southern Oregon, I was asked what I thought about it and did it bother me. This was a good question that I had to pause and reflect about before answering. Of course, competition is good and Southern Oregon has been supportive in welcoming new businesses to the fold. But, beyond that, my response was the rapid expansion we have experienced is good as long as it brings along with it a corresponding increase in quality. More great wines in the valley is a welcome addition as it brings more attention to Southern Oregon. There are many wineries in the valley that are producing highly-rated wines which raises the overall profile of Southern Oregon wines. Any addition to that list is sure to be good from a consumer, oenophile and business standpoint.

When I first stated there must have been around 30 wineries in Southern Oregon, today there is approximately 70, and more to come as I've heard on the "grapevine."

I remember many years back, while I worked at RoxyAnn Winery, Ron Stringfield of Galaxy Distributors and a Garagista in his own right, helped organize a monthly blind peer-tasting amongst the valley winemakers. I had the occasion to work one of these events and I must say, it was enlightening. There is nothing quite like a winemaker ripping apart a wine, only to discover it was one if their own. What these tastings ended up doing, however, was to create a conversation and a way for the winemakers to share their successes and failures.  I saw a marked improvement in the region's wines overall after these little soirees.  As the old saying goes,

 "a rising tide lifts all boats." 

As to personal reasons, namely this blog and my own wine enjoyment, I enjoy seeing the advent of new wineries, it means new places to go and new wines to try and more blogs to share with you.  The journey of discovery continues.  On a professional note, it means new career opportunities, new tourism attractions and a welcome addition to our local economy.

To learn more about Southern Oregon Wines, please visit the Southern Oregon Winery Association or for info on Oregon wines in general, visit the Oregon Wine Board

Quickly, bring me a beaker of wine, so that I may wet my mind and say something clever.

 -Aristophanes

Early Harvest

My brother-in-law, Tom, and his wife, Carolyn, were in town this weekend for my father-in-law's "70-Sumtin" birthday. On Saturday, we took them to a few old haunts, first we took them out to Wooldridge Creek Winery so we could pick up our autumn release and say hello to old friends Kara & Greg, the winemakers, and Terry in the tasting room.  Then we were off to Red Lily Vineyards to introduce Tom & Carolyn to our of our favorite places.

This time of year is early harvest, the whites and early reds, such as Pinot Noir, are starting to work their way onto the crush pad. Harvest time at a winery means many long days and hard work as the wineries rush to battle nature's capriciousness. In addition to judging the perfect brix (or sugar levels) in which to pick the grapes, birds, bears, deer, rain and other sundry natural forces conspire against the harvest crews in getting the grapes in at just the right time.

When we arrived at Red Lily, owner and winemaker, Rachel Martin was still on the crush pad finishing up for the day. We wandered over to check her progress and get an update. Rachel explained that their newest addition,  a white grape, Verdejo, was doing great and the first of their famous Tempranillo was coming in.

As I said, harvest is hard work, long days and lots of beer (no wine can be made without copious amounts of beer). This year, Rachel battled a new scourge, bees. She said the bees were wildly abundant this year, having worked themselves into the grapes. She alone had gotten stung eight times (so far). She told us the grape press reverberated with the sound of bees as the grapes went through it.  Apparently bees are attracted to the sugary grape pulp, they do not, however, pollinate grapes.  Grapes are pollinate via air -borne pollen.

Harvest will be going on for sometime in the valley as the grapes do their slow, steady march toward ripening and their eventual plucking from the vine to be made into delicious Southern Oregon Wines.

To all of the winemakers, staff and harvest crews, I wish you a great harvest and look forward to the "fruits of your labor"!

Waterfront Depot, Florence, Oregon

Another trip to the coast, another tale to tell…

With the Rogue Valley having been socked in due the smoke from Southern Oregon Wildfires, we decided enough was enough and decided to head for the coast. Our normal haunts were all booked up. Apparently the whole valley had the same idea and reservations were getting scarce. On a whim, I took a look at the map of the Oregon Coast and, for some reason, Florence, OR, just jumped out at me. I booked the first room I could find, told my better half we had reservations and off we (and the dog) went on Saturday morning.

I haven’t been to Florence since the mid to late 90s, so expectations were low. A clean room and a good dinner would suffice. The room at the Lighthouse Inn was basic, comfortable and clean. Cotton (our yellow lab) settled right in and we set out exploring the town. After asking the locals, we were informed that we should dine at the Waterfront Depot and to get reservations with a quickness.

 I called and all they had was 9pm. Ok, fine, we would have time to take the dog to the water, get cleaned up, have a nice glass of Wooldridge Zinfandel that we brought with us and then sit at their bar and have a glass of wine while waiting.

We pulled up to what was once the Mapleton Train Depot. It had been slated for demolition some forty years ago and was rescued and brought to its current location on the Siuslaw River in Old Town Florence.  The current owner opened a charming little restaurant serving seafood, meats, burgers and pasta - very eclectic menu, to be sure. We had read and heard that their signature dish, a Crab Encrusted Halibut, was not to be missed.  

 Since we had arrived early, I inquired as to obtaining a table with a view and sitting at the bar while we waited. The bar was full, but the excellent hostess found us a seat off to the side. The room was warm, friendly, sophisticated with a urban touch. Giant artwork adorned the wall above the windows facing the river and the other open wall had a giant blackboard with the menu in chalk.

 We immediately felt right at home. We opened with a J. Scott Viognier, a full-bodied, rich, ripe, fruit –forward wine with bright acidity, leading itself to a wonderful balance. J. Scott is Silvan Ridge winemaker, Jonathon Oberlander’s private label, and I had not had it since the mid-2000s when I sold it wholesale.  I highly recommend Jonathan’s wines, he is a very talented winemaker. The winelist was perfect, they had a nice selection of wines by the glass and a well-rounded list of wines by the bottle from the Eugene area, Oregon, California and a smattering of imports thrown in for good measure.

We had no sooner taken our first sip of viognier when our hostess informed us that our table was ready.  We had a nice view of the river and the Siuslaw River Bridge. 

We opted for a lime pepper shrimp for an appy that was very tasty, but the salad blew me away. I am not a salad guy, but this was so good. The viognier added just the right amount of acidity and fruit, complimenting the dish beautifully. Of course, I had to have the House Specialty, so I ordered the Crab Encrusted Halibut and a glass of Nobilo Sauvignon Blanc. Normally the Nobilo, being a typical New Zealand Sauv blanc, shows a huge note of grapefruit and tropical notes and high acidity, which I like, and it did not disappoint. Paired with the fish and chili cream sauce, the wine countered the slightly sweet sauce and let the crust and fish shine through, a gorgeous pairing.

The Depot was packed on Saturday night and the staff was kept running all evening, but despite that they still did a bang up job, displaying poise and professionalism throughout. I would like extend a special thank you to our server, Wenonah, she was amazing, keeping up the communication and being attentive amidst the chaos going on around her.  The hostess was equally gracious, she found a wonderful table for us, and got our wines for us. If you go, be sure to call ahead for reservations, it is not a large restaurant and they are very popular.
We will definitely be back to both Florence and to the Waterfront Depot

Cheers!!!