I went with three wine-interested-but-not-wino friends out to Newberg this weekend for the primary purpose of picking up '06 wines from Le Cadeau and Prive and the secondary purpose of tasting and enjoying an afternoon out of the city. 

 

With a 3 pm appointment at LC and an "after LC" appointment at Prive, I wanted to fill in the early part of the afternoon with two more stops.  Chehalem was my first addition, in no small part because winemaker Harry Peterson-Nedry is an entertaining writer (see the newsletter on the Chehalem website for examples).  He also makes one of the three current LC wines. 

 

I was hoping to arrange a tasting at Owen Roe, to add some diversity to the lineup we'd be tasting through (in the form of Washington State Rhone and Bordeaux varietal wines) as well as ensuring that there would be wines that my friends would find affordable, but they were all booked for the day.  August Cellars (which houses wine production for seven wineries) was my next choice, but I decided at the last minute to switch to Rex Hill, knowing that they're part of the same ownership as Francis Tannahill (another LC cuvee producer).  

 

We had weather as perfect as it gets in early February in Yamhill County -- sun, gentle breezes, good visibility across the valley.