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Happy Thanksgiving

We're in Portland today, and it's raining sideways.

Sideways. Hmmm. Pinot Noir. Oregon's signature grape is perfect with Thanksgiving, and many of northern Oregon's wineries will be open this weekend for their annual Thanksgiving open house.

A story about the weekend in this morning's Oregonian has a few interesting tidbits:

-- WillaKenzie won't be open for the first time because the Yamhill winery is nearly out of wine.

-- Adelsheim Vineyards is taking reservations for the first time and will limit visitors to 50 per hour. This should help reduce the frustration of large, pressing crowds.

-- Most wineries are charging tasting fees.

-- According to the article, Pinot Gris is America's No. 1 white wine grape. I'm reasonably positive this is not true (the massive amounts of Chardonnay planted in California are testament to this, and Chardonnay also is the No. 1 white grape in Washington). However, Pinot Gris is the No. 1 white grape in Oregon, passing Chardonnay in recent years.

I won't be heading to the wineries this weekend. Instead, I'll be at OMSI with my father-in-law and brother-in-law checking out the Star Wars exhibit.

May the Force - and the Pinot Noir - be with you.

By aperdue at Nov 23 2006 - 9:32am | Oregon | aperdue's blog | 587 reads

corkage charges

The best form of a corkage charge is one where if the restaurant has the wine in stock that is brought in, a $15.00 corkage charge is valid. If the restaurant does not have the wine brought in then a reasonable fee for setup/service is $5.00 regardless of the value of the wine. The reasoning is that the restaurant is there primarily to serve good food. People go there mainly for the cuisine, not the wine. The markups I've seen on the wine list from RETAIL are between 30% and 200% so there is good reason to bring in a wine with a retail value of $85. (Quilceda 2003, now unattainable)or a Pichon LaLande Comtessa 1982, $500. per bottle, and pay a $5.00 corkage since the restaurant probably doesn't have the wine and the average person couldn't afford it even if it was available at the restaurant. The server will benefit from a expanded tip for good service. The restaurant costs are washing the glasses, and storing them. The customer has his/her fine wine.

By evereadyguy at Sat, 11/25/2006 - 11:07am | login or register to post comments

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