Weekends in Dundee

Join us as we explore Willamette Valley Wine Country one weekend at a time!

Archives for November 2014

The Perfect Afternoon at De Ponte Cellars

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When my college teammate Julie flies in from Atlanta, we always manage to uncover something new and wonderful about wine country! This trip was no different as we spent all weekend bouncing around Dundee.

As you may remember, The Renaissance Man and I volunteered at the Fueled by Fine Wine Half Marathon early this Spring. As part of the event, we received free tasting cards to a variety of vineyards supporting the event. We’ve slowly been working our way through the free tastings and I am oh so thankful that I waited to use the tastings at De Ponte Cellars!

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Happy Turkey Day to You!

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Doesn’t Thanksgiving feel like the culmination of all things fall?

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I’m looking forward to a house full of family and friends, the smell of Thanksgiving spices wafting from the kitchen, pumpkin pie, and a nice brisk walk in the park to cap off the day. With all that said, I actually have to wait one more day for Thanksgiving…we’ll be hosting our FIRST Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Today my agenda includes cleaning the house, helping The Renaissance Man chop and slice all the necessary items, and taking a few moments to enjoy some tea and read a book. We may even sneak out to a winery or two to kick-off Wine Country Thanksgiving!

We have so many things to be thankful for…Gobble! Gobble!

Daffodils for Spring

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I spent this past weekend digging, planting, digging, and planting…and planting some more…

If you love daffodils, crocuses, tulips, hyacinths, or irises, now is the time of year to get those bulbs into the ground! Last fall I had the chance to plant daffodils and tulips in the front yard during our stay-cation honeymoon, and I was surprised how much joy they brought as they popped out of the ground this Spring.

Such happy daffodils!

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A Different Kind of Dundee Home

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I was out doing some yard work this weekend and the number of spider homes in our yard was simply impressive. I’m not sure if I was just more attune to their presence or if our backyard transformation has become the “bed and breakfast” of the spider world.

At any rate, I felt compelled to snap a bunch of photos, but what are you suppose to do with photos of spider webs? Writing a simple haiku seemed to fit the bill…enjoy my poem!

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Growing Lettuce All Winter

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At the end of the summer I became very overwhelmed with how big our first garden had become, and one afternoon I made a rash decision to clear it all out.

No. More. Garden! Of course it felt great in the moment, and then I almost immediately regretted my decision. I missed having fresh greens to eat with dinner…

So two weeks ago, I decided to do some experimenting with a winter garden. I had been looking online and originally was planning to construct a makeshift greenhouse over the whole bottom section of the garden, but I knew that I didn’t really need that much space. Instead, as I was walking down the isle in the grocery store and a set of clear storage tubs called out to me, the tubs seemed to be the perfect solution to my problem!

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Olio Nuovo at the Oregon Olive Mill

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Have you every wondered how olive oil is made? And did you know that we have our very own olive mill right in the heart of Oregon Wine Country!?

I was lucky enough to spend last Tuesday morning exploring the Oregon Olive Mill. I felt like I was on a live version of the Food Network show Unwrapped, but instead of learning about how candy is made, I was watching beautiful olives turned into the most aromatic golden oil.

The Oregon Olive Mill is part of the Red Ridge Farm property and is tucked back on a hillside overlooking the lavender mounds and olive orchards.

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A Warm Fireplace Awaits at Mystic Wines

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We spent Sunday afternoon bumping around the Willamette Valley wine tasting with friends. We had no real plans except to eventually pick up our wine shipment. If you truly enjoy wine and happen to be lucky enough to find a winery that you absolutely love, becoming a member makes total sense.

Being a wine club member means you typically receive two to three shipments a year each containing four to six bottles of wine. You pay for the wine at cost and then can visit the winery whenever you like and receive a set amount of free tastings for you and your guests. Wine members are also treated to special member events and often get first and last picks of popular wines.

Our friends are members at Mystic Wines which is located just outside of downtown Amity, and we were treated to free tastings on a cold and cloudy afternoon. I miss summer, but I sure do enjoy this type of fall weather!

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The Blue Goat Brunch!

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Every once in a while, I have to pinch myself when we make plans to go wine tasting on a Sunday afternoon. Nothing beats a day exploring the Willamette Valley, and we are so fortunate that we’ve found ourselves in the heart of wine country. We love living in Dundee!

On Sunday morning we jumped in the car and headed southwest to the the town of Amity. Despite clouds and rain all week, the sun was peaking out between the clouds and the fall leaves were putting on quite a show! I’ve been trying to convince The Renaissance Man that we need to plant an Oregon Vine Maple on our side yard, so I took the opportunity to point them out on our drive…I may have also been obsessively snapping pictures!?

We met our friends around noon at The Blue Goat, which they highly recommended!

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