News Briefs
April 2017
Tasty Trek North
North of Salem, beyond McMinnville, on the other side of Yamhill, there’s a wine tour brewing in Washington County. In and around the rolling hills of Forest Grove, Gaston, Cornelius, Beaverton and Hillsboro, the North Willamette Vintners Wine Trail returns for its ninth year, April 8–9.
The self-guided tasting trek offers attendees diverse, informative experiences accompanied by food and wine pairings. Watch “noir” while sipping Pinot Noir, stitch together cuttings to graft a vine to keep, toast an oak stave and smell the complex aromas released, and blend wines from single barrels to create your own unique bottling. And that’s only day one.
Participating wineries include: A Blooming Hill, Apolloni, Árdíri, Blizzard, David Hill, Dion, Elk Cove, Fullerton, Gresser (at Elk Cove), Helvetia, Kramer, Montinore, Oak Knoll, Plum Hill, Provincial (at One Horse Tavern), Ruby, SakéOne and Tualatin Estate.
Ticketholders receive a custom-printed wine glass and a lanyard. Upon completing each activity, guests receive a unique button associated with that winery.
The cost is $60 for a weekend ticket, $40 for a single day and $20 for designated drivers; they are available online, www.nwvintners.org.
CWA Raises Millions
On March 4, the 33rd annual Classic Wines Auction at the Oregon Convention Center hosted 850 guests who started the evening with a delectable food and wine tasting reception while bidding on more than 280 silent and super-silent auction packages. The evening continued with a five-course meal paired with the wines of the 2017 Honorary Wine Ambassadors and served during a live auction and special appeal raising a total of $3.4 million to support CWA’s five nonprofit partners: Metropolitan Family Service (MFS), New Avenues for Youth, Friends of the Children–Portland, YWCA Clark County and Unity Center for Behavioral Health.
In the Clubhouse
Domaine Serene will open a new state-of-the-art visitor center and tasting room in May. The Clubhouse is “a gift to the winery’s members and the wine community as a whole.”
Owners Grace and Ken Evenstad’s vision for the new space draws inspiration from Château de la Crée, the couple’s 15th-century estate in Santenay, Burgundy, purchased in 2015.
IWrapped by a large patio, the Clubhouse will feature a spectacular grand room for public wine tasting, a members-only lounge and a dedicated space for food pairings. Underground, guests will discover a cave system modeled after the one found at the Evenstads’ Burgundy property. Additionally, the chef-inspired commercial kitchen will house a top-tier executive chef, sous chef and seasonal cooks with the capacity and work force to host wine dinners for 300-plus guests.
A series of opening events will include a grand gala on May 19, featuring host Emeril Lagasse, a members-only celebration on May 20 and a public opening on May 21. Fireworks, music, food and, of course, wine will flow throughout the weekend.
For more information on Domaine Serene and the Clubhouse, visit www.domaineserene.com.
Look for more about this exciting new addition in the WIllamette Valley in the July edition of OWP.
Earth Day Taste Trail
Every day is Earth Day for wineries along Laughlin Loop, located just east of Yamhill, but it is not every day that these eight producers gather for a collaborative tasting event.
Mark your calendars for Discover Laughlin Loop, April 22–23. The trail guide event promises fine wine, food cart fare and education about sustainability in the winery and vineyard
Located off Laughlin Road or Woodland Loop, the following wineries will be participating: Beacon Hill, Fairsing, Gran Moraine, Lenné, Roots, Saffron Fields, Soléna and Willakenzie. Food purveyors Phat Cart, Bleu Belle Mobile Kitchen, Rolling Table, Rencatering Pizza, 3 Guys Grilling, Big Tony Brown BBQ, Chocolate Makers Studio and FUEL Mobile Kitchen will serve a diverse selection of wine-friendly menus.
Tickets cost $75 and include a Trail Guide with tasting tickets for each winery, a wine tote and a $10 food voucher. Guests earn raffle tickets for bottles purchased. Six shuttles provided by Summit Wine & Adventure Tours will be available.
For guests unable to finish the tour, the trail guide will be valid through May 12. Wine club members can contact wineries for a special discount code to the event. Find tickets at www.discoverlaughlinloop.eventbrite.com.
Get Lectured
Noted winemaker Ken Wright and McMinnville author Jim Gullo will present “History of the Vineyards,” an exploration into the stories of some of Oregon’s notable sites, as part of Linfield College’s Wine Lecture Series.
The May 1 presentation grows out of a series of reports Wright commissioned exploring the histories and land usages of the 13 Willamette Valley vineyard properties that Wright farms and/or sources for his award-winning lineup of site-specific Pinot Noir wines.
Emerging from these chronicles is a rich tapestry of the people and events shaping Oregon lands long before the current wine industry took root a half century ago.
Who were these landowners? From where did they originate? Discover the answers to these questions and more at the May 1 lecture at 7:30 p.m. in the Ice Auditorium inside Melrose Hall. The presentation is free and open to the public.
For more lectures, visit www.linfield.edu/wine-studies/wine-lecture-series.html.
