Crazy Vacation (2)

Sun 06.27.2004 (the official first full day)

We talked with Jake and Mina some more in the morning and didn't leave until noon. I was hoping to stop by Saturday Market in the morning but it's was too short of a visit with Jake's family.

One of the things we wanted to do the most was to visit some vineyards. When we lived in Portland, we weren't into wines as we are now. 2002 turned to be the best vintage for Oregon Pinot Noir. Some wineries had already sold out after 2002 labels released (realier this year) in a couple of months' time. Those "Smart Buys" rated by Wine Spectator were pretty much hard-to-find items.

We studied maps of Northern Willamette Valley and planed our trips weeks ago for this day. 3 wineries were our limit and 1 tasting bar. All of them were around Dundee, Oregon.

Ponzi Bistro and Wine Tasting Bar was our first stop. Surprisingly the Dundee Farmer's Market (next to Ponzi) was still going (around 1 pm), so we bought some cherries and blackberries.

We had lunch in the Bistro. The Porcini Mushroom and Potato Soup was just incredible. I also ordered a beet salad It's too beautiful to eat it. Actually I didn't know there were beets in the salad; I didn't think it was listed in the menu. I didn't know the name of the yellow beet, so I could easily made such a mistatke. Perhaps the waiter took the wrong order??? Anyway, they were dim yellow in color, similar to a star fruit. I recognized the earthy taste but couldn't quite tell what they were. Finally, I asked a waiter; he didn't know either. However, he found out for us.

We had lunch in the Bistro. The Porcini Mushroom and Potato Soup were just incredible. I also ordered a beet salad and the presentation was too beautiful to be eaten. Actually I didn't know there were beets in the salad; I didn't think it was listed in the menu. I didn't know the name of the yellow beet, so I could easily made such a mistake. Perhaps the waiter took the wrong order??? Anyway, they were dim yellow in color, similar to a star fruit. I recognized the earthy taste but couldn't quite tell what they were. Finally, I asked a waiter; he didn't know either. However, he found out for us.

Then we walked across the hall to the tasting room. They didn't have as many guest wines as advertised (50) on the web site. Perhaps the selections vary depending on season? Ponzi makes great pinot; however, we weren't "ready" to spend more than $30 a bottle. The goal of this trip was to bring home 3 bottles of Oregon Pinot Poir. They had already sold out 2002 Tavola, a 90-pointer from Wine Spectator with exceptionally great price at $15.

Later we went to tasting rooms of Argyle Winery, which was just across the street from Ponzi Wine Bar, Erath Vineyards Winery, and Duck Pond Cellars. We must have had tried 20+ wines.

As a matter of fact, during this vacation, we visited various Fred Mayer locations in Portland, Zupan's, and Whole Foods to check out their wine selections. It's probably hard for outsiders to imagine a grocery store like Fred Mayer's would have excellent selections of local, domestic, and imported wines. I suppose non-wine-drinker Portlanders wouldn't appreciate the fact as much as we do. Especially after living in San Diego a while, we feel there's no comparison. Believe it or not, only a handful of Oregon wines are available in specialty wine shops in San Diego.

Our Portlander friends aren't into wines. I wonder what demographic profiles are the wine patrons there? There must be a lot of demand; otherwise, Fred Meyer's wouldn't carry so many, would they?

In the evening, we went to Sam and Yukiko's apartment in SE Portland. Well, we were supposed to be there around 4pm but we didn't get there until 7pm due to hanging around the vineyards for too long. We brought over a bottle of O'Reillys Pinot Poir Oregon 2003, local King Salmon, Normandy Apple Bread from Ken's, fresh asparagus, and Sam made green salad and white rice. It's kind of funny combination of food, I know.

We wanted to try salmon and Oregon Pinot Noir together very badly, so we had a discussion with Sam and Yukiko long before our visit to make sure making fish at their place wasn't an issue. A clerk in Zupan's recommended O'Reillys as "best for your money" choice. It's just like he said it's totally ready even though 2003 might sound young.

We repeated the story how we met Yukiko at LAX Airport to Sam 2 or 3 times. Sam himself was to meet us at PDX airport. He didn't know that our flight was "cancelled" and waited 1.5 hour in the airport for us.

Sam and Yukiko were creative and musical people. They met in Germany when Sam studied German Language and Yukiko, music. Sam plays drums, guitar, and bass. He showed us a song he wrote and recorded (all by himself) called "Minimum Wage." It was a "rock-a-billie" tune as he called it with funny lyrics describing his working experience at Plaid Pantry (convenient store). It was good and we were amazed. Sam is a very mellow guy with a "nerdish" look. I'm always impressed with his musical talent.

When Sam first returned to US from Germany, Yukiko was still in Germany. He stayed with his aunt in Portland for 3 weeks and had a hard time finding work. His aunt kicked him out for "tough love" and my impression was that she only wanted to help him to a certain extend. To survive, he took whatever job he could get as soon as possible, which was cashiering at Plaid Pantry. A few months later, he met someone on the bus, who happened to work for the company John was employed at the time, and found out about the job opening. So Sam and John become co-workers -- that's how we met.

Yukiko arrived Portland months after Sam did. Fortunately she already had a green card and needed not go through the time-consuming process of immigration. However, her English wasn't very good, so naturally, seeking employment was out of the question for the time being. They communicated in German at home.

When we met them, Sam was the sole bread provider, earning no more than $9 an hour. Yukiko was eagerly searching FREE English courses because they simply couldn't afford it.

Perhaps some force out there was looking after this couple. They found a room in a house and shared the kitchen with housemates. The housemates didn't use the kitchen much so they had the freedom to cook anything at will. Their landlord also allowed them to build a small vegetable garden in the backyard. Sam and Yukiko often gave us extra vegetables they had and invited us over for lunch/dinner twice. Despite their poor financial situation, they were the most generous people I've ever met.

Above all, we kept contact with them after leaving Portland. I'm glad they make efforts to maintain the friendship as much as we do.

Anyway, it was great to see Sam again. We left his apartment at 11:30 pm, which was probably too late since Sam had to work the next day.