Things are reawakening in the Willamette Valley. While all of us in Polk County have not yet been given the go ahead to reopen our Tasting Rooms, we at Left Coast are preparing wildly to welcome you back when we are allowed to do so. We are yet hopeful for the weekend ahead and will let you know as soon as we have that good news!
With a backward glance, it was a lovely Mother's Day Weekend. Far different, of course, from our brunches and celebrations of years past but a warming Tribute to Motherhood as mothers, fathers too, and their second and even third generations came by in their visiting cars. We celebrated the occasion with a partnership of an offering of wine with a bouquet from the Crowley House, as we continue to see our own wildflowers bloom across the property in abundant color.
To the many who are far afield and safe at home, I trust you were well celebrated in these unusual times. A toast to ALL the Mothers of the World ❤ Everyday is a special kind of Mother's Day, especially for those of you for whom home schooling has been added to your full schedules. Here's to an extra glass of wine for you!
These uncertain times have us thinking back to our own early days. We set our Grand Opening as part of the Willamette Valley Memorial Day Open House Weekend of 2007. Build it, and they will come, and we were so happy you did! Our Grand Opening Gang, shown here, was largely a volunteer group, many of whom have continued to return for our Thanksgiving and Memorial Day Open Houses. In those first years when our few staff members wore more than multiple hats, we couldn't have done it without the help of these all important friends and family members. Heartfelt Thanks ❤
Although we hosted that inaugural event in the winery, we quickly changed plans for a tractor and tool shed, launching our first version of the Left Coast Tasting Room by the following July 4th. Since then, over the past nearly 13 years, we have populated that expanded space with indoor and outdoor seating and, most importantly, YOU! We were elated to have been recognized as one of the Top 10 Best Tasting Rooms by USA Today in 2017. Cheers!
Early on, as I was offering up zucchini and heirloom tomatoes from our organic gardening efforts to go with those bottles of wine, we saw the need for food AND wine in this rural stretch between Salem and McMinnville. We began, tentatively, with an outside caterer. But our goal, from the beginning, was to focus on the produce of our own gardens, the eggs from our chickens and ducks, and sourcing protein and cheeses from local partners. In essence, we wanted to take a Farm-to-Fork approach, presenting the bounty of our working farm on your table, to enjoy with and be enhanced by our family's wines. We are proud to have been recognized by Eater as one of the best 18 places in the Willamette Valley!
Our kitchen experiences have expanded with our community support. There are now many culinary milestones that mark our calendar each year. Among these are the Live Maine Lobster Feast for Sparkling Society, our Valentine Affair, and the Fall Harvest Dinner that we are creatively rethinking in this age of social distancing. We have been pleased and honored to have been a part of the annual Truffle Festival, our wine featured at the Grand Tasting Dinner and at a Left Coast hosted lunch on property last January and earlier as well.
Here you see Master Gardener, Bob, in the herb garden, inspired by his days in France. A smaller greenhouse is adjacent, a larger one, added more recently, provides the salad materials, vegetables, and even early spring flowers for the Tasting Room.
A bumper crop of pumpkins that led to a Pinot and Pumpkin promotion some years ago accompanied a small seasonal flower, vegetable, and fruit market that occupied an otherwise little used outdoor seating area. In recognizing that there had to be a better use for that space, the Italian Forno Bravo, our wood fired pizza oven, entered the imagination.
Not realizing its actual size until its delivery, the work of enclosing the new pizza room began then. Again, by Memorial Day, this time in 2015, the Pizza Oven debuted with the same Bob as aspiring Pizza Chef. A special note of thanks to John and Keith of Falls City's Bread Board for their much needed and significant help as Bob began his pizza making odyssey. There was a lot to learn!
This story of the evolution of the Left Coast Tasting Room and Kitchen, yes, and the growing response to the pizza oven too, will continue in Part 2. There you will meet the now central figures of Chefs Carolynn and Greg and the more recent and youngest addition to the Gardening and Culinary Team, Emma.
In advance of Greg's profile, here is his recipe to try for Dark Chocolate Syrah Truffles. Yum! Pairs beautifully with Pinot Noir or, of course, our delicious Syrah Noir.
With that, we conclude this week’s post! Pending reopening, our curbside service will continue. We are open 7 days a week with pizza pickup included on weekends.
Lisa and Sue will continue their Virtual Wine Tasting jaunts across property. That of Mother's Day Weekend, amid the crimson clover, was a gorgeous visual treat, archived on Facebook if you missed it. They "go live" on Saturday mornings at 11 via Instagram and Facebook.
This continuing blog can be found on our website. And in the weeks ahead, a section on Recipes and Wine Pairing from our Culinary Team will begin appearing there as well.
Stay healthy❤
Cheers and Bon Appetit
From All of Us at Left Coast
