Dining in Luxury

After a hard day of wine tasting, we wanted to get a quick bite before picking up the dogs at Mom's. It used to be the kids, now it's the dogs!  LOL  Anyway, after munching our way through the Oregon wine country, on lovely cheeses and pate and chocolate, we just wanted a light meal.  It worked out perfectly to also check out the new Allison Inn and Spa.http://www.trails.com/the-allison-inn-spa-hotel-127962.html  Wow, what an amazing place.  I could see coming here for a special anniversary or occasion, since it's quite spendy-rooms start at $295 a night....but, what a beautiful place! 

From the back, it's four stories tall! 

The building is very sleek and modern, and as you can see, the rock work is incredible! 

Beautiful natural features.  There were lots of places with covered decks, so even in Oregon's unpredictable weather, you could sit outside.

I loved all the things they used for sustainability, like the succulent roof-top gardens!

The grounds had a beautiful 'English Garden' feel... 

We ordered food in the bar area, and you could see the chefs preparing meals in the kitchen.  The dinningroom is on the left.

Rick ordered sausage with mashed potatoes, and I ordered a burger with feta and caramelized onions, which he also shared.  it was all very good.

Touring the Wineries of Yamhill Valley

We were supposed to head to the Oregon Coast for the holiday weekend, but DH had just returned from NY and we felt too many things needed to be done around the house to sacrifice a whole weekend, so we just took one day off instead.  You can't go wrong heading to Yamhill Valley when the most wineries are open only two times a year-Memorial Day and Thanksgiving weekend.  The sheer beauty of the place takes you breath away, especially on a clear day.

Our first stop was at The Anderson Family Winery, where Cliff and Alison provide an excellent Chardonnay and Pinot.  We met them last fall, when we realized that they were avid Oregon Duck fans, and have been friends ever since.  Their winery is perched on a rocky hill with a commanding view of the valley and definitely worth a visit. (see above) Cliff uses wood barrels from France to age his wines. 

Our next stop was Bella Vida, where you'll find another beautiful vista.  It's an interesting switch-back road leading up to the tasting room, which they are expanding.  Three winemakers bring a boutique approach to the Pinot production. 

They also have a highly rated 2008 harvest, which produced a wine they call Gris-Ling, a mix of 80% Pinot Gris and 20% Riesling.  It has a wonderful flavor and we bought some to pair with an appetizers and salad course at one of our wine dinners.  Not that we consider ourselves experts, we're just in it for the fun!

Of course I come for the amazing scenery as much as the wine tasting, and my camera and sketchbook are always with me to capture some of the beauty at these wineries.

Winderlea Winery was our next stop and I loved the design of their tasting facility, which has garage style doors that open over the valley where their wine in produced.  As we sampled their excellent wines, there was some mention that the winery might hosting food and wine pairing lunches in the summer...definitely something to investigate! 

 Our next stop was at Stoller Winery.  We've been acquainted with Bill and Cathy since we were in an Investment Club with them

many years ago.  They started producing wine in 2001 from grapes on the land that was once a turkey farm, owned by Bill's family.  This winery is very environmentally friendly has has earned lots of certifications for their sustainability.

In addition to their excellent wines, the setting of Stoller Winery is amazing- a perfect place to picnic and  play Disc Golf.

What a fun day!  We did go to another winery, Ghost Hill, but I'm saving that one for another post.  We also stopped on the way home at a wonderful new Inn and Spa for a bite to eat, and that will be in a separate post as well.  If you're looking for something fun to do over Thanksgiving weekend, it's worth the trip to support the Oregon Wine Industry.  You won't be disappointed.

Ex Libris Exhibit

At our Art Buddy Meeting on Friday, JoAnn invited us downtown to PNCA, http://pnca.edu/ to see her exhibit of Ex Libris Bookplates.  There were several hundred on display, but it was only a fraction of her collection of over 8,000 plates!  Who knew there was such an amazing collection of art from the 14th century to present, represented in bookplates?    

JoAnn said that most of the bookplates come from Europe, but they're produced and collected all over the world.  Basically, as she explained it, an artist is commissioned by a client who wants bookplates for their book collection or for gifts. An artist will submit drawings, and then once they're approved, they will use a variety of techniques like Offset, Computer generated, Relief, Etching, Lithography etc. to produce a specified number of plates. The quantity can vary, but usually about 50-150 copies are then produced.  The artist will keep a small amount for their collections (like 15 or 20),  and the rest are given to the client.  The plate is then marked so it can't be used again, or it's destroyed

We were all given magnifying glasses so we could see the detail in the original sketch and etching on the copper plate.

JoAnn had commissioned this particular bookplate for a special book of hers.

It was fascinating to see the process from start to finish.

Above, the final Ex Libris in the book that it was commissioned for.

Above, some of the collection on display

It was wonderful to see the details in these small works of art.  Many were full of symbolism and literary references, with a wide array of themes.  Interestingly, JoAnn said that many of the Ex Libris are of nudes.  We decided that they must be commissioned by men!  LOL

This plate from Japan, was one of my favorites

amazing details...

The bookplate showing this little romantic cottage was my favorite-tea and gardening- what's not to love?

Some of the Art Buddies...some couldn't make it with the holiday weekend, and I was taking the picture.  I am so lucky to wallk on this art journey with such a wonderful group of women!