A Blooming Hill Vineyard

We have the best dogs – everybody said so this weekend!  Really, the focus of the weekend extravaganza here in our corner of wine paradise was for people to be able to visit the wineries in North Willamette Valley that are closer to Portland and Beaverton and not (yet) as well visited as those in wine country. 

I can tell you that it worked!  We probably have the tiniest tasting room in the county, if not the state; so small that more than 5 people and it is crowded.  We had about 150 people visit over the two days and, laws of gathering what they are, people usually came in clusters so there was always someone here and, often, it was at least five people at the same time, if not more!

Luckily, the weather was good so people could wander around on the patio and, since Jim was doing wine-making demonstrations in the winery itself, groups tended to self distribute.  We LOVED meeting everyone and we loved watching our two dogs take charge.  Gemini and Trouble don’t actually bark, which is a good thing.  (Well, they do bark but only when they go out at night before retiring and do what Jim calls a “bark-around” warning less welcome critters to stay away for the night.) 

Trouble, however, can look a little intimidating with his gigantic Pit Bull head at the end of his lanky, Boxer body.  I’ve had delivery people call me from their trucks to ask if the dog standing at their door is friendly.  He is and his wagging rear gives that away.  He doesn’t wag his tail so much as he wags the entire back half of his body.  To be sure people felt secure, Jim had the idea to put a bandana around the dogs’ necks.  Trouble got hot pink and Gemini got pale pink.  Trouble took one look at Gemini’s accessory and removed it; but, not out of mischief we think, but because he wanted to be the sartorial star.  And he was.  They both were busy all day long meeting cars, escorting groups up and down from the winery to the tasting room, obligingly doing all their tricks.  They looked, for all the world, as if they were making suggestions … “You should really try that Pinot. We love it….”

I hope it was the wine that curried favor all weekend and allowed us to sell what we did but, in truth, I think the dogs helped!  They definitely slept well each night – see photo above! 

Thank you to everyone who visited.  We’re so glad you got to meet us, the dogs and that we had a chance to serve you our wines!

This first event, part of the Chehalem Mountains AVA Tour & Taste, was so much fun for us.  One of the things I totally love about Jim is his pride of place.  Before the weekend, we talked about the interior clean up of the winery – you know, wipe off the tile surface on the sink, get the workers’ coffee pot out of there – so I was so surprised when I walked out of there and saw that Jim already had everything swept off, wiped down, washed and sparkly and all the doors graciously wide open.  It was so nice.

We didn’t really expect many people to show up because we are pretty far off the beaten path of most of the Chehalem Mountain AVA wineries … but we did have some guests and it was thrilling and exciting.  So this is a little thank you to all of you who made the trip.  We loved meeting you.  We loved talking to you so much that I can see we’ll want to invite you back to dinner so we can spend a lot more time with you.  And they’ll have to add hours in the day if I’m going to have time to get to know everybody who ultimately visits us at the winery!

The wine seems to have gotten high marks from everyone who tasted it!  I did finally have to take Jim by the shoulders and make him stop coming up with reasons why people were “probably just saying that” and tell to him to just, even for 5 seconds, enjoy the fact that he makes good wine!  What a worry wart.  The chardonnay, which is different than what most people are used to, really hit a good note and will actually be the first wine we can sell in about 6 – 8 months.  Not surprisingly to me, we did give a few people a taste of the glorious Blackberry Port Jim makes and they loved it.  One man handed his wife the car keys and said “Pick me up on Monday!”  We loved that.  Of course, Jim makes the port just for us so it won’t be for sale, even though I’ve tried to persuade him that it will fill a very nice little niche….I’ll keep working on him.

There was an added thrill this weekend.  A few months ago, through a story in the AARP magazine about people who work after “retirement”, I reconnected with friends from the early days of my last marriage in the 1970s.  In fact, these people were neighbors of my late husband and, I found out on Sunday night, actually sold him the land to build his house.  They still live in Connecticut and were out here visiting their Portland son and family and came for dinner on Sunday.  Really, I cried.  John, as luck would have it, used to be a wine importer.  To say he is straightforward with his opinion would be a huge understatement so we were nervous about what he might say of the wine.  So you can imagine my delight when he started figuring out how much we would earn from a very nice wholesale price-point he chose!  More than that, though, it was the perfect end to the perfect weekend event for us – warm people, warm reunions, new friends and the sense that everybody wants this to be a success.  Jim’s dream of being a good steward to the earth and its servant in producing its bounty is that much closer to reality!

Somehow, I missed getting a shot of our friends John and Nanette.  I’ll get one from them and attach it later.  In the meantime, here are Jim and Gemini pretty much wiped out after two busy days!