Happy Fall Season blog readers!
I don’t know about you, but I’m already excited about tearing into a massive Thanksgiving Day feast! But lo and behold, there is much more to Thanksgiving Day than just eating and watching football (at least for some of us). If you are trying to change things up this coming Thanksgiving Day weekend, there is a cornucopia of wine tasting action going down with our Carbon Neutral Challenge winery buddies in Willamette Valley Wine Country, and we would love to take you down there! (If you forget or don’t know what the Carbon Neutral Challenge is all about, see this blog entry)
Here’s what sounds good to me; having a clean, sustainable ecoShuttle pull up to my house to whisk me and my friends to wine country. The bus pulls up, Jason, the friendly driver greets us and we board the bus. In tow I have a cooler of assorted local craft beers, as well as some Thanksgiving Day leftovers for snacks. We are ready to go!
We’re on the way to Sokol Blosser, and I’m drinking a Ninkasi Sleigh’r seasonal ale and eating a turkey sandwich, this is tough to beat. When we get to Sokol Blosser we taste their delicious flight—including the newly released ’09 Pinot Noir. We have a good time with their free photo booth, and conversing with other wine enthusiasts. Then Jason welcomes us back to the bus and we’re on to Stoller Vineyards!
We arrive at Stoller so quickly that I hardly have a chance to finish my complimentary water. At Stoller we enjoy stellar views from inside the first Gold LEED certified winery in the U.S. There is live music, appetizers, and the tasting fees include a logo glass, nice! Back to the bus, “hi Jason!”, and we’re off to Willamette Valley Vineyards Wine Center in McMinnville. Olé!
Jason drops us off in downtown McMinnville right at the door of the Wine Center, glad I don’t have to worry about parking! The weekend special includes a comparative tasting, and the wines are terrific. While we’re enjoying the wines, Stephanie, our friendly wine ambassador teaches us how to swirl the wine around like the pros, and to think, I’d been doing it wrong for years. We jump back on the bus waiting for us right outside, and we’re back in Portland by 6:15, what a great time! We thank Jason and say “adios”. What a great way to cap off Thanksgiving weekend!
For more about what’s going on Thanksgiving Weekend, see the following video, and have a great week!
-Mark
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I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, great blog!
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