Spring has finally arrived in the Black Hills. The snow showers have turned to rain. Green grasses are sprouting on the hillsides. The sun is rising earlier and setting later. The most beautiful season in the place I call
home is here to stay…at least until fall.
This
arrival has me thinking less about my earlier travels to other picturesque
spots and more about the short trips I get to make around the gorgeous area where I live. However, a few
final thoughts of Oregon keep swirling in my mind. The newly-green slopes here have me reminiscing
one last time about the Willamette Valley—some pretty great memories to have!
Penner-Ash recently made the
news after it sold to wine giant Jackson Family Wines. (Though this isn’t a blog about Jackson
Family, I will say that company has great taste! It keeps snatching up some of my favorite
producers.) However, Penner-Ash had
already made the headlines with me as a winery I could not wait to visit. The trip there proved to be as good—maybe even
better—than I expected.
Wonderful
wines, fabulous vistas, and friendly staff members all helped to make this
worthy of memories. The view of the
gravity flow facility from the tasting deck is incredibly interesting. The outdoor area is so inviting. Additionally, the view is so breathtakingly
amazing, there is nothing better than sitting with a glass outdoors…which is
exactly what we did.
Another
northern Willamette Valley producer still bringing a smile to my face is Domaine Drouhin of Oregon—fondly
called DDO by the locals. Also with panoramas
that delight the eye, DDO is unique in many ways. First, the Drouhin Family—long-time producers
in the Burgundy region of France—sought out Oregon as the next great place to
grow pinot noir.
They have
not been disappointed by the region, nor has the region been disappointed by
this stellar producer. The tour here is
incredibly informative, taking in both the outside grounds of nearby vineyards
and all levels of the gravity-flow facility.
Options to taste include the Willamette Valley wines, but opportunities
are also given to sip some Burgundian wines the Drouhins produce. A great way to compare the concept of terroir
in wine.
Moving
further south in the Willamette Valley, King Estate Winery has become one of the best known Oregon producers, based
first off the amount of wine produced there.
But please don’t think that a large quantity of wine means poor quality. This is just untrue. King Estate makes great wines at great prices…and
then does other top-shelf and single-vineyard options incredibly well, too.
These wines
all start in the organic vineyards, the largest in the United States and one of
the largest in the world. The drive up
to the stately tasting room steers patrons through charming vineyards, made even
more so when the sheep are seen grazing.
A bit of advice is to go hungry.
After sipping these wines, experience the tasty bites at the King Estate
restaurant, so delicious all around.
All trips
must come to an end—as does my writing about these trips. This one is no exception. But like all good travels, I will end on a high note, like the fun had at Sweet Cheeks Winery. Though it becomes
repetitive to say the view was beautiful, I repeat it because it’s true—there really
are few bad sights in the Willamette.
Sweet Cheeks sits on a hillside and has a large, charming patio
overlooking the valley floor. Often
offering live entertainment on evenings and weekends, this is an enjoyable
place to hang out.
Many still
wine options are available, but a wine must be chosen to pair with this festive
setting, so order a bottle of the sparkling, get multiple glasses, and
enjoy time with friends. This is the
spot screaming for joyous smiles and raucous laughter. It is what wine is all about: bringing people together to enjoy moments and
memories. Sweet Cheeks is the perfect
place.
Though this
is my final “official” writing about the beautiful Willamette Valley, my recollections
of this fabulous trip have gotten me through two months of Mother Nature evilly
teasing me with the thought of spring…only to have her rip those warm thoughts
away to be replaced by snow.
But spring
is finally here—to stay—in my beautiful Black Hills home. Thank you Oregon, thank you Willamette Valley,
for helping me get here, for being my
much-too-short substitute for spring. I
can’t wait to return. However,
for now, I can enjoy my own backyard.
