We love the wood fired pizza made by the wonderful people at Red Hills Market! So when The Renaissance Man saw a flier for a pizza making class led by Red Hills Market, paired with a wine tasting at Winter’s Hill Vineyard, we reserved a spot and marked our calendars. Saturday was such a beautiful day and it was our first time visiting Winter’s Hill Vineyard.

Winter’s Hill Vineyard is located in the Dundee Hills, and as you drive toward the tasting room you meander down Hilltop Lane past thirty-five acres of sustainably farmed vineyards. What really struck me were the breathtaking views looking out southwest toward McMinnville.

We knew we had arrived at the right place when we saw the mobile pizza oven parked out front with wine and pizza enthusiasts gathered around a table rolling out dough.

We went inside to check in and explore the tasting room. When you walk in, you’re greeted with rows upon rows of stacked wine barrels. And as my eyes adjusted from the hot sunlight to the cool tasting room we grabbed our first tasting and were treated to a sampling of The Beautiful Pig’s delicious charcuterie. 

We met The Beautiful Pig’s owner Christopher Leach and learned that he supplies Red Hills Market with the tasty meats they use in all sorts of dishes. The Beautiful Pig sources all of its pork locally from Carlton Farms and we purchased a package of Soppressata and Spanish Style Chorizo.

After making our way through the white wines, and into the reds we headed outside to start our pizza making class. Here I am “pre-pizza flour” mess.

We started with balls of dough that we pressed and rolled, and stretched, and pressed some more. I had a bit of trouble with my first ball of dough, but managed to get my second one into a somewhat circular shape. I hear practice makes perfect! 

The Renaissance Man handled pizza assembly like a pro. I have a feeling he’s done this a time or two. We dressed the pizzas with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, Hot Coppa from The Beautiful Pig, finishing salt from Jacobsen Salt Co., olive oil from the Oregon Olive Mill, and fresh basil. It was such a treat to be eating so many locally sourced ingredients; we make great food in Oregon!

Sam did a great job teaching the pizza making class! He may or may not be responsible for making my pizza look somewhat normal! ha!  We visit Red Hills Market quite a bit, and The Renaissance Man is always getting recommendations from Sam about new beers to try, specials on the menu, and upcoming events. 

Given that both The Renaissance Man and I were athletes in college, you had to know this was coming…

The 2014 Battle of the Pizzas!

Always a competition! My pizza is on the left, and The Renaissance Man’s pizza is on the right, feel free to vote on a winner in the comments section.

It was a lovely day to enjoy pizza, wine, beautiful views, and the company of other wine connoisseurs. Such a serene setting looking out over the valley. We’ll be coming back to visit very soon!

Certainly a day to remember one slice of pizza at a time!