Blog - From the Winery

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Recently an old friend who lives in a major metropolitan area and has never been to Oregon asked me what McMinnville was like.  ”It’s pretty much the middle of nowhere, right?”

I struggled a bit with how to answer that question, because yes, in many ways McMinnville does seem to be the middle of nowhere. With only 32,000 people, we certainly qualify as a small town. An hour and change from the uber-hip Portland, we can just barely bask in that limelight.  Even though we are home to the charming Linfield College, four or more world-class restaurants, and arguably the center of the Oregon wine industry, a city girl like me can’t really deny that we are fundamentally a farm town.

So yep, at first glance you might believe that we are stuck in the middle of nowhere, but hang around a little and you will see that this is a thriving community whose vibrancy belies that casual observation.

I was reminded of this quite vividly last Friday night when on a whim Rob and I decided to take the kids to a free outdoor performance of the new Willamette Shakespeare Company’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”.  And what a dream it was! At the last minute we threw together a picnic – the centerpiece of which was this zesty Saffron Rice Salad, adapted from The Splendid Table.

Then we whisked ourselves off to Stoller Vineyards where this outstanding performance of the Shakespeare comedy would be performed. The Stollers are so generous – they frequently allow their beautiful property to be used for non-profit and fundraising causes. The ever-so picturesque Oak Grove park that perfectly compliments their vast vineyard was the ideal setting for the play.  It was Shakespeare exactly the way he intended it to be performed.

A wonderful evening ensued complete with outstanding theater, plastic cups of the Stoller’s wine, sharing tastes from our neighbors’ picnic baskets and all the kids alternately watching the performance with rapt attention and running off into the fields when the dialogue got too “Shakespearean”!

As the story progressed and the moon came out, the magical quality of the evening really began to shine.  Another friend told me later that this particular kind of moon is known as a Rogue Moon. We tried to look that up and find out just what it meant, but sadly Google failed us.  Never mind, it does seem to be a fitting description for the kind of evening it was, right here in the middle of nowhere.

42% off Big Fire Summer Sampler Case!!!

Love Groupon(R)? Then we have a special for you! Just like a Groupon, for 72 hours you will have the chance to purchase our Big Fire Summer Sampler Case (4 Big Fire Pinot Noirs, 4 Big Fire Pinot Gris, 4 Big Fire Dry Rosés) for 42% off retail.

For only $109.04 (pesky percentages) you can enjoy your Big Fire case of wine (a $188 value) all summer long. The only caveat? At least 20 cases need to be purchased in order for the deal to be active.

So, tell your friends and family (or anyone who loves great wine for a great price), then go to our online store or call 866.472.8614 starting Monday, June 14th at 9 a.m. PDT to purchase your case (or cases!).

When we reach that 20 case number, the sale will go through. If we don’t make it, you won’t be charged, and we’ll try again at a later date.

Buy Now!

Please note, no other offers or discounts may be combined with this sale.

We just love a good party!

One of the great things about being in the wine business is that there are so many opportunities to have parties – and we just love them, all shapes and sizes. From intimate winemaker dinners for 8 to Open Houses for a couple of hundred we love connecting with our friends and customers over wine and food – no surprise there!

Last Saturday was our annual Spring Open House, or the Thank You Event, as we like to call it. Lots of folks came by and a fine time was had by all.

One of the best parts of this event are the legendary lamb lollies we serve. Legendary is no understatement either. I think if we ever decided to serve something else, there would be a stampede.  Al Whitaker – insurance salesman by day and fanatical cook in his spare time – grills the lamb and does all the rest of the great food too, with tons of support from his fabulous wife Megan.

Of course the wine is not too bad either! Some of the comments I heard from folks included descriptors like luscious and outrageous. One friend said this to me “When I go into your beautiful Wine Bar and sit down with a glass of your wine, it makes me whole.” Wow – I was humbled and honored by his profound praise.

Hats off too, to the Rendezvous String Band.  They’re just such a fun and quirky  group and it was great to welcome them back to the winery. I have fond memories of them playing at Rob’s 50th birthday party with Trish sitting in.  Yeah, that was another great party.

So thanks again to all of our friends and customers – without you where would we be? And lest you forget, the party may be over, but the Thank You sale continues through May 31st. Just jump on over to the Wine Shop to check it out.

See you at the next party!

James Beard and Simple Food

My friend Anne reminded me that yesterday was James Beard’s birthday.  It brought to mind my very favorite Beard quote.

“Last week the New York Times ran an article on how to clean an eel. I trust everyone clipped it and saved it to his files.”

I first read this when I was just getting into the wine business – some 25 years ago – and simultaneously beginning my long affair with food and cooking. At the time I was lucky enough to be pointed in the direction (thanks Debbie Poulin) of some great food literature.  James Beard, MFK Fisher, Laurie Colwin.  Ultimately these voices shaped my philosophy about food  - and life.

This was Chicago in the late eighties and Americans were just on the upswing of the “more is more” attitude about food, wine and, well, just about everything (look at the clothes – shoulder pads?). California Cabernet and Merlot reigned supreme in the wine world. Restaurant chefs were challenging each other to make the tallest dishes and the longest menu descriptions.

I can still remember sitting in the window seat of my apartment – even then a glass of Oregon Pinot in hand – reading MFK’s writing on why food matters and realizing she was articulating my budding philosophy exactly.  How it’s just as important as politics, religion or war – because food is the thing that brings us together. To celebrate, to mourn, to nourish and nurture. We fall in love over food and we raise our children over dinner. Really, what could be more important?

And then there was Beard’s tongue in cheek comment which so clearly summed up his attitude about food. From Beard, and the others, I learned that food doesn’t have to be contrived, it just has to be good. Beautiful ingredients lovingly prepared are what make great food. The kind that brings people together. Simple, beautiful, delicious.

We Oregonians like to claim Beard as our own, as he was born and raised here. His mother ran a boarding house and cooked for lots and lots of people, which obviously influenced his life profoundly. Of course Beard ended up in New York, where he and Julia Child became our first celebrity chefs – TV shows and all.  His life became very glamourous and apparently he was quite flamboyant and more than a little eccentric. But for all of that he was in a way a pioneer of the localvore movement.  Beard championed American food and American ingredients. And did it with such grace and humor, that influenced not just me, but an entire nation.

Thanks Mr. Beard, for lighting the way.

P.S. A couple of years ago we were honored to be invited to do a dinner at the James Beard House in New York.  Our friends Carmen Pierano and Eric Ferguson the chefs of our local Nick’s Italian Cafe did the food, paired with our wines.  It was the first time Rob and I had been there, and I was surprised to see that “The House” is really and truly his house.  Its a brownstone in Greenwich Village, four stories tall, with a tiny little kitchen and tables for dining now packed into every  room.

This is the Beard House wait staff, in the library, listening to Rob talk about our wines before the dinner.  We went on to have a glorious meal in this incredible place. It looks like we’ll be back again in September too. This time our wines will be poured alongside the stellar food of Custom House Tavern one of Chicago’s new gems.

Stay Together! Yoga for Foodies with yoga, live music, dinner and wine.

Last fall my dear friend and yoga instructor Erin Bowman approached me with an idea. How about an evening yoga class in the winery, followed by dinner and wine.  Sounded perfect to me – combining a few of my favorite things into one wonderful evening.

As we tossed the idea around – was the winery really the right location? cement floors can be awfully hard on your knees – we started to read about other similar events taking place around the country. Chicago and New York, to be specific. All to great success.

Then Erin had the idea to take it one step further and bring in live music. Since she had just been to a workshop in San Diego where the practice was accompanied by Steve Gold and his lovely wife Anne-Emilie, she got on the phone. Would they come to McMinnville?  They would. On their way to Seattle.

And it all came together last Friday. What a beautiful experience.  Fifty people ending their week with a beautiful yoga practice accompanied by the hauntingly spiritual music of Steve and Anne-Emilie. Then this same group of now relaxed and blissed out people gathered around the tables for a lovely and simple vegetarian dinner.

Eric and Carmen, chefs of our local, renowned Italian restaurant Nick’s made us a massive pot of Ribollita – the classic country Italian soup thick with white beans, farro and organic greens.  We served up the steaming bowlfuls, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with parmesean.

Bottles of Big Fire Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir were plunked down on the tables for the folks to help themselves. I tossed a huge green salad with some lemon-y, garlicky vinaigrette and passed that with baskets of crusty bread, and a cheese board.

At the very end, while everyone was still talking and sipping, without any thoughts of heading home, we passed what has become one of my favorite desserts to serve.  When the meal has been hearty and you can’t really imagine eating any more, but just a bite of something does sound good, and you still have half a glass of Pinot noir and you don’t want something too sweet to ruin it, this is just the cookie: Fleur de Sel Chocolate Cookies.  I adapted this recipe from one I found online.

Every time I serve them they have been so popular I thought I should share, so you can click over here and find the recipe.

As we were finally saying good night, Steve and Anne-Emilie  remarked several times about how they would be delighted to come back and play for us again. They really embraced the sense of community they felt here.  I love that. After all, isn’t that what it’s all about? Wine, food, friends – and as it happens yoga – all coming together to nurture community.

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