Another Wine and Wool Tour

A long weekend in the Columbia Gorge area of Oregon resulted in great finds in wine and wool.

We toured several vineyards in The Dalles, some of which had been pruned and some that were scheduled for pruning soon. Most of the vineyards are set in gorgeous areas surrounded my mountains (although Mount Hood was shrouded in clouds) and by acres and acres of cherry, pear, and apple trees. I would love to go back when the fruit trees are blossoming.

We also had a chance to taste some great Columbia Gorge wines, particularly wines from The Pines 1852 and Viento.

Now to the wool side of the trip. We met several fiber critters: alpacas at Foothills Yarn & Fiber in Hood River and  Sporfarm in The Dalles. Foothills is new to me and I am excited to try the yarn. I have purchased yarn from Sporfarm for many years and have enjoyed every stitch. We also visited Knot Another Hat in Hood River.

Top: alpacas at Foothills
Below: Shetland sheep at Sporfarm

Left to right: Noro (on sale!) from Knot Another Hat;
alpaca from Foothills; and from Sporfarm, wool in Forest,
merino in Vineyard, and natural shades of
Blue-Faced Leicester

We also enjoyed the scenery along the Gorge, which is ― well, gorgeous ― such as this view from our hotel near sunset on a cloudy day. The next day the mountains had a dusting of snow.

Guess I need to stop talking and start knitting!

Wool and Wine

Oregon's Yamhill Valley has much to offer, especially for those interested in wool and wine. Start with Woodland Woolworks in Carlton for all things knitting, spinning and weaving. Yippee!

Then the wine areas, such as Domaine Drouhin Oregon's manicured vineyards.

The tasting room manager gave us an informative tour of the vineyard and winery, which concluded with a comparison tasting of the winery's Oregon and French wines. Our friend Michael took very seriously his job as wine taster and research assistant.

At the Carlton Winemakers Studio, we tasted one fabulous wine after another from several wine makers. A dinner at the studio featured J. Daan wines, made by the young and talented Justin Van Zanten and his wife, Megan.