Willamette Valley wine tasting

A few weeks ago I headed to Portland for work again and managed to get a little more time there. I also managed to get some people to saw me Portland weird but that's in some later posts.

I arrived on the Saturday and had a lie in on Sunday morning before going on a Willamette Valley wine tour. 

There were 3 stamps, all wineries which only sell at the cellar door. The first one turned out to be my favourite, a little place called Tresori. We sat on the terrace for the tasing and had a seriously good view. We tried 6 wines here, mostly really tasty Pinot noirs. 

Great view for a Sunday afternoon

The building was pretty cool too with some amazing paintings. I couldn't afford to buy any so settled for some of the postcard prints. And a bottle 8 yr old Pinot Noir. :)

Old wine press.

We stopped at look out on the way to the next place. The views over the valley are so pretty.

At the second place, Blizard winery, we got some food to nibble on while we tried the wines, which were nice but needed a but more time. It's a very young vineyard and winery (only 2 years old) so could be very amazing in 5 yrs. 

The last place, Ardini, was founded by 2 DNA scientists. We tried about 6 wines here I think (it got a bit fuzzy at this point). I sat chatting to an older couple and their son and just enjoyed the wines and sun.

Nice place to spend a Sunday afternoon

I was lazy and got takeaway that night. I did have to work all week, had big meetings and was still a little knackered from the flight so I didn't feel too guilty.

Food and Wine Tuscany Tour

On the Saturday we went on what was described as a Tuscany Food and Wine tour. It was more a tour of places associated with food and wine for the most part. The first stop was a vineyard and winery where we did a wine tasting so at least it started well. The winery was called Abbadia Ardenga, near Montepulciano. The views were lovely and we got a brief talk outside with an introductory glass of wine before moving inside for a view of the cellars and a full tasing. 

View from the winery.

It was only about 10.30am so a little early for wine, but hey, we were on holiday so why not? And the wine was so good. 

The winery's best wine.

They mostly make Brunello di Montepulciano (made with Sangiovese gross grapes). It can only be made in this area and is very nice. It has to be aged for 5 years before it can be sold.

We got a tasting of 3 different wines. I even got Caroline drinking and enjoying red wine! We also got some fresh bread and homemade olive oil. 

After the tasting we went to Montalcino. We had a wonder around and look at the views as the town is set on a hill. There wasn't much to see and most of the shops were shut for lunch.

Streets of Montalcino

View out.

Community garden

From there we went to Pienza. We were supposed to have another wine tasting with some cheese, but it was inside a shop which was too small for our group and so more than a little chaotic. So we grabbed the wine and then left the group to go and get some lunch. We found a lovely little restaurant and I tried polenta with a wild boar sauce which was amazing.

The last stop was Montepulciano, the hilltop town the wine is named after. We got dropped off at the bottom of the hill and walked up. And up and up and up. On the way up there was a statue of a horse I really wish I had stopped to take a photo off (I didn't want to loose the group and it was too dark on the way down). This horse was anatomically correct (and oddly detailed) and look very happy with himself. 

We headed up, looking for the central square where there was a Christmas market. Which of course was at the very top of the hill. The very long hill.

But we did make it and the markets were very colourful. 

It was dark when we walked down and enjoyed the lights. I am looking forward to Christmas now.

The tour was ok though not what we expected. And though the guide was good, she was more there to get us from one place to the next. And you better not be late for the bus. On the first stop a couple were about 5 minutes late, and the bus was starting to leave without them. Oddly enough after that, everyone was early for the bus!

Denbies and Stepping Stones

Having only had a few days holiday this year so far (my plans have been falling through all over the place), I booked a day off and headed to Denbies Wine Estate for the day. I got the bus there so I could properly enjoy myself. 

I did the indoor tour in the morning with a tasting, though they were fairly stingy with the number of wines we tried. Still the cellars were cool.

After lunch (and a glass of wine of course), I took the outside tour in the 'train' - a landcover towing some couches. 

Heading out. 

View back to Denbies.

This was the Sparkling tour, which includes a glass of bubbles at the top.

I wanted to go for a hike afterwards so went over to the Stepping stones walk by the National Trust. It looked pretty simple on the map, but they really need to work on their signs. 

I thought the walk was called the Stepping Stones due to the stones across the river. 

After the stones, I followed the signs and headed along the river. Because the sign said so. Turns out, the signage was wrong and this was the wrong path. Still it was a nice little walk until I turned back and found the right one again.

Awesome tree.

Entrance to a WWII bunker.

When I got back to the right path, it was all uphill. 275 steps apparently. Though some of them were knee high so I would realistically estimate twice that. So maybe the walk was named after this. (It's my own fault. I wanted to see Box Fort, which obviously would be on a hill but this escape my notice until it became painfully obvious. And I do mean painfully!)

Still the view from the top was great. And there was a cafe there too which I fell on like I hadn't seen civilisation in a year. 

The fort was really disappointing. It didn't really look like the Roman fort they claim. More like a 1950s bunker covered in graffiti. 

Box Hill Fort

View over Denbies vineyards.

I did find a really nice sit down at the top in the sun and peace and quiet.

After making it down again, I had a restaurant booked at the bottom (score for planning) and had packed a change a clothes so I didn't stink out the restaurant. I got there early and enjoyed a nice glass of wine beforehand. The food was nice but I was quite disappointed in the size of their 'large' plates. I was still hungry but the place was getting packed and noisy thanks to a wedding party coming in. So I got the bus home and an early night.