WUI (Writing under the influence)

I was just reconciling a credit card statement against the Quicken database on my computer. As I was going through some receipts I realized that I had never gone back to an old post of mine to mention that there was a great place for wine in Cove, OR called Gilstrap Brothers Winery we visited during the Labor Day weekend. I did post some pictures from that trip but never found time to say anything about that special find.

Well, I don't have much time tonight to go into details, but let me just say that place, where, in theory, wine grapes should just not grow, had some good wine. Sure it takes extra special care of the two brothers who own the place (one of whom was more than a perfect host) to produce those grapes. Sure the wine isn't the best (or the cheapest) Oregon has to offer. But the thought that anything comes from as unforgiving climate as Eastern Oregon is known for makes this wine a delightful surprise it is.

The wine can be ordered from the website. The best wine we tasted -- 2002 Merlot -- was made from grapes imported from Washington; I think it was the Columbia Crest region. But the home-grown grapes produce a pleasant table wine called Rio Grande Ronde that this post is really about.