Oregon's Beautiful Wine Country

Over the last month I've been all over the US.  I've been to California (and visited one of my favorite wineries, Chamisal Vineyard) and I've been to Texas a couple of times and I've been to Philadelphia, Atlantic City and New York. As a result, my posting of late has been a bit erratic.

That's something I intend to correct over the coming weeks.  Thank you for keeping up with this blog in the meantime.

In between those trips I had the opportunity to take a trip back in time and head back to Oregon.  I hadn't been back to Eugene since I left in the mid-80s.  In the meantime, the wine industry has taken off and they're producing some of the finest Pinot Noirs in the country.

As many of you know if you've been following this blog, I'm a huge fan of Seghesio Family Vineyards.  I have been from the very first time I tasted their Old Vine Zinfandel back in 1999 and since they were purchased by the Crimson Wine Group a couple of years ago, I've had the privilege of visiting the other sister wineries -- all except one.

I had never visited Archery Summit.

Last summer I visited Pine Ridge Winery for the first time and last fall I had visited Chamisal but I had never really had an opportunity to visit Archery Summit. That is until now.

I have made several trips back to Oregon but never really had the time to explore the wine industry.  I really didn't have a lot of time on this trip either but I allowed for a slight detour on my way down to Eugene for meetings.  The wine industry in Oregon is actually quite strong.  I've really enjoyed some of the wines I've had including those from Owen Roe like their Sharecropper's Pinot Noir and their Sinister Hand and Abbot's Table.

On this trip, however, a trip to Archery Summit was all I could manage.  And I'm glad I did.  Not only is the setting for the winery beautiful, but the wines are absolutely delightful.  After winding our way through the Oregon countryside, we arrived at the winery.

They had anticipated that there would be work done on the stairs leading to the main tasting room so they moved it to an auxiliary area. Although it was April first, the weather couldn't have been more agreeable. A surprise for Oregon this time of year.  (I even needed some sunglasses!)

Archery Summit was founded by Gary and Nancy Andrus (also founders of Pine Ridge Winery).  In fact, one of the clones is called the Archery Summit clone (also can be found at sister vineyard Chamisal). Why?

According to legend, the clone found it's way into the country underneath Gary's overcoat. But after all these years it's a little hard to tell the facts from the fiction I'm sure.

Our tasting covered both their estate wine as well as a number of their single vineyard wines.  I have to say that the more I taste wines, the more I discover how the unique soils, temperatures and rainfall can all change how a wine tastes and the particular characteristics.  Of course the specific clones that are used in making the wine also play a significant role.

At the end of the day, the wines we tasted resulted in the purchase of three bottles to enjoy on the rest of the trip.  On our return, trip after our meetings we had the opportunity to visit a little restaurant on the way to the hotel.

I had found this little place, thanks to a friend in the area, on one of my previous visits to Oregon.  Portland, if you've never been, has a very thriving food scene.  The Woodsman Tavern is no exception -- and they had a corkage fee so we could bring one of our bottles in for dinner.

After feasting on some really great oysters, we settled in for a filet with dungeness crab and potato wedge. Unbelievably delicious.  We did have to end the evening with a little dessert, too.  This is a restaurant you won't want to miss if you're in the area.