Dogs and Donuts

[Note from "real time"--as opposed to going back to tell you about our wineapalooza trip which took place a month ago--this blogging every day thing is a lot of work! How did I do it when I was working and going through chemo??  I'm thinking it will now be every other day. Besides, we had 18 friends over last night to try out some of these wines--18 bottles to be exact. I've got a lot of cleaning up to do today!]


Day 4, Part 2, July 26, 2011 in the evening....



After Steve Reustle made a call over to John Olson at Tesoaria, we hustled over to meet John. So, so glad we did. TeSoAria is in Roseberg, OR and is a small but  beautiful winery. Here's what their website says about them: "Our name, TeSóAria, encompasses the true spirit of what our vineyard and winery are all about, and defines the artisanal estate wines produced: Terra (soil), Sol (sun), Aria (air and music). These three words perfectly describe the terroir where the estate grown varietals and wines are produced."  That's a good description. John's passion is readily apparent. He was hard at work in the barrel room when we arrived but happily set up a tasting for us. His dog Bella (the ball -obssessed) was by his side, which made me happy as I was definitely missing Seamus by then. Once Chris explained Forgotten Grapes and his quest for the lesser known grape varietals, John lit up and out came the wines. 14 total. It may have been more. I couldn't keep up.  But here's some highlights of what he poured, and I'd encourage you to check out his website to read more about these really interesting and tasty wines. He's doing some great stuff.

2009 Dolcetto
2009 Bull's Blood (a blend of Pinot Noir, Baco Noir, Marachal Foch, Tempranillo and Hugarian Kadarka...nope, I'm not making that up)
2009 Tempranillo
2010 Bulls Blood
2010 Sangiovese
2010 Kadarka
2010 Barbera
2010 Primotivo

It went on and on! So much so that I had to bust out the appetizers...2 day old Voodoo Donuts! But let me tell you, the maple bacon bar was perfectly paired with the 2009 Baco Noir!

And notice all the 2010 vintages? That's because John started climbing up the barrels to have us taste barrel samples (this is the point at which I lost count of the wines. Crazy good stuff).

And I'll have to admit defeat here too. I had to stop tasting. Chris kept on, but I turned my attention to Bella and her ball. Bella has her own game of catch and I'm not sure I ever learned all the rules, but I'm pretty sure you can't be looking at her when she puts the ball down, and the ball must always be in her sight (or in her mouth), and she'll let you know when it's okay to throw the ball by putting it down in front of you and staring at it intently. But it takes her awhile to determine whether or not you are a worthy player. Funny, funny dog. But so cute.

Day 4 of Wineapalooza the Mother of all Epic Wine Tours was a doozy. So many good wines and interesting people. He had to push on though. We drove to the Rogue Valley that night, stopping on the way for dinner. We both had a craving for Mexican food. And margaritas.