Sokol Blosser Summer Vineyard Hikes
Well friends, it’s that time of year again. It’s time when we lace up our hiking boots, throw on our sunscreen and make our ways out into the bounty of Oregon’s beautiful countryside. Here at Sokol Blosser we have our 2nd annual Summer Vineyard Hikes. These hikes provide our guests with the opportunity to really emerse themselves for a day in the winery and vineyards.
This past weekend a group of 20 of us set out at 10am to tour the 100 acres here at Sokol Blosser. We made our way through the lower parts of our vineyards exploring our Bluebird Block Pinot Gris, our Staff Garden and our Concert Block Pinot Noir which skirts the original Eyrie Vineyards planted in the late 1960’s by David Lett. It was a great place to stop and enjoy a glass of our 2008 Dundee Hills Pinot Gris (stashed amongst the vines earlier that morning).
From there we made our way up from about 200 ft elevation to around 500 ft elevation discussing organic farming, the life cycle of the vine, wine making and all sorts of other random thoughts. As we approaced the top of our vineyards, nestled amongst our Big Tree Block Pinot Noir we sampled our 2008 Rosé of Pinot Noir and looked out over the Willamette Valley. From there you can really get a great view of the Cascade Mountain Range and the Coastal Range and have a good idea of what makes this unique geological spot perfect for growing that most delicate of varietals, Pinot Noir.
At the top of our vineyards we visited Red Ridge Farms. If you haven’t been to Red Ridge, do yourself a favor and go. RR is a nursery with beautiful lavendar gardens, sweeping vistas and a brand new Olive Oil making facility. We toured their state-of-the-art Olive Oil press, looked at their antique Roman Oil Press and did a tasting of their Olive Oils.
After that we made our way back through our vineyards to our next wine oasis. Situated amongst the fruit trees bordering our Orchard Block, we sampled our 2006 Dundee Hills and 2006 Estate Pinot Noir. About this time we were getting hungry. We quickly completed our 2.75 mile loop and wound up back at the winery where we indulged ourselves with a large, family style, wine picnic lunch. We featured several salads from Dundee’s newest restaurant, Farm to Fork as well as artisan breads, cheeses, charcuterie and fruit. (The Golden Beet Salad that chef Paul Bachand created was heavenly). While dining we tasted our two blended wines, Evolution and Meditrina. These were a perfect match for pairing with the picnic.
The day concluded with a tour of our LEED Certified Barrel Cellar and our winery tasting 2008 Willamette Valley Early Muscat and our 2007 Columbia Valley Dessert Riesling.
These hikes are the highlight of my summer and think they would be one of yours as well. If you are interested in joining us on any of the upcoming hikes, space is still available, but going quickly. The remaining dates are: Saturdays June 20th, July 11th, August 1st, 15th, 29th .
Contact me, Jeff Knapp for more info.
Email: jeff@sokolblosser.com
ph# 503-565-2308