WINERIES! Which is nuts if you know me since I'm not much of a drinker, but my aunt and uncle are visiting from Florida and my uncle looooooooves wine. And guess what? it turns out that even to a not-wine-drinker, wine culture is very interesting. It just is! The mechanics of it, the biology of it, the artistry of it. Deal with it.
Anyway, Oregon has a bunch of wineries in Yamhill county - they produce all sorts of wine, but the region is especially well suited for pinot. This particular day (a Tuesday) was particularly well suited for going on a little driving tour since the weather is/was a delightful October surprise: sunny, warm, AMAZING. The grape leaves are gold against the hillside and FIVE MOUNTAINS (Hood, Adams, Rainier, Jefferson, St. Helens) were visible from the Bald Peak ridge. Five mountains! Of course mountains are hard to take pictures of, somehow. There was a bit of haze in the air, which was like a peek-a-boo invisibility cloak. Hold the camera up, no mountain! Take the camera down: MOUNTAINS LIKE CRAZY.
These photos are all from the Penner-Ash winery, which is a beautiful building beautifully situated on the top of a hill. In my lottery fantasies, one of my houses would be similarly situated. Top photo is from inside looking out. (wine report: uncle says "that's good wine.")
One of the views from outside - the yellow stuff past the tall grass is grapevine turned to gold. Those chairs are made from wine barrels and actually very comfortable - there's even a notch for so you can let go of your wineglass. Mt. Hood was visible to the left but not visible in this picture.
looking back from my barrel chair. This is the exterior to match the first, interior view.
grapes on the way out.
The whole outing was lovely, but I wish there was a way to turn a car into a helicopter or to take a secret tunnel or something because it felt like it took a million years to get home.
