Oregon Wine Country: @Portlandia, Wine and Photographs

September and October are the perfect time of year here in the Portland PDX area. We usually have warm days and sparkling sunshine. My husband and I look forward to fall. We often take a drive out through the wonder emerging wine country located SW of downtown Portland. There is a tour route with signs that will lead you around but better yet, there is a smartphone App called Oregon Wine to keep you on the right roads. If you love stunning scenery, good wine and trendy small communities, this is the place for you.

Our back road drive took us to a small winery called A Blooming Hill Vineyard and Winery located off of Blooming Hill Road near Hillsboro, Oregon. It was there we found a beautiful view of Mt. Hood, a patio in the sun and some amazing unique wines. 

View A Blooming Hill Vineyard in a larger map

In many cases the winery and the experience they offer is what makes the day memorable. In this case we particularly enjoyed the fact that the winery was low key. There is nothing pretentious about the home where the tasting room is located and the patio is lovely but simple. It offered the perfect casual Portland wine tasting experience.

This winery is one of those quirky places that make PDX so interesting. It turns out Blooming Hill makes the wine of choice for Portlandia (TV series based on all that is weird about Portland).  This is the story Holly Witte emailed me. Holly owns the wine along with her husband:

The people from Portlandia called us and asked if we would donate wine for their guest stars, which we did, of course.  Then, one night, we started getting texts from wine club members that they saw it being poured on Portlandia!  I followed up and found out that they liked the wine so decided to use it on air. That was exciting.  This year, they told me they are thinking about a skit around the wine and, of course, we were happy to donate more to them!  We'll see what they do with it.

So in turns out Portlandia like free stuff. I wonder if their guest stars work for free just to become a part of that wacky experience. I suppose not.

Let me say right now the Portlandia TV series is one of the things that Keeps Portland Weird but Blooming Hill Wine is not. It is extraordinary. They grow all their own grapes and make the wines on the estate. Their Pinot Noirs are bright and perfect. They lay claim to a Pinot Noir that is a double gold medal winner...yes, that is one better than a gold medal. They are selling the award winning Pinot Noir for $20. 

We loved their Pinot Gris especially and bought a bottle to take to Arizona with us. Their Mingle Wine was interesting and inexpensive. It is made from a mingling of several types of grapes and is perfect for making Mimosas when mixed with orange juice. The winemaker told us he and his wife make a drink they have dubbed Minglemosas for breakfast on weekends. 

I have just added Portlandia's connection to A Blooming Hill Vineyard and Winery to my list of things I will talk about when Portland comes up in the conversation next time.

McMinnville, Oregon

Rooftop Restaurant at McMenamins Oregon Hotel
McMinnville Or. (iPhone photo)

We have our very own version of California wine country here in Oregon...right down to a St. Helena clone.  Honestly, our McMinnville so incredible. It is located south of Portland on Oregon Highway 99. Good shopping, beautiful restaurants and a lovely olive oil/vinegar shop. McMinnville is home to Linfield College so the community reflects a college towns youthful feel while still being trendy and upscale. We had not been there for several years and I was just blown away! It just gets better and better 

  

We had lunch on the rooftop of the old Hotel Oregon. The hotel was restored by the McMenamins Brewpub group and is a destination on its own.

  

Here are a few pictures I took with my camera and my iPhone. Enjoy!

Mt. Hood as seen from A Blooming Hill Vineyard and Winery

Late Harvest Grapes

Fall Colors at Bald Peak State Park

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Metro Portland Restaurant Scene...McMenamins at it's best & Worst!

Image by Always at Home via Flickr Artwork at St. Helen's location.

Want to know what I LOVE to do more than anything else?  I love to eat at a beautiful restaurant in the evening.  I want to get dressed up and be treated as though I really matter to the waiter.  He (always a he in my dreams) needs to look deeply into my eyes and ask we how I want my martini.  I dream about it a lot.

Alas, in reality, we eat at brewpubs!!! On the plus side, Portland has a gajillion of these pubs so finding a nice location is not that hard.  We ate at the Cornelius Rd. McMenamins (former blogs)  this last week with family.  This is so ideal because on a warm day the children can play on the grass while adults visit at long tables.  On this particular evening it was chilly and raining so we were seated upstairs by an understanding host...we came in last and were seated first!  There was lots of room for a busy two year old to mess around.  People in Oregon are generally not bothered by children scurrying here and there. 

Gas Light!  Historically McMenamins!

These people are so creative and their restaurants reflect the owners hippy heritage.  The upstairs seating features a small nook right next to the stairs that overlooks the kitchen.  I stepped over to take a picture of the way they had hung the lights.  This is where a gas flame burns 24/7.  The flame is a nod to their Rock Creek Tavern location that burned several years ago.  That old pub was still lit with gas light and had moss growing a foot thick on the roof.  Flowers grew out of the rain gutters.  They did rebuild the location but it will truly never be the same...great but not the same.  Anyway,  the gas flame just speaks to those of us from the area.  The pipes that held the conduit for the lights were decorated with every kind of pipe fitting I have ever seen.  Those as the small details that just keep me looking around everytime we go in. 

The Kitchen...look at that floor!

As for the kitchen...well I made the mistake of looking down.  You need to understand that I am by nature clean...not tidy (much to my husband chagrin)...but clean.  I just don't know how you can look in a restaurant kitchen and still want to eat the food!  I am just closing my eyes.  The food tastes great and it has never made me sick!  Good enough for me.

We ate out at Syun's Izakaya Restaurant again last night.  This sushi izakaya restaurant is the best in the area.  We had a meal with our family (adults) that was fit to feed an emperor.  Fitting it seems!

Oh by the way...Happy 4th of July...we love America's Birthday!

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