yamhill county is oregon's burgeoning wine region. riding through this rolling countryside i was reminded of the riding i did in tuscany, italy. along the roads were crop lands and old farms tucked into the hills and interspersed with patches of woods. wheat was ripening and i saw some had been harvested already. there were many acres cover cropped with red clover. then there is the striking green of corn and many fields of hay. at a junction near some rows of homogenous houses i found my first ripe blackberries of the year!
as i entered the fringe of the city of Carlton i stopped at Cana's Feast Winery, the first one i've passed that was right on the road. it looked nice and welcoming. i thought i'd see about a wine tasting. so i brushed my teeth and headed in. they charge $10 for a full tasting, and refund it for every $40 spent on wine. i like this honest deal, but just wanted a free sample. they were gracious enough to give me a sample of one of their wines, i believe it was their Sangiovese. very sharp while filling the mouth with a feeling of wholeness.
the young man told me they source as much as they can for the restaurant locally and pointed out the small garden where they grow a lot of herbs. he said he wants to get involved with a food-exchange project when he moves to the area. in this one he knows about each member grows something, they pool the produce, and then split it up like CSA shares. cool!
when i was on my way out a woman asked me where i was riding to. she was from portland and said she and her family do some touring around the area. i noticed on their table was a thick-noodled pasta very similar to what i ate at a little hosteria in siena.
in Amity i got three more samples of wine from the area. this was at the nice shop across from a couple nice cafes and a bakery. it was an impressive little strip for the small town. this shop had hazelnuts in the shell and i should have bought some. but i thought to muself, "i can surely find them at the coop in corvallis." that is not the case. nor can you find them it seems at any natural food stores in eugene! i hear there is a guy at the farmer's markets... just seems silly to me in this land of filberts that you don't have the option to get them shelled or not.
i arrived in corvallis much later than i had intended to, but it was alright. i went straight to the coop and got some grass fed meat, eggs, cheese, a ginger brew, some mushrooms, a few potatoes and a yam. i was on my way to a BBQ! the warmshowers host in corvallis was cora and her partner mike. they were already at the BBQ. it was a nice time, and there were even some illegal fireworks shot off by some loony old guy. glad i could be there for this community gathering.
another thing i liked about this day was that once when i stopped to take a drink, in Rickreal, a guy came out of his house to see if i needed anything. make sure i had enough water... so i went in and had some water and used his restroom. he had done some cycle touring himself! nice guy and we really connected. this was the house he grew up in and he takes care of his old mother there. there was a nice grape vine outside the bathroom window he said was planted there for shade, and he keeps a patch of blackberries by the house so he doesn't have to go far for them.
then i stopped again later, close to corvallis, when i was running low on water and saw a guy out planting some flowers by the road. cosmos.
he filled my water bottle as i munched some snacks. his son had done touring like me, but had died when hit by a dump truck somewhere in ohio. the man and his wife intend to put a water fountain and bench by the road in front of their house for cyclists in his honor. i was deeply touched and thought this a great idea.
No comments:
Post a Comment