Tale of Two Vineyards | Three Feathers Estate, Willamette Valley Oregon visits Château Pavie Macquin, Saint-Emilion Bordeaux Tale of Two Vineyards starts with a neighborly “getting to know you” over coffee in our Normand vacation home, English Channel in the distance. A dear girlfriend wished to introduce me to two childhood friends of hers, sisters, living in Normandy and vacationing … Read More
Carrot Cake, Parma-style
Parma-style Carrot Cake by Giada De Laurentiis This fabulously subtle and unique Carrot Cake, Parma-style recipe by Giada De Laurentiis, makes repeat performances in our family ever since we discovered it on the Food Network. Lightly sweet, not too spicy, well-balanced and zingy with a touch of fennel and lemon zest, this carrot cake can be eaten for breakfast, lunch … Read More
Celebrating the Circle of Vineyard Life | Holiday Baked Brie
Celebrating the Circle of Vineyard Life What an eventful year it has been! Starting with a few weeks of planning in January we pruned vines the first week of February. In March and April we prepped the soil and the aisles and started preventative spraying. The vines broke their dormancy the first week of May and after that it was … Read More
Giving Thanks
Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. – Theodore Roosevelt Excerpt from Proclamation 466 (November 2, 1901) when President Roosevelt established the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day. Here at Three … Read More
2018 Vineyard Grower’s Update
2018 Vineyard Grower’s Update The 2018 season in the vineyard began with pruning in early February. The winter was cool and dry punctuated with rainy periods, but not characteristically wet. Even spring was not very wet despite lingering cool temps and Bud Break was a month later than last year, on May 2. Once the plants started growing it was … Read More
One New Year, two Full Moons and a Liver Pâté Recipe
The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below… – Twas the Night Before Christmas, by Clement Moore Celebrating the New Year and two Full Moons… We all know the poem. In this case it was not Christmas Eve and there was no snow in Oregon. It is midnight on … Read More
Lines on the Vines
2017 Vineyard Season Update We have been frantically busy since our last post about the vineyard at bud break in May. I analogize the season in the vineyard to a horse race with us in a race to keep up with the pace of the vines as they grow. There’s weeding and mowing, fertilizing and disease control and the perpetual … Read More
Living with the Wildlife
Living with the Wildlife Our Ford F-150 gets a lot of use during the growing season, but when it is idle, it is parked in a dry spot by our goat barn. Last summer we noticed an odor inside the cab; a faint odor of manure. We checked our shoes, nothing. As the odor persisted we looked further, under and … Read More
New Buds on Pinot Noir Grapevines
New Buds We go out frequently to see if the vines are coming to life. Today I could detect the tiniest little swelling on a new bud. We have had a record breaking winter of ice, snow, rain and mud with many slides in the valley. With the coming of spring it has warmed a bit and we have had … Read More