A day to play

Today was a day to play. Rachel, Chelsea and I drove south to Eugene and visited one of our biggest competitors, King Estate. We had a fabulous winetasting, lunch and tour and frolicked around the grounds. Thanks Ed King III, Sasha Kadey and Josh Massie for being such wonderful hosts to us.

Here's a bit of the King Estate story:

King Estate, celebrating 19 years of Oregon winemaking in 2010, is located southwest of Eugene, Oregon and produces Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and limited amounts of Chardonnay. Founded in 1991 by the King family, King Estate is committed to producing Oregon wines of exceptional quality using organic & sustainable farming methods, meticulous fruit selection, impeccable winemaking practices and judicious blending.

The beautiful estate of 1,033 acres is certified organic and includes 465 acres of organic vineyards, as well as 30 acres of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. The Estate is crowned by the charming, European-style winery, where the winemaking process is also certified organic.

The Restaurant and Wine Bar at King Estate features wine tasting & winery tours as well as fine dining. Our menu incorporates estate and locally grown organic ingredients that fully complement King Estate wines.

Check out the King Estate website: http://www.kingestate.com/

We also stopped by Pfeiffer Vineyards and met Robin Pfeiffer, a wonderful, entertaining man who gave us a Pinot Class.
 
Here's a bit of the Pfeiffer story:
 
After several calls from the French who wanted to purchase their 70 acres of south-facing slopes, Robin learned they wanted the land for wine grapes. The family sold the sheep, and planted grapevines. "The only thing we knew about wine grapes was that we liked wine and dried grapes were called raisins," noted Robin Pfeiffer. However, he learned after careful analysis that their site was ideal for grapes.
 
Owners Robin and Danuta Pfeiffer have always looked to the future of environmental practices and "green" solutions. Pfeiffer Winery is one of the first completely solar operated facilities in the Willamette Valley and the first in Lane County. Roof-lined solar panels enable the winery and the Pfeiffer Villa to produce their own electricity, and sell back to the electrical grid.

The winery produces limited releases of Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Rose and Muscat.

Check out Pfeiffer Vineyards: http://www.pfeiffervineyards.com/

I will post a slideshow of pictures from today's trip.