Dominio IV — Our first stop coming in from the coast, we didn’t get a chance to taste on our last trip so Eric wanted to make this place a priority. We arrived to a small crowd that quickly thinned out about about 15 minutes. We split a tasting but our pourer was happy to give us some samples off list as we put together our order. We decided to join the wine club to get the tasting fee waived and an 18% discount on a case of wine they would ship complimentary to NC. Editor’s Note: We did this tasting in mid-September but the wine did not arrive until the day after Thanksgiving and half the bottles were the wrong vintage. They corrected the mistake (and let us keep the incorrect wine) but we’ll have to see if they can iron out the mistakes and delays in the future.)
Our order: 2013 Syrah ‘Spellbound’ no.7, 2017 ‘Inverse’ Viognier/Syrah, 2015 Viognier ‘Still Life,’ 2015 Viognier ‘Glass House,’ 2015 Syrah ‘Song of the Uncaged Bird,’ 2013 Temp-Syrah ‘Technicolor Bat,’ 2014 Pinot Noir ‘Rain on Leaves’
Hyland Estates — Although we had a free tasting for two card from our nearby B&B, Hyland was hosting their pickup weekend so it was a set price of $20 per tasting. Each couple split one and with the amount of snacks being passed around, it would up being a great deal! Plus, we got to meet Zeph Shepard, owner of Proletariat Butchery in Portland who was doing a delicious steak grilling demo (with lots of samples) featuring a custom-forged flambadou for drizzling rendered beef fat!
Argyle Winery — A favorite of ours for their sparkling wine, we reserved a member’s tasting that wound up being just the four of us passing the time in the Spirit House tasting room with our lovely host, [look up name]. As always, the experience was relaxed, informative and delicious.
We returned again the next day for a member’s pickup party and enjoyed some free food, flights of bubbles, and sunshine.
Erath Winery — Our longest wine club membership in the valley, we dropped in briefly on Friday for a regular tasting, knowing the Member’s Day on Sunday would be more hectic and only the Club Member wines would be open. We snagged a table right in front so we could people watch and have easy access to our next pour. We skipped many of the snacks because we had lunch reservations but you could easily fill up with the available offerings. In addition to our wine club shipment, we ordered a case of the 2017 rose that was on special.
