Members Share the Good Things in Life

The Member's Forum is our place to share our findings or experiences with those who enjoy a good glass of wine in the company of others.

 

 

Restaurants

Farm to Fork, a new restaurant in Dundee.

Ruth and I stopped in at Farm and Fork in the Inn at Dundee Hills (1410 N. Hwy 99W, Dundee, 503-538-7970, its on the right hand as you are leaving Dundee southbound) the end of June. We found a nice country bisto feel of a place, a great menu, an outstanding Oregon Wine list, and good service. I had the Braised leg of Clatskanie Rabbit and Ruth had a flatiron steak. We can heartily recommend that you consider a dinner or lunch at this place on your next trek into Yamhill County seeking out the wines. Jim Alexander

Posted July 17, 2009

 

Wines

 

Accomodations

Ruth and I attended a wedding in Ojai, CA the 11th of July. We drove down I-5 and came home via US 101 and CA 1.

While in LA we stayed at the The Farmer's Daughter a funky, botique hotel across Fairfax from the Farmer’s Market. While not a plush 5 star hotel, The Farmer’s Daughter has location going for it. We planned the LA portion of the trip around some serious museum activities. The Farmer’s Market runs right into The Grove, an even more upscale mall than Bridgeport. It was an easy walk to the LA County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the La Brea Tar Pits. We also dropped over to Pasadena and visited the Norton Simon and Huntington Museums. As we left LA for Ojai, we stopped by the Getty Villa Malibu.

Ojai is a weekend watering hole for gentlemen avocado and orange growers along the lines of Cannon Beach without the water. We stayed at the The Emerald Iguana. This is a new rendition of a classic California Inn. Spacious rooms, breakfast by the pool, lots of plaster and tile all made for a most relaxing stay. Lush landscaping gave the feel of the tropics.

Our first stop on the way back was in Paso Robles. We stopped in at the The Inn at Paso Robles, right on Spring Street (US 101). This inn is on the Historic Hotels of America list of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It is located at the heart of town. The town square is surrounded by wine tasting rooms of the Paso Robles area, and by some great restaurants. We could easily have spent several days in the area.

Our last night out we stopped at The Lodge at Riverside in Grant’s Pass, 955 S.E. 7th St. Our room had a great terrace right on the Rouge River where we enjoyed the wine and cheese provided by management. The room was large and well appointed. All in all, a great last night out after eight days on the road. This is an older property that has been upgraded to current standards.

Jim Alexander, posted July 17, 2009

Books

It's time for summer reading and I recently finished an interesting read for all serious wine lovers. The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace (Three Rivers Press, 2008, ISBN #978-0-307-33878-5) is the true story of a bottle of 1787 Lafite said to be from the cellar of Thomas Jefferson and the world of fine wine auctions and those who collect fine wines. It was fun and very interesting.

Diane Diamond, posted July 17, 2009