McMinnville to the Oregon Coast with Wineries Along the Way

---

After a good nights sleep, we had a nice breakfast at Hotel Oregon. Sweetiepie had baked eggs with ham and sweet cream, really good. I had an omelet with cheddar, sausage, mushroom, and spinach. We checked out of the hotel after a walk around downtown and visit to health food store where Ahole was trying to find cookies or candy bar, with no luck...haha! Our first winery stop was at Coeur de Terre. A lovely, small winery that's only about 14 years old. We were greeted by Jack, a tail wagging, Labrador mix. The friendly staff informed us that they were in three (3) Atlanta restaurants: Restaurant Eugene, Wisteria and also Rathbuns, as well as Whole Foods. We tasted several wines including a Riesling, Pinot Gris and three (3) different Pinot Noirs. We liked all of the tastings and really enjoyed talking with Luke who provided the commentary and history. We bought a bottle of Estate Pinot Noir 2009 and Pinot Gris 2011. Next stop was Maysara (a Luke recommendation), another 14 year old winnery that sits on 550 acres with 250 planted with grapes. Their one (1) acre building is still under construction, with the tasting room already finished. They are a Demeter Certified Biodynamic winery which means they use holistic farming practices that includes earth's cycles and natural preparations without artificial fertilizers, pesticides or fungicides. Owned by a Persian family, their concentration is on the pinot noir grape. We tasted six (6) different ones with each having very distincitive qualities. We purchased the 2009 Jamsheed Pinot Noir, which has hints of tobacco and dark fruits to produce a burst of zest. From here we headed to the Oregon Coast. What a different type of view where ocean meets land. Lots of trees, rock and mountains. Stopping at Boiler Bay, we had the chance viewing of 2 large whales (talk about timing), one local next to me stated she came here all the time and had never seen them (check out the video!). Continuing on we drove through the seaside towns of Lincoln City, Depoe Bay, and Newport, where we had lunch at Mo's. This restaurant has five locations on the Oregon coast. We ate at the original and were very pleased. Sweetie had cabbage and shrimp salad with creamy Italian dressing. Also, a shrmip salad sandwich was very tasty. I had the famous clam chowder with lots of bacon, heavy cream and butter. It was delicious! Fresh halibut was breaded and fried and very good. From here we continued southward with several stops of breathtaking views including Cape Perpetua, a recommendation from Sweetie's birthday twin, Debbie. In Florence, we turned from the coast onto Highway 126 toward Eugene. After lunch, we had been listening to the Braves one game playoff with the Cardinals. It was in Florence where the outfield umpire made the infamous call of infield fly rule of a fly ball hit 75 feet into the outfield (ARE YOU F*(&ING KIDDING ME!!!) I digress...we made it to our friend Debbie's house around 6:30 outside of Dorena. Here we got to see her and and her son Isaiah, and their many dogs. Debbie had visited us five (5) years ago when she came to Atlanta to adopt Isaiah, so it was very good to see them again and to see how much Isaiah has grown. Tomorrow, it's off to Calistoga!

---

Photos

Downtown McMinnville, OR
Must come back to shop, drink wine and listen to music!

Boiler Bay
Whales started appearing to the left

Mo's
They have a garage door wall where a local lady drove her car in years ago

Comments

[Cam Ron]

I liked this post so much I read it two (2) times!