It was a little after 7am on a Tuesday as I was waking up in a creaky hotel bed in the town of McMinnville. My wine novice buddy Davin and I drove down from Seattle the day before making sure to take the long way in order to see volcanoes and enjoy the beautiful Washington scenery. Most people should have maybe a week or two to explore the Willamette Valley. We had only one day. So we made the most of it.

Northbound to Gaston

The day started with us grabbing a quick bacon and egg burrito at Carl’s Jr, filling up the rented Subaru Forester gas tank and asking a nice white-haired local man for directions to Gaston. Gaston is 18.5 miles north of McMinnville and a gorgeous drive filled with rolling hills, giant grand firs, horses and goats. It was about 68 degrees and the sky was clear blue when we arrived at ADEA. We were greeted by a large black Labradoodle, a massive St. Bernard and the daughter of winemaker Dean Fisher. All three were friendly. Dean was out back rushing to complete a half-resurrected new building for sorting this seasons crop but his wife Ann poured us a couple of tasters of 100% Pinot Noir Rosé and walked us around the estate. The wine smelled like pure strawberries and flowers and mixed well with the essence of evergreens in the breeze. The tall evergreen trees seemed to make a semi-circle barrier around the estate. We drank a little and we talked a little. Mostly about how hot it was this season and that a lot of the clusters were uneven. Ann was worried about it. She was puzzled about how this vintage would turn out. I had heard about the weather in Oregon being hotter than Texas during some parts of June and that’s really saying something. It will be interesting to see how the 2009 Willamette wines will turn out. My best guess is most will be higher alcohol which will add more body and a little more fruit.