Monday, March 8, 2010

Perfection

Saturday goes down in the books. Needless to say, I have enjoyed many afternoons exploring wine country, not just in Oregon, but all over the globe. That being said, Saturday had everything going for it. The downpour group of 12 met at Lenné for the Red and Black seminar. With temperature hovering 65 degrees, sitting out on the veranda overlooking the hills of Yamhill County-a glass of wine is all one would need to feel like they had died and gone to Provence? Tuscany? It was breathtaking.

We sat around tables with 8 glasses of Pinots from either the Yamhill area or Dundee Hills. Steve explained the difference in the terrior(soil) and how it affects the wine. After learning the attributes of each, we sampled the wines, choosing which region we thought they came from. It was fun and pretty interesting too. I think I can speak for my group in saying we all learned something that if nothing else, will serve us well as cocktail party conversation..."did you know the best Pinot grapes come from the most unhealthy of soils?" Impressive, no?!

After we learned what bottles were hiding in the paper bags and where they came from, (I think we all did quite well!) it was time for lunch. Hervé had the great idea of heading to Carlton where we could go to Cana's Feast winery and hopefully get some food and sit outside? Worth a shot. I realize now that it may have helped that our little caravan included someone who undoubtedly is mistaken for a Blazer at least once a day. The place was packed and interestingly enough, no one was sitting outside. It only took a quick ask and the help was setting up a large table for us, where we were able to bask in the glorious sunshine, and look out at the valley. Nice. The vibrant olive oil and focaccia tasted great with the Bricco Table Red and Barbera.

Lunch was ordered and if I had to guess, we stayed outside lingering over food and wine for well beyond 2 hours. I have got to give props to Cana's Feast, and the adjoining Cucina restaurant. It. Was. Perfect.


Till next time!

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