So….
Our way home today started with a very lazy and relaxing morning at the Quality Inn in Port Angeles…
From there we went Christmas shopping… Oh wait! We weren’t going to do that this year…
Then on in to Sequim for lunch. We ate at Sawadee Thai Restaurant. Yummers. Cheryl had a chicken and broccoli dish. MINUS 1 star. I had Swimming Rama – chicken with spinach – smothered in peanut sauce. 3 star – brow sweat very visible! Haha
From there, we headed to Port Townsend where the last two wineries of our Passport Weekend are located.
First winery was FairWinds Winery – located in a converted horse barn!
They have some fine wines, including the first Aligote varietal I have ever tried. I am not much of a white wine drinker, but this was pretty good. “Aligoté is a white grape used to make dry white wines in the Burgundy region of France, and which also has significant plantings in much of Eastern Europe including Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria.” Read more here. Apparently there are only about 6 tons harvested in Washington and this winery takes about 2 to 2-1/2 of these.
My favorites though are the 2005 LEMBERGER - Oaked and unfiltered this wine is gaining popularity in Washington State, Bronze Medal ~ Northwest Wine Summit and their 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon – Merlot blend - Pure friut flavors and aromas mark this vintner's blend of two Washington grapes, 60% Cabernet and 40% Merlot.
Here we were treated to some unusual windmills and some friendly chickens!
And our final winery for the weekend was Sorensen Cellars in Port Townsend. They also had some fine wines, my favorite being their recently bottled Malbec!
It was at Sorensen Cellars we were introduced to some wonderful goat cheese they included in miniature Panini sandwiches being served. The cheese is from Wild Harvest Creamery in Chimacum. They offer cheese-making classes – which I plan on attending in January or February of 2010. I am excited about this! I LOVE cheese!
Three cases of wine and plump bellies full of fine food…we head home.
Our goal – the 5:30 Bainbridge to Seattle ferry. Not going to happen. Next ferry is almost an hour-long wait. It’s then we realize – if we take the 5:30 ferry, we get home at about 7:00 – MAYBE. If we drive all the way around the sound via the Narrows Bridge and Tacoma we are home BEFORE 6:30. Uh, duh! We drive around. We are home at 6:26 (even with a potty break), car unloaded and relaxing BEFORE 7:00. Nice call Cheryl and Lola…
A wonderful weekend, new friends, good wine, great food and a strengthened foundation for many more years to come! Thanks for coming along with us!
PS A few pictures of our weekend can be found here.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Our Weekend - Part 1
Our Saturday consisted of a lazy morning waking up in Port Angeles overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Sounds - seagulls, a local church bell tolling on the hour - one ring for each hour, ship's bells and horns in the harbor... Just behind our hotel you can look up to Hurricane Ridge - where I learned to snow ski in 1969 or 1970. Check out their live webcam.
We finally got out of here after 11:00 and went to our favorite store in PA - Swains! They have a bit of everything and at good prices. I found a nice wool coat to "dress me up a bit" says Cheryl and a long-sleeve fleece vest for motorcycle riding. Cheryl found a beautiful purple (can you believe she picked purple?) sweater.
Then it was on to some wineries as part of the Harvest Wine Tour of Olympic Peninsula Wineries.
We started at our favorite winery over here - Olympic Cellars Winery. There was a festive atomopshere with fall in the air and beautiful freshly powdered snow-capped mountains as a backdrop! They were serving raw and baked oysters as well as locally produced products - clam dip and hummus (made from "root vegetables" including carrots).
From there we went to Harbinger Winery. They started up about four years ago and are housed in a warehouse with their Kayak rental business! They were serving local cheeses. They also brew beer - but passed on that. They have a large "gong" (what else do you call it?) that they allowed you to hit. So I did. I asked them what they used it for. They said to get people's attention. It did. They said it's a real kid's magnet. I said, "Yup!"
From there we went to Camraderie Winery. Beautiful grounds and a new tasting room to enjoy. Oh, and a beautiful golden retriever waiting for us with tennis ball in hand. Uh, I mean in mouth... Yes, I did play with the dog.
And the last one for the day was Black Diamond Winery. They specialize in fruit wines. We particularly liked the Strawberry-Rhubarb Wine.
From there we went to a newer local restaurant - Joy's Wine Bistro for a wine-maker's dinner. This restaurant is owned by Olympic Cellar's winemaker's (Benoit Murat) wife - Joy. Joy and Benoit prepared a wonderful 4 course meal paired with wines from Europe.
We were told to sit where we wanted. We chose a table for six where one other couple were just sitting down. Eventually another couple joined us. To describe the other two couples as "free spirits" would be an understatement! They were outrageously funny and risque. Our cheeks hurt (and still do) from laughing so hard for three hours. We were the loudest - and the most envied table - in the place!
The couple we first joined were in their 70's - Patricia and Michael. Pat has lived in the PA area for 20+ years and Michael is from "the dessert" in California. Pat had been married for 40 years and raised 4 boys. Sounds like Michael was married before but no kids. They knew each other in Jr and Sr High but never had anything to do with each other. Pat commented that in those days you didn't date, you went steady. She continued with an interesting comment of, "And that was a mistake". They attended a high school reunion 4 or so years ago (after her divorce), talked, discovered some common interests, he called on her and they were married three years ago.
The couple that joined our table last are a local couple - Jan and Jacque. Jacque is a patent attorney (maybe 70 or 71) and Jan (his third wife) is 51 and his secretary. She had more one-liners and movie quotes than you could find in a book full of the same.
Play on words was common...kept us all on our toes trying to be quick witted enough to understand what was said and be able to respond just as cleverly.
The scene that played out at our table could honestly become a long-running sit-com sure to win awards for best humor! We all exchanged contact information and who knows...
Today (Sunday) finds us enjoying another lazy morning listening to sounds of the harbor and watching people come and go. We are atop steps that descend down in to town with benches to sit on and look out over the Strait. People are up and down the steps, sitting, standing, walking dogs, taking pictures...
There are three other wineries that are part of the Passport Tour, all in Port Townsend. We'll check out of here later, get a good lunch, do some shopping and then visit the wineries on the way to the Bainbridge Island ferry enroute to home.
Part II to come, but no way will it be as interesting as dinner last night...
We finally got out of here after 11:00 and went to our favorite store in PA - Swains! They have a bit of everything and at good prices. I found a nice wool coat to "dress me up a bit" says Cheryl and a long-sleeve fleece vest for motorcycle riding. Cheryl found a beautiful purple (can you believe she picked purple?) sweater.
Then it was on to some wineries as part of the Harvest Wine Tour of Olympic Peninsula Wineries.
We started at our favorite winery over here - Olympic Cellars Winery. There was a festive atomopshere with fall in the air and beautiful freshly powdered snow-capped mountains as a backdrop! They were serving raw and baked oysters as well as locally produced products - clam dip and hummus (made from "root vegetables" including carrots).
From there we went to Harbinger Winery. They started up about four years ago and are housed in a warehouse with their Kayak rental business! They were serving local cheeses. They also brew beer - but passed on that. They have a large "gong" (what else do you call it?) that they allowed you to hit. So I did. I asked them what they used it for. They said to get people's attention. It did. They said it's a real kid's magnet. I said, "Yup!"
From there we went to Camraderie Winery. Beautiful grounds and a new tasting room to enjoy. Oh, and a beautiful golden retriever waiting for us with tennis ball in hand. Uh, I mean in mouth... Yes, I did play with the dog.
And the last one for the day was Black Diamond Winery. They specialize in fruit wines. We particularly liked the Strawberry-Rhubarb Wine.
From there we went to a newer local restaurant - Joy's Wine Bistro for a wine-maker's dinner. This restaurant is owned by Olympic Cellar's winemaker's (Benoit Murat) wife - Joy. Joy and Benoit prepared a wonderful 4 course meal paired with wines from Europe.
We were told to sit where we wanted. We chose a table for six where one other couple were just sitting down. Eventually another couple joined us. To describe the other two couples as "free spirits" would be an understatement! They were outrageously funny and risque. Our cheeks hurt (and still do) from laughing so hard for three hours. We were the loudest - and the most envied table - in the place!
The couple we first joined were in their 70's - Patricia and Michael. Pat has lived in the PA area for 20+ years and Michael is from "the dessert" in California. Pat had been married for 40 years and raised 4 boys. Sounds like Michael was married before but no kids. They knew each other in Jr and Sr High but never had anything to do with each other. Pat commented that in those days you didn't date, you went steady. She continued with an interesting comment of, "And that was a mistake". They attended a high school reunion 4 or so years ago (after her divorce), talked, discovered some common interests, he called on her and they were married three years ago.
The couple that joined our table last are a local couple - Jan and Jacque. Jacque is a patent attorney (maybe 70 or 71) and Jan (his third wife) is 51 and his secretary. She had more one-liners and movie quotes than you could find in a book full of the same.
Play on words was common...kept us all on our toes trying to be quick witted enough to understand what was said and be able to respond just as cleverly.
The scene that played out at our table could honestly become a long-running sit-com sure to win awards for best humor! We all exchanged contact information and who knows...
Today (Sunday) finds us enjoying another lazy morning listening to sounds of the harbor and watching people come and go. We are atop steps that descend down in to town with benches to sit on and look out over the Strait. People are up and down the steps, sitting, standing, walking dogs, taking pictures...
There are three other wineries that are part of the Passport Tour, all in Port Townsend. We'll check out of here later, get a good lunch, do some shopping and then visit the wineries on the way to the Bainbridge Island ferry enroute to home.
Part II to come, but no way will it be as interesting as dinner last night...
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
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