12 Rosé Recommendations Perfect for Summer. From light to bold, find out about rosé wines and some of our current favorites. I like to review wines the way most people taste them, with food. Many of the wine reviews you’ll see on this site are accompanied by a recipe. When we test recipes we usually…
Oregon Wine
Grilled Sriracha Sweet Chili Chicken
Grilled Sriracha Chicken is an incredible combination of whole cut up chicken pieces in a savory marinade, grilled to perfection, and then finished with a sweet and spicy sweet chili glaze. Grilled Sriracha Sweet Chili Chicken is great for a whole quartered chicken, or even chicken breasts. Chicken is a blank canvass, and we love…
12 Delicious Fall Wines
I like to review wines the way most people taste them, with food. Many of the wine reviews you’ll see on this site are accompanied by a recipe. When we test recipes we usually open a few different wines of various styles that we think will work, then write about the best pairing. But often…
Grilled Romaine Caesar Salad (recipe and video)
A simple and delicious Grilled Romaine Caesar Salad elevated with some smoky crispy pancetta (or bacon), grilled lemon, and grilled baguette slices to sub for croutons. This grilled romaine Caesar salad is the perfect side dish for your grilled meats or backyard BBQ and you’re gonna love it! I’m a huge fan of grilled salads….
Winter Reds — January 2018
I like to review wines the way most people taste them, with food. Many of the wine reviews you’ll see on this site are accompanied by a recipe. When we test recipes we usually open a few different wines of various styles that we think will work, then write about the best pairing. But often…
Oregon Sparkling Wines for the Holidays on KGW Portland Today
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. And by that I obviously mean it’s the season for bubbly! Wohoo! And speaking of bubbly, I got to talk about my absolute favorite wine topic on KGW Portland Today this week!!! Champagne and sparkling wine are certainly available year-round, and I drink bubbly weekly (usually on Fridays,…
¡Salud! — 25 years of Making a Difference in the Willamette Valley
Vineyard work can be dangerous. In fact it can be deadly. Every year around harvest time we hear about accidents either in the vineyard or winery. Some of them are freak accidents. Many of them are preventable. Some of them are health related. But what happens when the vineyard or winery employee has no healthcare?…
Smoked Pulled Pork Lettuce Wraps with Asian Dipping Sauce
Tired of traditional BBQ sauce with pulled pork? Try this sweet and savory Asian dipping sauce to jazz up your next batch of leftover smoked pulled pork! These Pulled Pork Lettuce Wraps are a fantastic (and light) alternative to tacos or sliders, with killer flavor! We’re total suckers for Taco Tuesday. It’s so easy to…
Milestones – ROCO 2013 ‘RMS’ Brut Sparkling Wine
Rollin Soles (the man behind Argyle Winery’s reputation for amazing sparkling wine) is back making bubbles with the release of the 2013 RMS Brut Sparkling Wine. Spoiler alert: it’s awesome! A legend. At least by Oregon sparkling wine standards that is. I’m talking about Rollin Soles; the man behind the first sparkling wine facility…
Show me the heat!
Refreshing summer white wines It’s usually around this time of the year when you see articles about things to help you “beat the heat,” whether it’s drinks, cocktails, activities, you name it. We started the summer out on a hot note. In May and even early June we saw some high numbers here in Portland…
Smoked Salmon Cakes Recipe with Dungeness Crab
Smoked Salmon and Dungeness Crab Cakes are what happens when the dynamic duo of Dungeness crab and smoked salmon join forces with a killer wine pairing. This Salmon Cakes recipe is perfect for when you want to stretch your dollar with traditional crab cakes. The combo is absolutely delicious! Crab is king here in Oregon,…
Weekend Wine Love – Wines of the Week
This was a pretty crappy week for music lovers, at least those with a soul! Prince made a huge impact on the world, and left us with a huge sad and vacant hole in our hearts. I had no idea how many people were such fans. I thought I was just a weird obsessive fan…
Weekend Wine Love – The first annual Willamette Valley Pinot Noir Barrel Auction
Earlier this month the Willamette Valley hosted the region’s first-ever trade auction – The Pinot Noir Barrel Auction – with 400 in attendance and sixty-six Pinot producers pouring one-of-a-kind lots. The event, held at the gorgeous Allison Inn and Spa, raised a whopping $476,000 for the Willamette Valley Wineries Association. This just in its first…
Judging at the 2016 Cascadia Wine Competition
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of being one of the judges at the Cascadia Wine Competition, held at the historic Columbia Gorge Hotel in Hood River, Oregon. I’m always excited to be part of events like this to taste new wines I may have otherwise overlooked. It’s also a great opportunity to…
Traveling Wine Country with Twins – Article in Wine Enthusiast
I have some exciting news to share.I’ve been published in Wine Enthusiast Magazine! My piece, which can be found in the “Last Drop” section of the print magazine, is about a topic I’m all too familiar with — Traveling to wine country with my 5-year old twin boys. Now, without giving too much away (stop…
8 Rosé Wines to Kick off Spring
‘Tis the season for rosé! Now let’s be honest, I love love love me some rosé year-round. I drink it while cuddled by the fire, alongside my Thanksgiving dinner, eating grilled steak, and even while shoveling the snow off my driveway. Just kidding, I live in Portland. It snows barely once a year here (but…
Friday Favorites — Arizona Edition
A weekly roundup of the “best of” the week in wine, food, and travel. The boys and I traveled to AZ this week to visit family. Sean and I took a couple of nights to ourselves (wohoo!) while the boys tortured spent some QT with the fam. FAVORITE FASHION – The Man-Robe If you’ve ever tried…
Smoked Lamb Chops, Roasted Acorn Squash Salad, and Wine Pairing
Most wine pairings start with the food. We’re having X for dinner, what wine would pair best? But what if you have a fantastic wine and you want to create the perfect meal specifically to highlight that very wine? I’ve been haunted by one such wine for over a month now. Knudsen Vineyard Pinot Noir…
Five Oregon Wineries with Restaurants
Winemakers will often tell you that their wines are meant to be enjoyed with food. But how often does a winery have a chance to prove it to their guests? In my latest article for Palate Press I continue an exploration of epicurean experiences at wineries, this time focusing on five Oregon wineries that have gone beyond…
IPNC 2015 — Photo Preview
IPNC, the International Pinot Noir Celebration, is one of the world’s most premiere wine events. Held held every year in July on the campus of Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon, this three-day event lived up to its hype. The event is described as a “mecca for lovers of Pinot Noir,” but I’d also add that…
Oregon AVA Spotlight – The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater
Geology freaks get excited. There’s a new-ish wine region in Oregon, and it’s not what you think. Though the region is technically 100% located in Oregon, you won’t find your typical Oregon wines here. Meaning no Pinot Noir or Pinot Gris. Instead, you’ll find bold reds, like Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, among a few others….
Traeger Roasted Whole Chicken and Knudsen Vineyards Chardonnay
“Dad taught me about passion. I want to keep that alive and spread that passion that he had.” Passionate is how Page Knudsen Cowles, Partner and Managing Director of Knudsen Vineyards, describes her late father, Cal Knudsen, founder of Knudsen Vineyards — one of the Willamette Valley’s most known and treasured vineyards. Cal Knudsen was…
Holiday Wine Gift Ideas – Stoller Family Estate
If you are looking to impress with a special bottle for the wine enthusiast on your holiday list, look no further than Stoller Family Estate. Wines to Impress for Holiday Wine Gift Ideas When I gift a wine to someone special — whether a loved one, a client, a teammate, a boss, whomever — I…
Stag Hollow Vineyard — creating work-life balance
Since the purchase of the new smoker (“Old Smokey” as he’s being referred to throughout our neighborhood), we’ve been asked by nearly all of our family and close friends when we are going to start a BBQ business — as in, give up our day jobs and start a restaurant or catering company. We chuckle…