Savoring Sunday
February 24th, 2009 by Rhiannon
Many of Washington County’s wineries host special events on holiday weekends, and this year’s Valentine’s Day was no exception. I headed out with my friend/co-worker Cherie, her hubby Darrell, their twin boys and our friend Ming for a day of fun on the west side of the county. We’d been anxious to test out the wines at the newly-opened Plum Hill Vineyards, and we were very impressed! Juanita and RJ Lint, the owners, had a full flight of six of their own wines and two additional pours from their friends at Thistle Wines in Dundee. They also had a full spread of very yummy food (spicy blue cheese “cake” anyone?), and they invited the folks from L-Bar-T Bison Ranch to offer samples of their pepperoni, summer sausage and jerky. The tasting room is so homey and comfortable that we could have stayed all day, but alas, other wineries were calling our names!
Our next stop was Montinore Estate, always a favorite of mine. A tasting there consists of any five wines from their extensive list, and we all had our own opinions on the perfect combination. My favorite is their Ruby, a Pinot Noir port that makes me want to curl up in front of a crackling fire. Lovely.
Another quick drive led us to SakéOne, where we enjoyed their “For the Love of Nigori” exotic chocolate and saké pairings. My favorite saké (as usual) was the Coconut Lemongrass, and we all LOVED the Domori Latte Sal chocolate from Italy. The Japanese atmosphere must have inspired Cherie, because in the middle of our tasting she suggested we make our next stop dinner at Syun Izakaya in Hillsboro. It sounded like a great idea, so off we went. We ordered a ton of sushi, hand rolls, sashimi and tempura, and we managed to eat most of it! It was a perfect way to wrap up a lovely day with friends.
By Julia Adam
Tags: bison ranch, Forest Grove, Hillsboro, L-Bar-T, Montinore, Plum Hill, SakeOne, Syun, wineries in oregon, wineries in washington county
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