I’m a bit late in posting to really use this title as I have been back from Oregon for nearly a week now, but I couldn’t resist using another state-related headline, so please forgive me.

Anyway, we spent the Labor Day weekend in Ashland, OR visiting with my parents who have retired out there. Ashland is in the southern part of the state, just north of the California border. The wine area is situated within the Rogue Valley, which also includes a sub-AVA, the Applegate Valley.

We did not spend a lot of time visiting wineries because my parents provided us with a packed agenda including white water rafting, a picnic in Crater Lake National Park, a show at Ashland’s renouned Shakespeare Festival and a tour of the town and surrounding environs. Additionally, on occasion, it is nice to take a break from wine, once in awhile.

Well, we didn’t actually take a break. However, instead of going to the wine (aka visiting wineries) we made the wine come to us (ordering it in restaurants, drinking from my parents’ cellar, and buying a bottle or two at the wine store). We primarily drank local wines and tried to choose ones that weren’t readily available nationwide.

At the wine store, we consciously strayed further afield, chosing a Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley, which is located in northern Oregon, just south of Portland. Due to its warmer and drier climate, the Rogue Valley isn’t known for its Pinot Noir the way Willamette is, so this was a safer bet if we wanted to drink Pinot.

The wine selection was from Bergstrom, a small, family-owned winery, and was their entry-level wine (not one of their single vineyard designations). At $29.00, it was on the steep side of my parents’ wine bottle budget, but since we were guests in their home, they were willing to make the purchase. Fortunately, none of us were disappointed as we enjoyed the wine later in the day, paired with cheeses from the local Rogue Creamery, artisan bread and a spread from Rising Sun winery and farm.

The visit to Rising Sun permitted me the opportunity to taste through a flight of several local wines as did visits to Roxy Ann Winery and Eden Vale Estate. Okay, I guess we really can’t stay away from wine for long. The one concession we did make to being on vacation was not taking any tasting notes, so I can’t remember which specific wines were tasted, but we had Viognier, Riesling, Merlot, Sangiovese and Syrah among others.

Our restaurant experience was quite nice, where we selected a Pinot Bianco from Camaron Winery (Oregon state AVA) and a Pinot Noir from Brandborg (Umpqua Valley). Both were lovely, but we were particularly impressed with the Brandborg as the Umpqua Valley is also not as known for its Pinot Noir as Willamette. The wine was a wonderful with my King salmon; Pinot Noir and salmon being a classic Oregon pairing.

Overall, it was a great first visit to my parents’ new home and community, filled with a sufficient quantity of wine for what wasn’t supposed to be a wine weekend.