Anyone who cooks, and anyone who drinks wine, (that’s pretty much everyone, right?) has been there: you didn’t finish off the entire bottle of cabernet (or pinot or chianti, etc.) so you’ll “use it for cooking wine”....
Deserved or not, wine has a reputation. Snooty. Pretentious. Elitist. Gary Grilli, the long-time wine steward at Walker Road Fred Meyer in Beaverton has a reputation also. It’s none of the above. Now in his 22nd year at the same store, Gary is one of the most down-to-earth people you’ll ever meet. He’s the antithesis of a pushy salesman. “The last thing I want to be is ‘customer repellant’, Gary says. “I’ll help people if they want help. If not, I’ll leave them alone.” Most of Gary’s customers do tap into his expertise...
Did you hear that explosion? It came from Oregon wine country. And the hits just keep on comin’. In 1970, there were 5 legit wineries in Oregon. Now, there are over 700 with more on the way. Californians have contributed to the rapid growth by coming north and staking a claim. But no need to go down to Ashland and build a wall. Some of the influx from the south has been positive. Take La Crema. The California-based mega-producer bought vineyards in Dundee a couple of years ago. Now, they’re producing a very tasty...
