Columbia Gorge, OR
After seeing Horsetail Falls, I knew I wanted to see as many of the area’s falls as we could squeeze in. One of our Columbia Gorge guide’s outlined a 12 mile hike that sounded amazing. After packing up camp, we managed to get to the Eagle Creek trail head a little after nine am and embarked on what may be my favorite hike ever. The fern lined trail followed the path of the creek and was often interrupted by small falls or bubbling brooks. I had read that the trail had a 1600 foot elevation change, yet it was so gradual I could barely tell we were climbing until we looked down at the creek below.
After 1 ½ miles, we encountered Metlako Falls, the first large falls of the hike. A tall, yet narrow falls poured off the east side of the mountains into Eagle Creek. After another half mile, we saw a sign for lower Punchbowl Falls. A short spur led us down to the top of the lower portion. Walking as far upstream as larger creek rocks would carry us, Upper Punchbowl Falls revealed itself. Moss covered cliffs lined the bowl shaped canyon, the falls swirling through a depression in the south end. Tall firs rose off the tops of the cliffs, the light shining through casting ethereal light on the canyon and water.
Apparently most people turn around at this point, but of course we wanted to see more. A little more than a mile later, Lowitt Falls spilled almost 100 feet down the cliff walls entering a small pool before continuing down another short drop into Eagle Creek. Here Lowitt Falls met the base of the more turbulent High Bridge Falls. A little further upstream, we crossed High Bridge walking 150 feet above the creek. We could hear the rush of another falls and glimpsed Skoonichuk Falls through the trees. After a couple of attempts we found a path to the water that offered a better look of the two-tiered falls. The trail continued through several campsites before we crossed the creek on a more modest bridge. Although Grand Union Falls would be a destination in itself on any other hike, it was barely worth a pause after several miles of incredible falls and in anticipation of Tunnel Falls.
I knew we must be close as I first heard the roar of the falls. The narrow trail appeared to be carved out of the cliff itself as we began the section of the route known as Vertigo Mile. We barely noticed the 100 foot drop below as Tunnel Falls appeared surging almost 200 feet down the velvety emerald cliff walls. About halfway up from the base, the trail continued right up to the side of the falls then disappeared into an actual tunnel dug out behind the falls. I emerged from the tunnel a little giddy. Then the spray hit my face, and I felt the power of the falls thunder past. The rush of the falls, the rush in my blood, I stood there just soaking in the moment, the surroundings, the feeling. I met Mike at a good vantage point and together we took in the awesome sight. A passerby encouraged us to walk another third of a mile to see Twister Falls. Holding onto cables, the trail became narrower and higher as it wound around sheer cliff walls. After a few minutes, we reached the apex of Twister Falls. At the crest, a large rock divided the creek as it spilled down crisscrossing before plunging into a valley so narrow that the base was lost from view. I was able to ride the high from the experience the whole six miles back to the car. The hike took over five hours but it was absolutely worth every step.
After a quick bite to eat, we drove into the town of Hood River for some beer and wine tasting. I had really enjoyed Springhouse Cellars Syrah at the Blues and Brews Festival and was eager to taste some of their other wine. Strangely a Thomas the Train festival was set up in front of the winery, but luckily the tasting room was void of Thomas enthusiasts. Cary, the winemaker, was on-site and the tasting room host escorted us down into the barrel room to meet him. We sipped on a yummy Sauvignon Blanc while discussing their wine and the local industry. A couple bottles of wine in tow, our next stop was Big Horse Brew Pub. As we looked out onto the Columbia River, Mike enjoyed yet another sampler tray. Soon a little exhaustion began to set in and we headed west to our hotel.
We pulled up to McMenamin’s Edgefield, a beautiful old estate and farm that has been converted to a winery, brewery, hotel and spa. Several people sat on the rambling front porch, beverages in hand. After checking into our room, we went straight to the heated soaking pool. After the long hike, it was wonderful to sit in the pool. I with a glass of wine and Mike with a cold beer, we couldn’t have planned it better. After a long soak, we showered and visited the Edgefield Tasting Room. We relaxed at a small table in the candlelit room and enjoyed an offering of their red wines. They were all smooth and nicely layered, and we bought several bottles to take home. Besides the tasting room, several bars and restaurants also lie on the property allowing easy bar hopping for the evening. Jerry’s Ice House, a tribute to the Grateful Dead was Mike’s favorite, and I finally had to drag him away for a late dinner before all the kitchens closed. Although most of the bars were still open after our meal, we were fighting off sleep and had to call it quits.
After a great night’s rest, we began the day back at the soaking pool. We checked out of our room at the last possible minute then walked the beautifully landscaped grounds before enjoying an early lunch on the patio. We wanted to visit a couple more waterfalls before driving into the city.
Thirty minutes east of Portland, Multnomah Falls is the tallest waterfall in Oregon and the second tallest in the US. All of this combined with a parking lot just north of the fall’s base explained the hundreds of people swarming the area. The falls were absolutely majestic yet I felt the crowds detracted from the experience. I was so glad we had taken the quieter hike the previous day and experienced the more serene side of the Columbia Gorge Waterfalls. Trying to tune out the sounds of whiny children, we climbed up to the bridge for a better look. A path continued another mile to the top of the falls, but Mike and I were ready to escape the masses.
Bridal Veil Falls was last on the list. Located a few minutes east of Multnamoh Falls, the small parking lot was not even half full. I chuckled at how many people probably drive out to just see the one waterfall when the area has so many to offer. A half mile trek led us to a great vantage of the 120 foot falls, evenly divided into two levels. The water did almost look lacy as it cascaded into the brook below. A kiss to my husband at this romantic spot and a kiss good-bye to the awe-inspiring Columbia Gorge! I will come back someday.
Eagle Creek Trailhead: https://goo.gl/maps/FcXirpNZKQp
A few miles outside San Juan Batista we found a beautiful venue nestled between smalls hills of vines. I know a lot of people prefer not to visit vineyards in January as the vines are sans grapes and being pruned. I personally find it an awesome time to visit as the crowds are usually less. And even with the bare vines, Léal was beautiful. We walked through an enclosed brick patio directly into the tasting room. Huge doors essentially make up the entrance wall. On this gorgeous day, the doors stood open almost creating the illusion that we were outside. Angela, the tasting room manager, warmly welcomed us before doing a double take at seeing my husband back again. “He was really impressed,” I explained with a smile. I handed her my industry card and she excitedly grabbed us glasses while chatting with me about the winery at which I work.
The tasting consisted of all 2007 vintages, and we started with their Chardonnay, simultaneously crisp and creamy. It was very nice, but all four of us were excited that the rest of the wines were red. The Pinot and the newer Threesome were both tasty. My level of impression only grew as we tasted the Franc Five and the Carnavál Meritage. The 2006 Carnavál was another wine I had previously enjoyed; however the 2007 was amazing. Berry notes give way to chocolate and coffee all balanced with a round mouthfeel. This was my kind of wine, and I figured my favorite of the day. Then the 2007 Cabernet was poured. Rachel immediately began to sing its praises. Mike and I had ventured to Napa the weekend before and drank some good Cabs. However, we both agreed that this $32 bottle was better than any Napa Cabernet under $50. Mike even commented that he was not sure we had one better, though I think Rubicon may have it beat. Regardless it was delicious. We purchased several bottles of various wines (at a substantial Industry discount), and Angela opened a bottle of the Cab for us to enjoy on site.
Mike had enthusiastically explained that the beautiful grounds included lots of tables, two bocce ball courts and grand outdoor fireplaces. Mike and Mike checked out a set of bocce balls from Angela, while Rachel and I set up a picnic of cheese, salami, crackers, fruit, and olives. The dogs’ mouths watered at our snacks, while our mouths watered as Mike poured us generous glasses of the wine. We dug into the food all the while discussing this fabulous winery. When the two Mikes began their bocce ball game, Rachel and I basked in the afternoon sun, relaxing and laughing. I love days when my biggest worry is that our puppy, Ries, chewed through his leash wrapped around my chair. And even that was pretty funny.
Inside a pretty ranch style house, we found a beautiful yet modest tasting room. A few other customers were sipping wine at the copper bar. I was delighted to notice that the James Cole logo vaguely resembled the Texas longhorn. I was feeling much more at home than at Darioush. Lisa, the tasting room manager, took great care of us while we enjoyed the boutiques wines. We were both really impressed with the Malbec and the Il Mostro, a Petite Sirah and Zinfandel blend. Both were quite pricey but we decided to buy the Il Mostro. I asked how much longer I could lay down the 2006 vintage. Lisa recommended about five more years and I explained to Mike that I would save this until a major Longhorn victory. I now regret not getting a good “Hook “Em” photo in the tasting room.
At this point, we probably should have called it quits for the day, but Mike was interested in trying a place called the Wine Garage in Calistoga. “We’re going to drive right by in anyway.” Housed in an old gas station, the Wine Garage is a retail wine store that also makes a few wines of their own. And there is no pretense in this eclectic tasting room, their two most popular blends are sold in half gallon jugs pumped out of kegs into the jugs or your glass by a gas pump nozzle. This was a first for me, and I have to admit that I was surprised that I liked, really liked the Bordeaux Blend. Would a true wine snob, say the same? Maybe not, but this Cork Dork is willing to admit when a wine is nothing else but good.
Winery links:
The week after Christmas, one of Mike’s best friends from high school, also named Mike, and his wife Katie, came to visit. They were making a trip from San Francisco to Las Vegas and spent a few days with us in Monterey. In order to get them a little closer to Vegas, we decided to go to Paso Robles and spend the day and night before they set off on their long drive to Sin City. My Mike wanted to share a couple wineries with Mike K., and I put together a list of a few others we wanted to try.
Just down the road we met Katie and Mike at Four Vines’s Cypher Winery tasting room. My Mike and I had been here before and their blend of Zinfandel, Syrah and Mourvedre called Anarchy may just be my all-time favorite wine. The eclectic tasting room hosts some other blends I love such as the Monarchy and the Peasantry. We started with the Naked Chardonnay, whose first vintage was the first non-oaked Chardonnay made in California. We then moved on to the big, bad reds. The line-up included my favorites as well as the Loco Tempranillo and the ZinBitch. All the wines were great and I was ecstatic that the latest vintage of Anarchy was all that I hoped it would be. We purchased several bottles of wine before having lunch at the Farmstand 46 deli next door. Luckily the rain subsided enough for us to eat our yummy sandwiches outside with the pups.
We checked into our hotel and consolidated into one car just as the sky opened up once again. Our next stop was Calcareous, a winery that’s been on my “To Do list” for awhile. The driveway wound up to a hill top tasting room. We tried not to be disappointed by the weather as we could only imagine the majestic views awarded on a clear day. I was delighted to discover the owner was one of the pourers as this always enriches a tasting experience. The wines lived up to their hype. Mike loved the cherry and chocolatey Cabernet, which was superb but I picked the more complex Meritage as the tasting’s winner. In the end, these two bottles plus their Tres Violet, GSM, joined our growing stash. We shook hands with the owner and vowed to come back to unwind on a beautiful day.
We saved one of my husband’s all-time favorite tasting rooms, Chronic Cellars, for last. We had bought a couple of bottles of their Dead Nuts Zin when we lived in San Diego. Mike enjoyed the wine so much that he had ridden his motorcycle down there shortly after we moved to Monterey. Besides the unique tasting room which includes a pool table, their prices are fantastic and the wines are smooth, fruity and yummy. I knew he was the most eager about sharing this experience with his old friend. With its skull and cross bones logo, Chronic markets to the new generation of wine drinkers. Chronic Cellars’ popularity was obvious as they were sold out of most of their vintages and were still waiting to release the next batch. 
We tried the Sofa King Suite Riesling and the Sofa King Bueno, a red blend of six or seven grapes. The Purple Paradise, mostly Zin with a little Syrah, was utterly smooth beginning with strawberries complemented with herbs and pepper before ending in vanilla. We bought a bottle of that to enjoy while Mike and Mike played a game of pool. Katie and I nestled into the corner booth reflecting on the deliciousness of the day. Despite the rain, a day with good friends and good wine is nothing but Sofa King Suite.
I have wanted to go to San Francisco for years. Since Mike and I got married we knew at some point we would live in Monterey, so we decided to wait. Since moving within two hours from the City on the Bay, our plans to visit have gotten delayed for one reason or another. Finally, Mike and I had booked a room on this long Veterans Day Weekend. There was just one wrinkle. A week earlier an unexpected ten week old puppy had found his way into our lives. A miniature version of our older dog had been brought to the winery where I work. He has been tossed from a car at an intersection and rescued by one of our wine club members. We were not looking to get another dog, but I could not resist taking the little guy home. In honor of his winery roots, we named him Riesling with the nickname Ries (pronounced Reese). We were boarding Harley, but Ries was too young and all of our friends had weekend get-away plans too. I called the hotel and confirmed they were dog-friendly. However, Mike and I wondered if we were crazy to attempt to take a non-housebroken puppy to a hotel and to our romantic weekend. I didn’t want to postpone our trip yet again and with the weather report predicting sunny skies and temperatures in the seventies, we decided to take our chances.
“Let’s go to Rogue Ales,” Mike suggested. And I realized that he had no problem carrying the dog uphill to a park that was around the corner from a brewery I knew he hoped to visit. Luckily they had an outdoor patio that was dog-friendly as well as food since it was well past lunch. Mike sampled several beers, and I munched on a sandwich. My husband had been wise and threw a dog toy in his pocket. The teething puppy chewed on that so everyone was content relaxing in the sun. Yet, we knew the puppy was going to limit our options and we were both a little worried about how the weekend would unfold. We had already bought tickets to Alcatraz and knew we could not take him with us.
We entered what I will call the more legitimate area of China Town. The sidewalks were crammed with people of all Asian ethnicities and grocery stores full of interesting items lined the streets. It was obvious when we entered the tourist district as the hustle and bustle was replaced with tourists leisurely window shopping for clothes, handbags, and souvenirs. The number of Chinese decorations increased yet the authentic feeling of these streets decreased. Finding a dog friendly restaurant in China Town proved to be a bit difficult and there was nothing to be found in the more authentic blocks. However, we finally found a place on the main drag that allowed us to bring Ries up onto their narrow second floor balcony. The food was still very good, and we stuffed our faces as it was much closer to dinner than lunch. I was grateful for the long walk back to the hotel as I needed to work of some of the meal. The temperature was dropping as the sun was sitting low in the sky. Ries began to shiver, so Mike placed him inside his jacket with his little head peeking out. At that moment, I realized how much Mike loved that little guy and was reminded of how much I loved my husband.
I consulted the map and decided my best option was to meander over Lombard Street, one of the Most Crookedest Streets in America. It was very crooked, but kind of cheesy. I could not help but sympathize with the homeowners as throngs of tourists were driving and walking this one block residential stretch of road. A cable car stop was at the top of the street and I loved that being alone meant that it was easier to find a spot on the side than if I was with a group. I rode a few of the cable car routes feeling like a total dork, but also grinning from ear to ear. It was a quintessential San Francisco experience that I didn’t want to miss.
After a wonderful relaxing evening including a soak in the hot tub, we woke to another fabulous day. We planned on visiting two wineries then driving west to Point Reyes National Seashore. While doing research on dog-friendly wineries in Sonoma, I had discovered Mutt Lynch winery, a small appointment only tasting room. Harley, Mike and I loaded the car for our 11 am appointment. We arrived a little early,and the winery was deserted. We took a stroll through the vineyards and even nibbled on some grapes. “Why do I like the taste of Merlot grapes more than Cabernet when I feel just the opposite about the wine?” I was thinking when Brenda Lynch, the owner pulled up. She opened the simple barn/ tasting room and invited the three of us in. A simple bar was set up near the entrance while the back was occupied with barrels and steel drums. Drawings of dogs and pup- covered-MuttLynch memorabilia decorated the wall Brenda explained that they donate a portion of their proceeds to the SPCA and their wine club shipments also come with dog toys. We began the tasted with the Unleashed Chardonnay that I really liked, but was tickled by the fact the grapes came from Monterey. Next we sampled the Chateau d’Og Cabernet, a yummy 100% French Oaked wine with a fantastic $13.99 price point. I especially liked the Canis Major Zinfandel with its wonderful nose and great mouthfeel boasting chocolate, vanilla and spice. We finished the tasting with the Rusty Muttitage a blend of Cabernet, Petite Verdot and Petite Sirah layered with berries and coffee. The wines were great and so were the prices.
The last winery we visited was Matrix, located in Northern Russian River Valley. My winemaker friend had highly recommended it, and boy were we glad that we ventured off course a little to discover this gem. Mike and I both agree this may be one of the best tasting rooms we have experienced. After our hostess welcomed us, she asked what we liked to help us narrow down what we wanted to taste. I responded, “I am a sucker for fruit forward wines with spice and vanilla.” She laughed, “You came to the right place.”
After checking into our hotel, we purchased some cheese, olives, salami, and fresh bread and headed to North Beach, one of the dog friendly beaches. Point Reyes is a huge area with the interior occupied by 100 year old dairy farms. The coastline is rugged and dramatic. I knew from my research that it was usually chilly and shrouded in fog, but the weekend forecast promised warm temperatures and sunny skies. We could not have asked for a better weekend to visit.
Bella Winery is one of the last wineries along Sonoma’s Dry Creek Wine Trail. We had decided to begin our tastings here and then make our way back to our hotel. The tasting room at Bella is located inside a series of caves, which was very cool, physically and metaphorically. Mike and Harley, our dog, relaxed at a picnic table on the lawn, while I brought out our first tasting from the bar. The lawn overlooked the vineyards and was littered with lounge chairs and to our surprise hula hoops. Although I am not a fan of sharing a winery with obnoxious drunk people, the addition of hula hoops could definitely improve a lush’s entertainment level. As it was early afternoon, I think we were a bit early to witness anyone’s talent or lack thereof. Besides Mike still found something to laugh at when I pulled a small plastic cup from a stack out of my purse and used it to spit my tastings into. Our plan was to hit several wineries that afternoon, “I can either spit the wine out or throw it up later,” I said reminding him of one previous wine tasting experience. “Didn’t that happen twice?” He responded with a grin. I answered with another spit of Chardonnay in a cup. He laughed, grabbed the glasses and headed back inside for more wine.
Our next stop was Truett Hurst Winery which like most wineries in Dry Creek specialized in Zinfandels. It was very interesting to taste four different Zins in a row and even more fun to try to pick a favorite. We settled on the 2006 Three Vineyards Zinfandel with its jammy fruit flavors balanced with pepper and earth. However, the 2008 Burning Man Petite Sirah, with chocolate, pepper and clove notes, was my favorite in the line-up. Mike fell in love with their Dessert Wine. So three more bottles were headed for the cooler. Before we left, our hostess encouraged us to walk Harley down to Dry Creek. Behind the Tasting Room and past a beautiful garden, ran the creek. We waded in the creek and eyed the chairs, thinking about how we had found another great place to waste away the afternoon.
Just down the road, we pulled into the parking lot at Maurtison Winery and were greeted by two big yellow labs. Knowing these were just the kind of dogs that Harley would try to hump, we rolled down the windows and headed into the sleek and modern tasting room without the pup. The tasting menu boasted a broad line-up including a couple Whites, several Zins, a Cab, Malbec, Syrah, Petite Sirah and more. While sipping our first wines, I noticed a jar on the bar filled with beakers. I asked the tasting host, and he brought the soil samples to us explaining how many different types of soil were on their almost 300 acres. The samples ranged from chalky to red soils to loam. The geographer in me was fascinated to see the differences in the soil while tasting the differences in the yummy wine. After yet another terrific tasting and complete with two more bottles of Zinfandel , we said good-bye to the labs , Chelsea and Soho , and headed to Wilson Winery.
Redwoods and Wine 