Southern Willamette Valley Wine Tour

We've had some guests this week; a visit from David's niece and nephew overlapped with a visit from David's best lifetime friends, Damon and Paul. Yesterday the grown-ups headed for the hills and vineyards of southern Willamette Valley to taste some local wines.

We started our winery tour in town, at Sundance Wine Cellars, to find a fabled bottle of pinot noir from the northern valley.

From Eugene we headed to Sweet Cheeks winery; here is David holding his favorite yo-yo, Paul from Washington DC, and Damon who lives near Paris.

   We enjoyed the selection at Sweet Cheeks; I had the Pinot Noir and the guys had Rosy Cheeks. The weather was gorgeous.

   From Sweet Cheeks we headed across the road to Silvan Ridge Winery and found some delicious Syrah and a peach-flavored Muscat. Conversation and curiosity led to a game of footbag with the folks that worked at landscaping and wine production.

By the time we arrived at our last stop on the winery tour, King Estate Winery, the camera had stopped taking good photos (possible user error, ahem, but I blame the wine and the camera). King Estate is a beautiful place, reminiscent of a spanish castle, but we had difficulty finding a wine that we could enjoy; we settled on a syrah that came from Walla Walla, WA.

We ended the evening with thai food, cocktails, and a soak in the hot tub. The day couldn't have been more perfect. Our guests vacated the premises this morning; our house will feel empty for the next few days. Sniff.