Our first stop was to see Hans and Betsy in Roseburg. They live right on the Umpqua River, just outside Roseburg, in an area surrounded by vineyards. We have tasted here before, but this trip they took us to the best one yet.
Up on a hill overlooking the entire valley, is Cooper Ridge Vineyards. The reds are great, the view is beautiful, and we spent an enjoyable afternoon sitting and talking. We walked away with a few bottles of Merlot, Syrah and Pinot Noir.
The next day we headed up to Eugene to visit Jan and Amber.
They had a winery to take us for lunch, and we tasted at a handful
of others.
We stopped at Sweet Cheeks Winery, with a cool crow logo. It is named after two of the hills, which look like "Sweet Cheeks." Another stop was Iris Vineyards, way back in on 800 acres with a scenic trellis sitting area.
But the main event for the day, and the place where we spent our wine allowance, was at King Estate Winery.
It is an imposing, fortress looking place up on a hill, surrounded by vineyards. The wine tasting was good, and we bought the Pinot Noir, The North by Northwest Cabernet, Syrah and a Red Blend. But the real reason we went, and the fantastic part for me, was the restaurant.
Gail had crab cakes, Amber had a salmon on pasta dish, but Jan and I took the plunge: the organic beef burger, topped with seared foie gras. And on the side, home made truffle french fries. We split a bottle of the Cabernet, and practically rolled out of there two hours later.
It was one of those meals that you hope never ends.
We ended the day at Sarver Winery, located so high up on the hill that we could see the snow-capped Sisters and Mt. Bachelor all the way over by Bend. We sat and drank through a bottle of the 2013 Pinot Noir (good enough to drink, but not to buy) watching the shadows grow, and toasting the sunset.