Dancing Daylily: Hood Wiver Winter Wine Wun

Today was a fantastic day. The remnants from several inches of snow were still around. Streets were dry. I went with 5 of my friends (the 6th wasn't feeling 100% - Feel better Dan!) to Hood River, OR to go wine tasting. To get to Hood River, we have to drive 2/3 the way through the Columbia River Gorge, which can be treacherous in bad weather.

The roads were not as bad as they indicated on the news, and we had a wonderful time. Today, we stopped at Double Mountain Brewery for some lunch. Let me tell you, if you have not tried their pizza, it is something you have to try if you go to Hood River. It is thin crust, and baked in a 700 degree oven. Has the perfect amount of char (but not burn) on the crust, and wonderful flavor. Plain old pepperoni is even great!

With a good meal in our tummies, we headed out to Cathedral Ridge. The folks there were fantastic to us. It was an especially slow Saturday (to be expected on a snowy weekend!), and they let our group of 6 take lots of time with our tastings. Here is my haul from Cathedral Ridge:

The Halbtrocken was wonderful. I am not usually a rose person, but of all the whites here, I liked this the best. It was fruity, but not too sweet, It was smooth, and didn't have that bite that whites usually have. Hints of cinnamon in all of these wines was a great spice without the peppery taste that I don't care for.

The Rusty Red, was my favorite of the day (thus two bottles). It was thick and inky, had lots of jammy flavors, and was just so good. Also the dog on the label is "Rusty," and he lives at the winery.

Finally I got a Zinfandel. That was C.R.A.Z.Y. for me. If you asked me my least favorite type of wine, I would say - hands down - red zins. But the guy managing our tasting, gave us a bit of chocolate to taste with this wine. It was so good! I usually don't like Zins because they are usually to spicy for me. I like a dry, fruity wine best. This was a big, bold flavor, and almost no lingering spice. I bought it simply because it was the first Zin I have ever liked.

With a bunch of wine purchased by all of us, we decided that we needed one more tasting before we made the drive back home. So we drove down the road to Phelps Creek tasting room. I have to admit we had a bit of a mission in going to this particular winery. You see there is a church auction in a couple of weeks, and Renee decided that this is the perfect donation for a church youth auction:

I love a winery with a sense of humor! I love that we go to a church with a sense of humor! (After all, WWJD - what would Jesus drink?) I also love that both of these are very good - especially the Hellfire.

Here are a few picture of our group having fun: