A Wine Even Nana Would Approve of for Break Fast - Wordless #WineWednesday

How About a Little Toilet Wine?

It's official; toilet training is the job from hell. I think it's quite possibly the worst part of parenthood, well it is for me anyway. On day five of "Potty Training Boot Camp" I can't imagine how we're going to get from where we are now to being able to have freedom again. We've been trapped in our house, chained to the smallest room by the invisible shackles of stubbornness, leaving only for a quick trip to get Burger King fries and Fanta orange soda on day four, when Shayden figured out if he didn't eat or drink he wouldn't have to use the bathroom. Thankfully, Fanta and fries won that battle.

This past week, there have been a few frightening moments where I've found myself longing for a glass of wine before 1:00pm, something to just lighten my spirit and give me the boost I need to muster up that extra bit of patience and empathy. Was it potty training that turned many housewives of the past into raging alcoholics, making them drink all day long? Sitting in the bathroom for hours, one's mind tends to wander. While staring at that shiny porcelain bowl, I dreamily thought about "Toilet Wine," and like Homer salivating over a doughnut, the mere suggestion of some powerful hooch made by prison convicts made me realize at that moment, I'd probably even down a glass of Boones Farm.

So,as the aromas of my son's urine wafted up from the floor below filling my nasal cavities with the intense smell of ammonia, I tried to imagine it was cat pee aromas from a lovely French Sancerre or Sauvignon Blanc from the New Zealand's Marlborough region instead--ahhhhh Cat Pee on a Gooseberry Bush, even a wine with a silly name like that could be a savior.

I keep thinking back on one of my favorite movies, Shawshank Redemption, and the main character Andy Dufresne  ... "who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side". As I clean up the floor and the toilet, and everything else within spraying distance, the one thing that's getting me through the week is knowing at some point it's going to click for him--it has to. We will come out clean on the other side. My patience is being tested, and my family duties (bad pun intended) have pulled me away from my blog, social media and the big wide world of wine. So, while I'm not busy celebrating new life or being consumed with diapers and feeding schedules like my good buddy Suburban Wino (who has still miraculously and unbelievably found time to blog and tweet), I am tied up with my family and, yes, I'm sure it comes as no surprise, there are some things that will always be more important than wine. Until we sip again.

Cheers!

I should probably mention, this blog post was actually composed in the body of an email, because after 10 very long years, my old computer finally died. Not to let that be the sucker punch that would land me face down on the mat, I borrowed my 22-year-old son's laptop (or what I thought was a laptop), but discovered it didn't even have Acrobat Reader or Word. When I asked him about not having basic programs on his computer, I was informed it was a media center, not a laptop. Ahhhh. Blogging via email it is. Thanks for your patience, in fact, let's drink to it.

Savvy Marketing Ploy Leads to Sweet Costco Wine Score

I recently found myself diverted from my typical Oregon wine tasting excursions to honor my mother-in-law who retired after 36 years of teaching high school English. We were having a big party for her and made a special trip to the Kennewick, Washington Costco to pick up some cheesecakes (as if you could just go to Costco for one thing). Since we had to pass through the wine section to get to the bakery, my eyes were browsing all the lovely local offerings along the way, with no intention of buying a thing. As I strolled past a certain bin, however, my eyes became locked… I was mesmerized by what I was seeing. Were all those bottles really hand signed? It was as if they were a hand written invitation, sent directly to me. I read all the different ways the winemaker had signed the bottles, “Cheers, Salut, Prost, Skal… ” and I knew I would be buying one. Fortunately, my mom-in-law saw my interest (or the puddle of drool pooling at the side of my mouth) and she bought it for me. So, cheers to you Marcie, both for your heartfelt dedication to your students and for supporting me as a writer/blogger/person. Congratulations, and I truly hope retirement rocks!!

The wine that caught my eye like a handsome man across the room at a boring party was a 2008 Tamarack Cellars Chardonnay; I was familiar with Tamarack Cellar's wine as they make some killer reds. I liked the name (or its similarity with my own anyway). The price point was extremely attractive—at $15, if it was good, it would be an affordable luxury. But, I have to tell you, what really sold me on that bottle was the personal touch—the autograph. I try to be a savvy consumer and not fall for clever gimmicks. Animals, sexy women and funny names don’t typically suck me in, but a signed bottle, well that’s obviously a whole other story. What a cool conversation piece.

Tamarack Cellars, founded in 1998 by Ron and Jamie Coleman, is located in Walla Walla Washington, though they source their fruit from premium vineyard sites located within several different Washington AVAs (American Viticultural Area). The winery must be a site, as it’s housed in a restored WWII fire station and barracks at the Walla Walla Airport Complex, which I sincerely hope to visit when I go to the Wine Bloggers Conference at the end of this month (woohoo!).

I admit to some trepidation purchasing this wine; I was afraid I was being suckered in by a silly signature that added a perceived value. That signature (which was actually that of the Assistant Winemaker—as opposed to the Head Winemaker and founder—so, feeling ever so slightly duped) was enough to change my expectation of that wine, after all, Danny Gordon put his name on it—it had to be good. I worked through my fear, brought the wine home, chilled that bad boy down and poured up a glass that didn’t make me imagine Mr. T saying he pitied the fool who fell sucker to a dumb marketing ploy. Until we sip again…

Cheers!

Finding Common Ground - A Tribute to Mom

Mom doesn’t like wine—never has, never will. She doesn’t like much really; her diet consists of coffee, bread, chocolate, steak, potatoes, cantaloupe and Pepsi (in that order). When I was growing up, cigarettes were really first on that list, but somehow the fear of walking around with oxygen tankfully motivated her to kick her pack-and-a-half-day habit.

Mom’s an amazing woman whom I admired while growing up for her strength and presence and then somehow tried my hardest to avoid becoming as an adult. When I recognize her mannerisms within me, rather than appreciating them, I turn and run from them like a champion sprinter—please don’t let me be like her. Does every girl fear becoming her mother?

On the rare and stupid occasions I compared Mom to Grandma, I was met with one of the most evil glares I’ve ever seen my mother wear. She does this death stare where you can feel her eyes flashing daggers that dig deep into you, searing your raw flesh. Ouch.

Mom’s mom was not a pleasant woman. She was a Polish-Jewish immigrant who married a poor man she didn’t really love and who never gave her the life she wanted. I hate to speak badly of the dead, but truthfully, she was a mean, bitter woman who was jealous of her own daughters and intent on punishing everyone and making anyone around her miserable—please don’t let me be like her. Even Grandma’s kindest words were backhanded compliments, like “With a punim (face) like that, you think you’d have found yourself a rich husband by now.” Thanks Grandma. While I guess the mother/daughter jealousy thing’s not unusual, perhaps I’m lucky I have two sons (though I did so want that daughter, why exactly again?).

Mom’s defense was and still is humor and it’s served her well over the years, both to protect her from her mother’s quick jabs and evil tongue, and also in areas beyond mere protection. One of her claims to fame is making my father belly laugh—almost daily—even after 50 years of marriage. Those deep, silent laughs that leave his stomach jiggling like a big bowl of Jello, his eyes streaming wet with tears and his lungs screaming for breath. And if you knew my dad, who’s a serious and very reserved man, you’ll know it’s not an easy feat. And it’s not just Dad, I watch her when we’re out in public; she derives immense pleasure, as if it’s her meaning in life, to make others around her laugh.

I love this about her. As a child, I also hated this about her since what I really wanted was to just slip by unnoticed most of the time, and there she was drawing attention to us.

Lucky me, I did receive her gift of sarcasm, and hopefully a tiny bit of her wit lives on in me too, but I’ve found myself completely entranced with things she’s never been remotely interested in. She tried to keep me sheltered in her world of burned barbequed steak and french fries, brainwashing me against haute cuisine, but I’ve uncovered something that’s touched the very depth of my soul, and sadly, no matter how hard I try, I'll never be able to share it with her.

She doesn’t understand my passion for food and wine. She says, “Will you stop swirling that glass already.” She turns her nose up when I mention the foods I'm enjoying. She has no patience or comprehension of wine tasting, my project, articles I’ve written or this blog for that matter. I’d be willing to wager a guess she’s never even looked at my blog or even knows what a blog is (if you ever do look Mom, I love you!). Though her mind is open in most areas, she’s more finicky than a child when it comes to food and drink. It’s one of our greatest differences and I’m perfectly at peace with that. So, while Mom may not like wine and I’ll never like coffee, at least we can always agree on chocolate.

Happy Mother’s Day to inspiring and loving moms everywhere! Until we sip again…

Cheers!

Wordless #WineWednesday — What's in Your Cart?

10 Things I Learned About Wine (From My Three-Year-Old Son)

1. It’s mama's!

2. It tastes yummy!

3. It smells like wine.

4. Gold, sparkly labels are pretty.

5. You can visit a lot more wineries after a good nap.

6. Swirling and sniffing is fun, even with a glass of water (try it!).

7. Two wine bottles fit perfectly in the child-sized shopping carts at Market of Choice and Trader Joes.

8. Corks might taste really good when you put them in your mouth, but they are indeed a choking hazard.

9. If you drank water and juice all day, you would never have a hangover.

10. Wine pops!

Until we sip again…

Cheers!

Reflections on a Glass of Oak Knoll

Driving the Oregon countryside on the weekends has far and away become one of my most favorite times for quiet contemplation, so, before I even began my wine tasting at Oak Knoll, one of Oregon’s oldest producers, I sat down at a cozy little cocktail table to download a bunch of thoughts accumulating in my brain before they flew away with the speed of a hummingbird (because that’s how quickly I forget things lately). The lovely Nadine came out from her post behind the wine bar to deliver me an extensive wine menu, providing me with tableside service while she talked me through their selections. In a nutshell… down-to-earth, gracious and friendly hospitality.

Oak Knoll Winery, founded in 1970 by Ron and Marjorie Vuylsteke, was the very first winery in Washington County. The Vuylstekes started their foray into winemaking back in the early 60’s after a bumper crop of blackberries led to the production of blackberry wines. A few years later, they were securing contracts with early regional grape growers and founded some of Oregon’s first wines, and by 1978, one out of every three bottles of Oregon wine sold was from Oak Knoll Winery. Today, the wines are crafted by the Vuylsteke's cousin, Jeff Herinckx, who joined the winery in 1984.

Their wines were certainly more respectable than I had honestly ever given them credit for. I never realized (or admitted?) how susceptible I was, but I kind of had it drilled into my head, from back in the day when I earned a paycheck from a certain winery, that a certain county’s wineries were basically subpar (with the exception of one, of course). That being said, I wish I could have actually tasted the wines blind, because as much as one’s surroundings can affect how the wine tastes, so can one’s personal experiences (in this case I was seriously trying to overcome a negative impression)—and can you ever really obtain an objective impression of a wine?

One of the wines I truly enjoyed was Oak Knoll’s 2007 Pinot Gris ($14). With a nice, rich and creamy mouth feel, the wine made it’s entrance with the typical apple and pear you’d expect at the surface, but underneath I detected entrancing layers of melon and tropical star fruit notes while the mouth offered additional exotic flavors of grapefruit, mango and a spicy, zingy ginger finish; it was a delicious, intriguing and complex white wine, great for summer with a nice acidity and a moderate price point.

Another stand-out wine was the 2005 Pinot Noir Vintage Reserve ($29). It’s light ruby color tinged slightly brown hinted at a touch of age opened up as slowly and surely as a hare in a race to reveal surprising depth and unexpected characters of leather, sweet red cherries, ripe juicy strawberries, violets and an intriguing spicebox finish of spicy clove and sexy cinnamon—ooo la la.

While meandering about outside, soaking up a bit of spring's welcome but early sunny offering, I savored a bite of dark chocolate with Oak Knoll’s 2006 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, which was all dark fruit and pepper in a glass, and thought long and hard about my own predilection for the unpretentious that often directly competes with an equal desire for high quality; it’s not easy to achieve both, yet Oak Knoll continually strives to do so and that’s probably why they continue to remain such major players in this wild game of Winopoly. Until we sip again…

Cheers!

Ten Oregon Wineries Make One Small Change

Inspired both by my dear friend Rachel’s blog, 6512 and Growing, about making “One Small Change” and Willamette Valley Vineyards tweet about their cork-recycling program on Twitter, I decided to take a closer look at the one thing ten Oregon wineries are doing to make a difference in the environment (and the world). Here’s what I uncovered:

1. Willamette Valley Vineyards - The first winery in the world to use cork certified through the Rainforest Alliance’s Forest Stewardship Council standards and to offer an in-house cork recycling program.
2. Maysara (Momtazi Vineyards) – Over 250 acres of some of the most well respected certified biodynamic vineyards in Oregon.
3. Duck Pond Cellars – Plants a tree in a Northwest fire-ravaged forest for every bottle sold in Oregon and Washington during March and April, 2010.
4. Ponzi Vineyards – Switched to “green” glass, which is both lighter and more eco-friendly.
5. Illahe Vineyards and Winery – In addition to solar panels and rainwater collection systems, during harvest (instead of tractors) you’ll find horses and donkeys pulling grape-loden carts (not only are they bio-fuel propelled, but they produce compost along the way)! 
6. Belle Pente – Practices Integrated Farming by planting grasses and utilizing sheep and goats for vineyard maintenance and manure mix.
7. Stoller Vineyards – LEED gold-certified winery with solar power and wastewater reclamation (not to mention a sweet little disc golf course).
8. Winderlea Winery – Features a charging station in their parking lot for electric cars.
9. Amity Vineyards - Producer of Eco-Wine, Oregon's first organic and sulfite-free Pinot noir.
10. Sokol Blosser – In addition to eco-glass, solar power, organic vineyards, biodiesel operated equipment, the first U.S. LEED certified winery, Susan Sokol Blosser continues to set the bar high with her commitment to the environment. So, what’s she doing now? She’s trying to protect and preserve Oregon’s agriculture and economy from the inside by making a political run for Legislature. Good luck Susan!

My inspiration for this post, Rachel, is one of those people who just makes me want to be a better person and a proper steward of my environment. She lives very simply yet meaningfully, is abundantly resourceful and somehow manages to produce a substantial amount of the family’s food supply, which absolutely blows my mind. Her husband Dan hunts elk and deer each year, which they butcher themselves, family-style. Meaning everyone pitches in, even the toddlers help grind and wrap… it’s an amazing sight (click on the link and see for yourself!). Having tasted the fruits of their labor, I can attest to the beauty of the process, but I’m in awe of their abilities as I think this is so beyond what I could do. So, I can’t hunt and butcher my meat myself, I have no sun for a garden (and I wouldn’t think about making my own wine, yet), but I can do something more to make my own small change. I’m already dedicated to buying local as much as humanly possible and I purchase almost all organic products, but when it comes down to it, I’m still just being a consumer… a drain on resources; I don’t actually produce anything (except the words on this page). So, in honor of Rachel and the Oregon wineries committed to being forward thinkers, my one small change is to stop buying one thing each month—be it bread, tortillas, pickles or ricotta cheese—and start making it myself instead. Hopefully I’ll make enough to share… that is, if you’re nice! Until we sip again…

Cheers!

Ten Things Make Ten Smiles

Kind of like the new version of the chain letter, a few days ago, my dear friend Rachel tagged me in her wonderful blog 6512 and Growing. Rachel usually moves me to tears with her words, so her challenge to list ten things that make me smile was ever more fitting. While the list is hard to keep at 10, these images popped into my head and just thinking about them made the corners of my mouth turn upwards. So, thanks for tagging me and here's my smiles in reverse order!

10. Beautiful gifts from nature.

9. Skinnydipping.

(Did you really think I would post a photo?)

8. Diving through waves in a warm ocean.

7. Dreaming about endless possibilities.

6. Skiing through soft powder.

5. The warm sun on my aching body.

4. My adorable kitties snuggling up together.

3. Shayden being Shayden.

2. My sweet husband making me dinner.

And finally, the thing about to put a big smile on my face right now:

1. A glass of good wine at the end of a busy day.

 

I'm opting out and choosing not to tag anyone. Does that mean I'll have seven years of bad luck? I sincerely hope not, I've certainly had my share… but if so, bring it on. I'd really love to hear what makes you smile, so please leave a comment before you go. Until we sip again…

Cheers!