What to Bring on a Picnic Date

Whether you are planning a romantic date or getting together with friends and family, picnics are a great way to gather over a shared love of food and wine while enjoying nature. Planning the perfect picnic is easy with these wine and cheese picnic ideas.

Wine and cheese enjoyed in the fresh air on a picnic blanket can be pure bliss. Some would say these are picnic date essentials! Pinot Noir Rosé can be paired with a semi-soft cheese such as Gruyère, Havarti, or perhaps Monterey Jack. These cheeses will be perfect served on a crispy baguette or toast crackers. Pack pasta salad or some smoked salmon on toasted bread or crackers for a perfect meal.

One of our favorite wine and cheese picnic ideas is Pinot Gris with Chevre to spread on a baguette or even some fresh Mozzarella and basil. Pack a couple of juicy peaches or cut up melon to compliment the wine and cheese. You could even include a homemade lemon dessert (lemon bars...mmm).

Be sure to chill the wine in advance and don’t forget the less glamorous (but still important) of the picnic date essentials - ice packs or frozen water bottles in the bottom of your basket will help to keep the wine chilled on a warm day. Cover the water bottles or ice packs with a tea towel and put items that need to be kept chilled at the bottom.

Whether you picnic at an orchard, the summit of your hike, or a local park, you can enjoy these wine and cheese picnic ideas! Keep it simple with a basket and a blanket or go all out with games, flowers, a speaker to play music. However you do it, you will want the drinks and food to be the main attraction.

Jul 14, 2020 at 12:15 PM Permalink

What Is the Best Beginner Wine Book?

It's a good time to get into something new. If you've always meant to become a wine aficionado but never had the time, then now's the moment. What's the best way to start, though? The best beginner wine books tell you about how different wines are made, the history of different varietals, and how you can start appreciating all of them more. Here are the best books that teach you wine for beginners:

The Wine Bible: Karen MacNeil has been praised from all corners for her incredibly interesting and even more entertaining take on wine. It's more than 1,000 pages long, but it's only daunting until you open to the first page. “The Wine Bible” is written to be taken in bite-sized chunks. It weaves together practical information about wine, tasting qualities, and pairings with anecdotes the world over. That means you can read it as you wish, jump around to what you find interesting, and visit what you need to know when you need to know it.
Wine Folly: Magnum Edition – The Master Guide: This much more serious title reflects a somewhat more serious take on wine for beginners. Written by Madeline Puckette and Justin Hammack, the book acts like a winery tour of the entire world. It's great for those who like to pore over maps and compare information about different regions. It also includes an incredible selection of wine and food pairings. It's one of the best beginner wine books for those who want to geek out over information and have access to a load of pairing ideas.
The New Wine Rules: This is a book that speaks best to younger generations. Author Jon Bonne throws out many older and stuffier rules about wine. It seeks to make wine knowledge fun, and focuses on wine as something to experience more than talk about. If you believe wine should be enjoyed today rather than gathering dust in a cellar, Bonne's “The New Wine Rules” is the beginner wine book for you.
Exploring Wine: Do you already have good knowledge about cooking? Are you considering pursuing a career in wine? Read The Culinary Institute of America's “Exploring Wine”. It explains the basics of wine like these other books. Then it dives into the wine industry, teaching you everything from production to marketing and services. It gives you a detailed window into the business of wine as well as the enjoyment of it.
Wine: A Tasting Course – Every Class in a Glass: This book by Marnie Old helps those who want to structure their education about wine. It's an easy and entertaining read, and it's organized in a way that will help someone pick up a bit of new knowledge every day. 

Pick up your favorite wine for beginners book - and a glass of your favorite wine - and learn!

Jul 14, 2020 at 12:11 PM Permalink

6 Best Picnic Spots in Oregon

It's hard to think about picnics under stay-at-home orders. However, National Picnic Day is April 23, and it's looking like some of the best picnic spots in Oregon this year will be our backyards and balconies. Yes, it's healthy to still go out hiking and enjoy a picnic, but please make sure you use the trail user social distancing recommendations. If and when you do venture out, these are some of the best public places in Oregon to enjoy some fresh air and good picnic wine:

Astoria Column: This tower is a unique monument, and the 30-acre city park that surrounds it makes for a stellar picnic site. You can look down to the town of Astoria and the mouth of the Columbia River from Coxcomb Hill.
Bradley State Scenic Viewpoint: There are many superb views of the Columbia River Gorge, but this viewpoint west of Clatskanie is one of the best.
Hoyt Arboretum: Here you'll find 190 ridge-top acres, each more beautiful than the last. There are 12 miles of hiking trails here. One thing that really helps for Portlanders is that it's so close to downtown. It features trees and shrubs from six continents, so you really will find something here you can't find anywhere else in the state.
Haystack Rock, Cannon Beach: This area is popular with tourists and locals for a reason. It features a long stretch of gorgeous seashore. Make sure to stay warm as the ocean weather keeps it cool here year-round, and keep an eye out for the seagulls making off with whatever they can.
Lithia Park, Ashland: All of Ashland could count as a gigantic scenic area (really, all of Oregon could). Lithia Park is a beautiful feature in it. The 90-acre park features duck ponds, a Japanese garden, and a rose garden, among other features.
Cape Perpetua Scenic Area: This protected area along the rugged Oregon coast features a number of awe-inspiring overlooks. The forested hills dive straight into the sea here in a world that feels straight out of fantasy.

These are truly the best picnic spots in Oregon, but you'll find some of your favorites tucked away in places both familiar and wild.

Whether you enjoy a picnic while following social distancing recommendations, or wait a bit, none of this prevents you from thinking about the future. Planning ahead can help sustain us through tough times. Imagine where you want to go when these days have passed, and imagine what you want to do, from drinking good picnic wine to your favorite hikes!

Jul 14, 2020 at 12:08 PM Permalink

Does Wine Vintage Matter?

Wine vintage points to the year the ingredients in the bottle were grown. Does it matter? Are some years really better than others? Weather and environment conditions change somewhat from year to year. That impacts the grapes, but how much? And does it impact Van Duzer Corridor wine grown in Oregon's Coast Range?

Wine Vintage Is Overblown

Wine vintage tends not to matter nearly as much as many would pretend. In truth, a responsible vineyard should be making adjustments to ensure that each year's harvest produces a high-quality wine. Vintages will only matter when a vineyard can't keep up with changing weather patterns. That either means the vineyard isn't doing its job well, or that the environment is wildly unpredictable from year to year.

Science & Nature

Van Duzer Corridor wine should be exceptionally consistent in quality from one vintage to the next because they fulfill both these requirements. The vineyards and wine making processes include an incredible range of science and environmental data. This allows them to grow and harvest with remarkable precision to ensure a superb wine from any year.

Couple this with a region that delivers similar climate from one year to the next and there isn't a ton of unpredictability introduced into the equation. While it's true the Willamette Valley can go from sun to rain in the blink of an eye, it's not those daily shifts that matter. The weather, amount of sun and rain, and the coastal winds (that helps thicken the grape skins) are all fairly consistent from one year to the next. That means one year's grape will provide the same quality as another year's.

That coastal effect makes the Van Duzer corridor an ideal area for a vineyard. Those winds keep the region warmer when Oregon is cool and cooler when Oregon is warm. It helps to temper and moderate extremes, making this region a superb wine haven.

Vintage Stopped Mattering a While Back

Wine vintage can still matter for millionaires paying for exceptionally old wines to sit in their cellars for time eternal. That's because vineyards of a century ago didn't have the science and knowledge to shift as the weather and other conditions changed. Chances are you're buying wine to drink, or store for a while and then enjoy. That means enjoying the incredible range that's being produced these last several years.

Today we have the science and knowledge to grow consistently high-quality grapes with the same traits from one year to the next. That means that wine vintage doesn't matter for the vast majority of people.

Jul 14, 2020 at 12:05 PM Permalink

What Wine Goes with Pork?

When wine pairing with pork, it’s important to think about the cut of the meat and the way it’s prepared. However, there is really no right or wrong choice when it comes to red or white. Pork although considered a red meat is also commonly known as “the other white meat”. You’ll find that both reds and whites can both pair really well with pork dishes and ultimately there is no one answer to the question of what kind of wine to serve with pork.

You may automatically lean towards white when wine pairing with pork, and if that truly is your personal preference, go ahead and grab a Pinot Gris with a fruit flavor to pair with roast or BBQ pork. A Pinot Gris is truly actually an excellent choice for just about any pork dish you make.

If you tend to lean more towards reds, there are plenty of lovely options there too. Especially when thinking about sauces and accompaniments you may find a Pinot Noir which is aromatic and savoury to be the perfect fit.

When thinking about what kind of wine to serve with pork just remember that you’ll want to match the rich and spicy flavours of many pork dishes with a wine that’s both bold and flavourful. A Pinot Noir is a great choice and will give you a fresh bright flavor. There is absolutely nothing better than roast pork belly or a glazed ham served with Pinot Noir.

Pinot Noir is also a terrific choice for pork ribs, alternatively, you can also go with a Pinot Rosé for something crisp and tangy. A lighter-bodied crisp white like Pinot Gris is another fantastic choice that won’t disappoint.

Whether you turn to a rich white wine or a juicy red wine you enjoy your pairing!

Jul 14, 2020 at 11:52 AM Permalink