We returned from our epic journey almost three weeks ago and yet I have not been able to find the time to complete this blog until now, as it is has been completely manic since we got back on the house selling and job hunting fronts. However, the last day was as interesting as the others.

We left our very nice hotel near Sioux Falls,  South Dakota and headed due east on Interstate 90, quickly crossing into Minnesota. I had looked for some Minnesota wineries that we might be able to visit en route that were not too far from the Interstate (this was going to be a 575 mile day and so we didn't have time for long detours) and located one near Rochester. 

Salem Glen Vineyard is a small farm winery that has been operating since 2007 making wines from cold-hardy variety grapes grown on property and around the region. There are no signs to it and you access the winery along a long, straight, dusty earth road. On Saturday afternoons, they often have live jazz in the tasting room (which opened in October 2009) and this beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon there were a couple of dozen people enjoying the music and wine. If we had more time we would have stayed longer as the atmosphere was wonderful.

Winemaker and owner, Dustin Ebert kindly took some time to show me around the winery, pointing out the astronomy observatory that is used as a logo on the wine label and explaining that he makes the wine in the garage attached to the house. A true 'garagiste".  About 1/3 of his grapes are grown on property and the rest he purchases regionally, within a 120 mile radius. Varieties include Seyval Blanc, Edelweiss, Frontenac Gris, Marquette (that was developed at the University of Minnesota) and Marechal Foch which we also saw in Nebraska. Dustin is a self taught winemaker who is extremely passionate about the wines, making about 1000 cases per year.   I asked him if he is particularly proud of any of his varietals. Currently, he really likes the Marquette and I was able to taste it with him. Well structured and balanced, the body is relatively light but the flavors are richer than I anticipated with aromas of cherry and a pleasing peppery finish. I was pleased to finish our trip at this beautiful little winery that epitomizes the philosophies of so many that we had visited in the 30 days we were away. Passion, individuality, experimentation and most of all a love of the land, and the vines that ultimately define the finished product. Wine should be for everyone and at Salem Glen, everyone is welcome. No pretence or stuffiness, just plain good fun!

After a drive through Wisconsin Dells (which we had never visited in ten years and for which we felt a bit guilty that we had never taken our kids there during their visits) we arrived back at our newly-painted-soon-to-be-sold house in Sheboygan at about 9:30pm, tired, safe and elated at having completed this epic journey.


As I reflect on the trip in which we traveled 7,500 miles, crossed 13 states and one Canadian province and visited dozens of wineries, I am in awe of several things. First, the sheer beauty of the different states and provinces. Each has an individuality and character that is unique and a personality that is distinct. It would be as impossible to pick a favorite state as it would be to pick a favorite wine. Certainly, drinking wine in the region in which it is made adds a whole different dimension to the enjoyment.

Second, the variety of wines, the different personalities of the winemakers, the beauty of the areas in which they are made and the zest for life that is engendered by everyone involved in the winemaking world has left an indelible imprint on us both. 

Third, I am in awe of our little puppy, Hopi. Spending that amount of time in the car, going to different hotels and cottages all the time could have been unsettling, but he was a trooper and so well behaved. The world is gradually becoming more doggy friendly and it was great for us to be able to have him with us both.

We are both so please we took the time and made the trip. I was able to continue the job search process and networking with the help of cell phone and WiFi connections and since returning I'm pleased to say that the job market appears to have brightened somewhat. There are several positions that I am pursuing in different parts of the country and with a little luck, one of them will come through and set us on our next adventure. 

Our house selling adventures are another story, and a bit of a roller coaster, having had one sale fall through. However that too will work itself out in time.  Whatever happens we have the memories, blogs and photographs from our trip and have experienced something that we will hold close to our hearts for the rest of our lives.

Don't forget to check out Ginnie's blog too

For our penultimate day, we wanted to explore some of the places around Mount Rushmore before heading to our final overnight stop in Sioux Falls. 

We had read a number of reviews of Mount Rushmore itself, some very positive (especially espousing the feelings of patriotism that are felt by Americans as they observe the 60' carvings of presidents' heads in the mountainside) and some rather negative, talking about the commercialism and "touristy" nature of the park. We had limited time as we had to make it to Sioux Falls and I also wanted to visit a winery in Hill City, so we opted to go to Crazy Horse rather than Mount Rushmore. And we were very pleased that we did.

On the way there, I went in to what I thought was a winery, Stone Faces in Hill City. It turns out that this is not really a winery  per se, but only a tasting room for another winery, Valiant Vineyards that is in Vermillion, SD, some 300 miles further east. The girl in the tasting room explained that the winemaker there, Eldon Nygaard was responsible for writing the law (The South Dakota Farm Winery Act) back in 1996 and established the first Farm Winery in the state there. Rather than taste the wines in Hill City, and knowing we were heading towards Sioux Falls, I said we would go there and visit. Unfortunately, I miscalculated the time we had available to fit everything in, and we never did make it to Valiant Vineyards, but I do plan to get hold of a bottle of their wine and taste it.

We headed to Crazy Horse in weather that was still very iffy. Mist and drizzle persisted as we drove through the Black Hills, but gradually it improved and the sun came out. 

Ginnie has a particular interest in Native American culture, having written her first novel set in the Hopi and Navajo Lands of Arizona, so we were pleased to be able to see this monument, started by a white man and his family and funded entirely by private funds, to try to right some of the wrongs of the past in the way that the American Indians were treated.  

In comparison to the Presidential stone faces of Mount Rushmore, the scale of Crazy Horse is colossal. It is the world's largest mountain carving. The face of the sculpture is completed and the wife, Ruth, and children of the sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski who started the carving in 1948 and died in 1982, are continuing the project. We were able to take Hopi into the visitor center as long as we held him. We went in to the theater to see the orientation video and scared the poor little guy half to death. He hates guns, bangs and explosions and the video shows in graphic detail how the sculpture is made by using a combination of high explosives to blow away huge chunks of the mountain, and heavy machinery.

The project is incredible and you really have to see it to understand the scale. The visitor center is fascinating also and we spent a long time there.

As we left Crazy Horse, we headed briefly through Rapid City and visited another winery, Prairie Berry, whose family have been making fruit, honey and berry wines in South Dakota since 1876. The Vojta Family came to South Dakota from Moravia and now the wines are being made by 5th Generation, Sandi Jojta. Many of the wines are fruit based (they are famous for a fun little number called Red Ass, which is made from rhubarb!) but I tried a few of the grape wines that were interesting and better than I expected. La Crescent 2009 was a semi-dry (or semi sweet depending on which way you look at it) white wine made from native grapes grown in South Dakota. The blush, called Pink Slip was mostly white Zinfandel (!) but the red Sand Creek was very good. Made with a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and what they call River Grapes, this had fullness, a fine bouquet and hints of the oak in which it had been aged. At $21 a bottle, this is serious wine and was an unexpected pleasure from a state that in not perhaps noted for its winemaking prowess.

Our journey continued along Interstate 90 and we arrived late at out final hotel, a very nice Homewood Suites in Sioux City where we were able to order a good steak for delivery to the room. We opened a bottle of wine and tried to take in the fact the the next day would be the last one of our trip and that we would soon be back in Wisconsin.

Well the weather may have been wonderful for our day in Yellowstone, but the following day (Thursday) we made up for it.

Our journey started from Cody, Wyoming (Buffalo Bill Land) and we had planned to make it to Hill City, South Dakota the next day, hopefully to visit a winery and maybe Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Custer. We knew it was a long way but we were rather sleep-deprived and had a few things to do before leaving Cody, including picking up a prescription from Walgreens (this is a good trick to know if you are traveling for a long time. If you use Walgreens, you can have your prescription filled at any one of them in the country. Everything was done online and the drugs were ready for pickup just as if we had been in Sheboygan).  I also needed to get a new digital downloader for our cameras. The one I had brought with me managed to break two memory cards and I couldn't risk losing the images. Walgreens obliged once again!

It was cold and drizzling when we left and as we headed off on route 14, the Bighorn Scenic Byway, the rain became heavier. There were some short periods of breaks in the clouds and I marveled at the changes in geology as we progressed along the windy roads.

As this was the first time for either of us in this part of the country, we weren't entirely aware of the topography. I thought that as we headed east, the landscape would turn flatter and we would soon be in the pains. What I had not realized was that we had to navigate a pretty big mountain range first, and as we started to climb, the rain came down more and more heavily. I watched the temperature drop to the low 40s and commented that it may actually be snowing higher up. But the "Road Closed Ahead When Flashing" sign was not flashing which meant the road was open and, I thought, must be OK.

Rain turned to sleet. Sleet turned to snow. My laid back approach to the windy roads turned a little more cautious. One of the biggest problems was the brightness of the snow. I lowered the sun visor to help differentiate the contours of the road, but fog was all around and everything was basically white. There were no other cars on the road, or so it seemed, and there was no cell phone access, but there was also no alternative. We had to get over the mountain and the pass was the only route. 

On we went and the snow came down heavily as the temperature dropped to 30 degrees. We reached the summit which was 9,300' - not quite as high as Leadville, CO where we stayed the first week of our trip, but still pretty high. and the snow was blowing sideways. A snowplow appeared coming in the opposite direction and I decided to move to the other side of the road to drive in the cleared tracks. Of course i had to be aware of oncoming traffic which was few and far between, but when it came, it was shrouded in fog and I had to cross the thickest snow in the center of the road to get back on the right side. It felt dangerous and it was, so I opted to drive back on the the fresh snow most of the time, really slowly, and plow through. Although I wished that I still had my Land Rover, the RAV 4 did an admirable job. Only on a couple of occasions did the ABS brakes shudder as I lost a little traction, but we made it to the top. The drop down was eleven miles of 8% gradient. I put the car in 2nd (low) gear and kept my foot away from the brake as much as possible. Those eleven miles took almost an hour and seemed interminable. Finally the snow turned back to sleet and then to rain and I breathed a sigh of relief as Ginnie massaged my shoulders, which were tense from the almost three hours of intense concentration. My right thigh also ached and mentally I was exhausted. Although I never feared for our lives, I was certainly concerned as this was probably the worst conditions I have ever driven in, and certainly the longest sustained white-out conditions I have experienced. Although we couldn't see it, I knew there were sheer drops off the side of the road. I was pleased that there were barriers almost the whole way down and thankful for the Wyoming taxpayers who presumably footed the bill to install them! Through this whole episode, Hopi was uncharacteristically nervous and anxious, panting and trembling even before the white-out started. I think he could sense the danger ahead, or sense our concern. Doggies are remarkably perceptive!

As a result of this slow start to the day, we didn't make it as far as Hill City, SD and stopped at a pretty crummy Holiday Inn (why are they less good than the cheaper Holiday Inn Express?) for the night. Ironically, there was a Culver's next door. I was grateful to my friend Craig Culver for having the foresight to build a restaurant right there, and we filled our stomachs with butter burgers and fell into bed, too exhausted to blog.

Not may photos today but the following give an idea of the mountain pass conditions. This was certainly a day on the trip that we will remember and eventually we will look back on it fondly, as we do on every day. The main thing is that we are safe!

I have decided that I need a change of career. I want to become a weatherman. It is the only job I know where you can be spectacularly wrong and there are absolutely no consequences. That being said, I am pleased when they get the forecast wrong and it turns out to be much better weather than they predicted. That is exactly what happened yesterday for our excursion into Yellowstone Park, a trip that I had been looking forward to for weeks.

So despite predictions of snow, rain and cloud, we had perfect sunshine with interesting cloud formations for the entire day. And the day was AMAZING!

We had stayed in Gardiner the night before and made a relatively early start, at least for us, having packed a lunch and got the car washed. Gardiner is right at the north entrance and we passed under the Roosevelt arch, paid our $25 and headed south into the park. First stop was Mammoth Hot Springs. We couldn't take Hopi on any of the boardwalks and so I made a mini excursion myself as Ginnie watched the bubbling cauldrons from the car. The smell of sulphur is almost overpowering but the colors of the lava against the blue sky with the resulting steam from the boiling water that is erupting from the bowels of the earth are amazing. 

On we drove towards Old Faithful. Some of the scenery on the way was beautiful and some of it was frankly quite unremarkable. There are areas that have been ravaged by wildfires that are not pretty and some boring areas with just lots of pine trees. But the beautiful areas, along the rivers and across valleys are simply stunning.  We stopped for lunch by the Yellowstone River and then headed to Old Faithful. We managed to time it perfectly, able to use restrooms and do a little shopping before the eruption which is very impressive. We have not been able to visit any Montana Wineries (the few that exist were not on our route without a very long detour) but I was able to purchase a bottle in the Old Faithful Store that was made at Ten Spoons Winery near Missoula that I will sample and report back on. 

Old Faithful did her thing and we headed on. We knew that the East Entrance to the park was closed which would have been our best route to Cody Wyoming, so we had to make a detour and head back north and out of the North east Entrance. It turns out that it was fortuitous that this was the case, as while we were on the northbound road, we saw stopped cars and a Park Ranger directing folks. Yes, there was a grizzly bear less than 100 yards away. Excited, we pulled in and joined the throng. Ginnie had the binoculars and I had the 70-200mm zoom already on the camera as I had been using it to photograph many other amazing features of the park earlier, including geysers and bubbling mud holes near the Yelowstone Lake which is still completely frozen over.

With the long lens, I was able to see the bear clearly. She was completely undeterred by the audience but the ranger was being cautious. They can run at 35 mph and could be with us very quickly if she wanted to. But he has worked with these bears for over ten years and knows the signs. After gobbling at whatever she could find in the mud between snow banks, the sow finally ambled away, and the crowd left with huge smiles on our faces.

We also saw a lot of bison some with their young, an elk having a wander in the the river, some beautiful birds and the telltale signs of other bears. Apparently there was a coyote hiding behind a restroom too, and Ginnie was warned not to take Hopi near there!

As we left the park, we had a rather long drive to Cody, but the views were just as impressive as in the park. We arrived late and tired at our Cody hotel (The Cody), picked up a pizza, downloaded hundreds of photos and went to bed at 1:00am! Too late to do a blog, but it was an incredible day that will live in our memories and on our computer screens for a long time!

We left our Bitterroot Vally cabin and headed south, then east, then north and then east again. Our destination was Gardiner, Montana, near the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The journey was quite simply breathtaking in its beauty. We followed the Bitterroot River and then headed into one of the many high plains of Montana, past battlefields ringed with high, snow-capped mountains where cowboys and Indians fought in yesteryear. It is hard to imagine that kind of carnage and violence in a landscape that it so peaceful and serene.  As I white man, although I am not from USA and had no part in that awful period of history, I felt somehow ashamed that it should ever have occurred and that the Hollywood versions of Westerns have been so romanticized, even in UK.

The journey today should have taken about five hours but we didn’t rush, as I couldn’t resist stopping frequently to take photographs. There are no wineries in this area and so photography took over as my primary consideration and method of remembering the area. The weather was perfect. There was sunshine, shadow, fluffy clouds, plains, mountains, fences, cows and rivers that just cried out for us to stop and record them on digital sensors.

This was a day when I brought out the big boy – the 70-200mm zoom that weighs a ton but is such a pleasure to use on my Nikon 300. Interestingly, up until now, I have used my SLR less than I had expected, relying to a large extent on my smaller Lumix GF1 which has a fixed focus f1.7 lens that is pin sharp and super fast. It is amazing how sometimes stripping things down to the basics frees you to be more creative. To zoom in and out with that camera, I have to use my feet and move back and forth, or alternatively I can manipulate the image on the computer later. Anyway, enough of the techy stuff; the important thing is that I tried my best to record some of the scenes on the cameras as much as anything to remind myself that nature is so immense, so awesome that no matter what equipment you have, recording it in two dimensions does not do it justice.

Part of our journey took us on Interstate 15 and Interstate 90 and we crossed the Continental Divide twice. These stretches of highway have to be some of the most beautiful in USA and there was hardly anyone on them. The lack of commercialization is so refreshing in these areas.

Our hotel is a Best Western Plus and our very reasonably priced room overlooks the Yellowstone River. We had dinner in the Cowboy Grill (barbecue pork and bottles of Bud Lite!) and I am writing this as the sound of the gushing river can be heard outside our window. Tomorrow we will go into the park and see what we can, hopefully ending up in Cody on the east side. The weather forecast is not good (rain and snow) and we are trying to get confirmation that the road to Cody is open. We fleetingly saw a sign on the way in that suggested it may be closed and they have also had avalanches on some roads, so tomorrow could be another adventure!

Following our inauspicious stay in Moses Lake, Washington, we had a fairly short drive to Walla Walla. I had been looking forward to visiting this area for a long time as it is a very up and coming wine region and one that has been drawing international attention for a number of years now. Prize winning wines and winemakers have hailed from the area and press has been drawing attention to it. The Walla Walla Wine Alliance has been doing a good job of promoting the region, which actually extends across two states, Washington and Oregon.

As has been our pattern throughout the trip, we did not make reservations in advance but it was a good thing that we decided to book something before leaving Moses Lake as Walla Walla was extremely busy this weekend and we were fortunate to get the last room at a Holiday Inn Express.

The landscape became more attractive as we left the Columbia Basin, but I have to admit to not finding the area as pretty as many other wine country regions. Perhaps it was the contrast to the Okanagan but it does not compare in natural beauty to there or Califonia. We have been fortunate to visit many beautiful areas during this trip and I suppose it is natural to make comparisons, but we were a little disappointed. When we think about it, however, it is just because of the geology. The area has the world’s largest lava flows, and that, combined with glacial flood deposits and a very favorable climate, contribute to great grape growing conditions.

Wineries began to appear along Highway 12 as we approached the town of Walla Walla. Vineyards, however, seemed conspicuous by their absence and it seems that many wineries in the area buy wines from half a dozen vineyards in the region and that the Estate Wineries (those who grow their own grapes) are relatively few.

We stopped at Reininger along the way. They buy their fruit from several of the better vineyards including Pepper Bridge, Seven Hills and Spring Valley as well as from Ash Hollow Vineyard that they bought with some partners back in 1999. Their portfolio includes two labels, Reininger and Helix by Reininger and they make a wide range of wines from Chardonnay to Syrah, Malbec , Carmenère and Cabernet Sauvignon. Although my dislike of wine ratings is well known, Wine Spectator and Robert Parker have rated many of their wines in the 90s. What this really means is that they are very good, very well made and with a focus on the varietal that is true and straight. I tasted the 2007 Carmenère, a grape that was originally in the Bordeaux blend but that has found a new home in Chile where they make some superb examples alongside Malbec. The Reininger offering made with grapes from the Seven Hills Vineyard was full of red, strawberry fruit that also has a depth of flavor more reminiscent of blackcurrants and a peppery note that was enchanting.

After checking into the hotel (early for once) we headed out to find some more wineries. I was attracted to one, Beresan that is  a small producer of handcrafted wines, owned and operated by Tom Waliser and his family. They have 18 acres of estate vineyards and produce high quality examples of cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah and Merlot in addition to a fine Semillon. However, I was most interested in the their Carmanère,  as they were the first to produce a wine from that grape in the Walla Walla Valley. Having tasted the Reininger example earlier it was good to compare the two. They both share the characteristics of the grape but are completely different profiles with the Beresan being a little more powerful and aromatic, but ironically with less tannin. The pepperiness was still evident and it is a beautifully made wine by a grower with a great local reputation.

As time was going on, we headed to the newest winery in the region, Castillo Feliciana, set in a beautiful location, surrounded by wines and fields of grain with a tasting room inspired by Southern Spanish Andalucía architecture. The owners are Sam and Deborah Castillo. Feliciana was Deborah’s great aunt and she showed me a photo of her. Deborah’s interest in wine was sparked by memories of going into her great aunt’s purse in search of gum, and being reminded of the smell of leather, roses (from her perfume), slight mustiness and the smell of the gum. The name of the winery means “Castle of Happiess” and that was certainly the feeling I got when visiting.

Sam is a Seattle dentist and they made the decision to go into the wine making business right at the wrong time, as the economy dived in late 2008. Sam had hoped to sell the dental practice but that fell through. Consequently, all funding for he winery has come from their personal savings so this is a huge leap of faith that they hope to hand on to future generations. Retirement is not a slowing down for Sam and Deborah! However the wines are top quality and they certainly deserve to succeed. They have concentrated on Spanish and South American varieties and the Tempranillo is their signature wine. Very complex on the nose and palate, it has aromas of mint, spice and blackberries. The mouth-feel was delightful and the finish long and multidimensional. It would be a perfect accompaniment to tapas!

Feeling rather hungry after this, we headed to the town of Walla Walla and were delighted to find a winery, Sapolil Cellars, who also serve great bistro food and have an outdoor patio for Hopi. The weather was perfect, the house wine delicious and the food excellent. To top it off, a pianist played and the place filled with punters who were on wine trips and basically calling on every winery in town. Great atmosphere and a wonderful end to our Washington trip!

There is something about the combination of lakes, mountains and vineyards that stirs me more than almost any other landscape on earth. Maybe it is because of the experiences I have had in Switzerland and Italy and memories of vacations on Lake Maggiore or the time I spend in Lausanne, overlooking Lake Geneva. Although I love Lake Michigan too, it is more like looking out over an ocean than a lake, it is so big. I like to be able to see mountains on the other side silhouetted against the sky as the sun disappears behind them and is replaced by thousands of lights reflecting off the surface of the water.

Lake Okanagan is the first place in North America that reminds me of the Swiss lakes,  On Tuesday we saw it in its full glory and I fell in love. We drove from our cottage just south of Penticton and headed up the east side of Lake Okanagan to the Naramata Bench, a wine growing area of great distinction. First port of call was Township 7 winery where I met with owner, Mike Raffan and winemaker Brad Cooper. Mike was originally a successful restaurateur who owned restaurants in Vancouver but since his early 20s had wanted to own a vineyard. He was finally able to purchase township 7 in 2006 and has created a boutique label with a sister winery in Langley. Brad, the winemaker, learned his trade at the local college and honed it with time in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand and Washington State. When I asked him about his style, predictably he says that he wants to create a style of wine that is true to the region and not try to emulate European or New World although in reality, he draws from both of those styles to create wines that are truly unique.

I had tasted the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc the day before at dinner and was remarkably impressed with it.  Full-on fruit with a gorgeous, Pouilly Fume-style nose that had bracing acidity yet balanced structure and a long finish showed that this was a wine of great character. On Tuesday they were bottling the 2010 and I tasted it right from the bottling line. This is from the same pedigree but evidently needs time to settle and "calm down" as at that point it seemed a tad too acidic. They, and everyone else in the valley had challenges in the last two vintages and 2011 is also very much behind where they would like to be because of cool, wet weather. 

The 2007 Merlot that I enjoyed later that day is also a very well made wine that again has influences from Right Bank and New World that provide a personality that is unique. Red fruits and a hint of pepper and spice, but not too much make it a perfect food wine and all of Township 7's portfolio is commendable. With prices in Canada being considerably more than the equivalent in USA, their wines are also good value. Owing to some complicated and archaic liquor laws, distribution is a challenge for all Canadian winemakers (a theme we heard repeated many times) and so you are unlikely to find the wine outside of British Columbia which is a shame. However, search it out if you visit as they are distinguished wines that deserve a wider audience.

Further along the Bench is Red Rooster, a winery that looks grander and is larger in scope than many of the other 100 wineries that dot the Okanagan landscape, but is actually still relatively small. The original Swiss owners, Beat and Prudence Mahrer who opened it in 1990 and produced their first vintage in 1997, now own Ruby Tuesday's next door (see below).  They recently sold Red Rooster to Andrew Peller and a young local winemaker, Karen Gillis is at the helm  producing some fine wines that have won international acclaim. The winery is quirky and features unusual art as well as having incredible views up the valley to the Okanagan Lake.

Yesterday was the first and only day of our trip where there is very little to report. We left our Hotel in Lincoln City, Oregon in rain and continued our path up Highway 101 towards Astoria as it continued to pour, at times very heavily. This would be a pretty drive in good weather but there was not much to see this time. At Astoria we headed east along the Columbia River on route 30 and then picked up Interstate 5 which is a soulless highway with little to commend it, and crossed the Columbia into Washington State, the ninth that we have seen in the last two weeks. 

I had hoped that as we headed towards Olympia, the State Capital, that we might see some wineries but alas this area is almost devoid of wine interest, it seems. In retrospect we should have continued up highway 101 and headed east later, across the Olympia Peninsula where there are some vineyards, but with the weather and the slow road, that would have taken us too long and we wanted to get to Vancouver by Sunday afternoon to meet up with Ginnie's son, Joel and his girlfriend, Saxon. 

So we ended up staying at a brand new Best Western in Lacey, WA, just north of Olympia on I5. 

This was the third Best Western Plus that we have frequented and we are impressed with the quality and value. This one only opened in March and so still smelled new, however everything was great and was tremendous value. The full breakfast buffet was the best we have had all trip and the only negative was the inability to connect the WiFi to my MacBook or iPhone. Ginnie connected right away on her modest little Windows Netbook but no luck with the Apple products. Irritating to say the least and I don't know if it is a hotel or Mac issue but it meant I couldn't blog. 

We did watch the Vancouver Canucks play game 5 of the series against Nashville and our Canucks lost by a goal, putting them at 3 games to 2. Now they will have to win on Monday. I only became interested in hockey during the Olympics and went to my first and only NHL game in Vancouver last February, but now I am hooked and cheering the Canucks all the way to the Stanley Cup! 

Today we left our BW hotel and got right on I5. I was careening down the highway along with all the other traffic and asked Ginnie if she knew what the speed limit was. There is no uniformity across states and it gets confusing at times. I am very careful after my ticket in Nebraska, but was driving at 70 when I saw a state patrol car in my mirror. Just then his red lights started to flash. Not again! I pulled over and a very friendly officer who, according to Ginnie had very nice white teeth(!) came to the passenger side. He asked if I knew what the speed limit was and I said I thought it was 70 (as it had been leading up to Lacey). He told me it was only 60 and that it is 60 all the way north. I told him we had just got on the highway after our overnight stop and hadn't seen any signs (which is actually the truth) and my smile or accent or wife or puppy's eyes must have worked in some way as he let me off with a 'have a great day!'

We arrived in Vancouver at about 4:00pm and are staying at the Pan Pacific hotel where Joel got us a good rate. We just got back from dinner with them at an interesting Japanese/Fusion restaurant called The Eatery, celebrating Mother's Day. A quick walk along Kitsilano beach closed the day and we have good Internet access, albeit that we can't both be on at the same time!

Tomorrow we head for the Okanagan valley which we are looking forward to exploring, and the weather forecast is good! 

You never know what you are going to find or whom you are going to meet when you set off on a wine adventure. Today was one of exploration and discovery and turned out to be extremely fulfilling, despite the damp Oregonian weather that has encompassed the region.

Oregon is best known for wines from several distinct areas, most of which either run north to south between the Coastal Range and the Cascade mountains, such as the Willamette and Umpqua Valleys, or at the north of the state running along Columbia Valley sharing the Washington border.  Our hotel is right on the coast, as we wanted to see the dramatic beaches, coves and unspoiled beauty that I have often seen in photographs. The fact is, that grapes just don’t grow along this coastline. It is too cold and wet for them to reach maturity and ripen enough to create viable wine juice, however there is one winery that does make the wine right on the coast, albeit from grapes grown in other parts of the state. That winery is called Flying Dutchman and located 19 miles south of Lincoln City, on a rock promontory that sticks out into the Pacific, high above a natural rock formation called The Devil’s Punchbowl. In fact, this is the most western winery in USA and I met with Assistant Winemaker, Dan High who led me through a tasting and explained the wines to me.

Their distribution is tiny and all of it is sold out of the winery but if you call them, they will ship bottles for personal consumption to any state. They buy grapes from 5 notable vineyards in central and south Oregon and are going through the pressing and fermenting process for the entire month of October. The reds are fermented outside in open-top fermenters where they claim that the salt spray from the ocean acts as a natural flavor enhancer and preservative, allowing them to use very little sulphur (the lowest in the state). The salt also apparently helps with color extraction and the slow cold-soak adds complexity to the mix. Following fermentation, Dan or Winemaker Richard Cutler put the reds in oak barrels for aging (combination of French and Hungarian oak, mostly about 2 years old) and the finished wine is not bottled for several years. They are able to be patient and let the wine age a little before release. While these wines are not necessarily representative of the rest of the state, they are certainly serious products that have won many medals at State level competitions. The prices are reasonable too and there is no sales tax in Oregon.

I loved the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, a grape variety that is not immediately associated with Oregon. It didn’t have the power of a California cab, and it is not trying to be one. It is a great food wine with structure and soft tannins, no noticeable greenness and full black-fruit flavors.

I also tried the 2004 Pinot Noir. My favorite grape of all is a hard one to grow and yet it does well in Oregon with the right handling. This example is soft and delicious. A very feminine wine stylistically that I would think many American palates would find too thin. Not too vegetal on the nose, but distinctively a Pinot Noir.

I brought home a bottle of Pinot Blanc/Riesling blend having tasted it at the winery. Perfect with the seafood that is so abundant here.

As I drove back north to the hotel, I stopped at a lookout to photograph the promontory on which Flying Dutchman Winery is situated and you get an even better impression from that vantage point.

A few miles later, I was driving through the seaside town of Depoe Bay when I saw a “Winery” sign. I stopped to explore. The tasting room is quaint to say the least, so small that it doesn’t even have room for a fridge to chill the whites, and the ceiling is covered with dollar bills that have been signed by the many tourists who have come in and tasted the wines. Depoe Bay Winery is actually a sister tasting room for Nehalem Bay Winery, further north. Laura, the hostess in charge for the day was delightful. She usually works at the other tasting room and lives in Portland and so was not as familiar with this area, but she talked me through the wines and told me the story of the winery.  The owner and winemaker is Ray Shackelford who bought the winery in 1991 after a chance meeting with the original owner in a bar. Ray is  an interesting guy who is in Cambodia at the moment working in an orphanage. But his passion for wine is evident in their offerings that include many varietals and some blends as well as fruit wines.

Just like Flying Dutchman, Depoe bay Winery only sells the wines from the tasting rooms. They are not even available in restaurants, which I think is a shame. Come on local restaurants, support the wineries that are literally up the road from you and offer your patrons the opportunity to buy a bottle with your fantastic seafood!

Finally this evening, we decided to check out a place that looked fun. It is a wine bar/art gallery in Lincoln City called Wine 101. After getting yelled at by a particularly ungracious owner of an adjacent store for parking in “her” parking space (although there were no signs to this effect), we went into the wine bar that was abuzz with patrons of our age, all enjoying conversation, wine and music from a gifted guitarist. The host, Lee Gray, turned out to be a real character and as we got to know him, we found out that he is quite a celebrity himself. Wearing a black apron and a black beret, Lee wears his hair in a braid that goes to his waist. He smiles with one missing tooth and is just as congenial a host as you could ever wish for.

Another patron showed us into an adjoining wine cellar where we were invited to buy any bottle to be served at the bar. These bottles were all at retail pricing and there was a great selection, not only from Oregon but also California and Europe, with prices staring as low as $12 a bottle.

We picked a bottle of 2009 Bruno Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley that at $17 was a bargain, took it to the bar where Lee opened it and brought complimentary homemade herb bread and an amazing dip of hempseed and roasted red peppers. We also ordered an appetizer of baked Brie with Dungeness crab and nettles. Lee had run out of nettles but had made it with wild watercress instead. It was delicious!

On a TV behind us, a video was being played of a Canadian Food Network show about foraging for wild mushrooms; the star of the show, none other than our host, Lee. Turns out that Lee (whose birthday was yesterday like mine, although he is 10 years older) is a gourmet chef who specializes in finding and growing unusual, wild food. He learned that skill in the 80s when he decided to live in a sea cave. In addition to being a wild mushroom authority, he knows a lot about shellfish, herbs, seaweeds and things like ferns. On the bar were jars of his own pickled kelp and fiddlehead ferns, which I tried. On their own they are an acquired taste, but I could imagine them with a plate of antipasti and they would be great. We finished with rum-chocolate filled strawberries and drank our pinot, chatting to locals and people from further away.

In addition to being a chef, TV personality, wine bar tender and host, Lee is also an artist. His work is displayed in another back room and is very eclectic, ranging from pencil drawings, (mostly nudes) to sculptures (mostly female forms) made with glass and found pennies and to Native American style ceremonial weapons. Lee is one fascinating guy!

Every person there had his or her story and this was a wonderful experience. We smiled the whole time. Everyone made us so welcome and as we said goodbye, Lee hugged us both.

This was definitely one of the human highlights of the trip and one that we will remember a long time.