Angela’s Blog

Spring in the Vineyard

Spring is slowly coming to the vineyard.  The cherry trees have started to bloom, the vines are starting to show signs of life with the “wooly” buds starting to emerge.  Its the start of the new season.

Oregon Wine Press

The April 2012 issue of the Oregon Wine Press covers all the AVAs in Oregon.  Saffron Fields is the vineyard pictured in the description of our favorite AVA,  Yamhill-Carlton.   Read about it at http://oregonwinepress.com/article?articleName=yamhill-carlton-ava

The picture is by Andrea Johnson

Growing Saffron at Saffron Fields

The strands of saffron used in cooking are the stamens of the Saffron crocus (Crocus Sattivus). We have some of these growing at the vineyard. Here is a picture of the flowers. Saffron is the most expensive spice in the market at $2000-$5000/lb. These flowers should be worth about a couple of dollars. We have been planting some every year.  I think we should have a reasonable quantity next year.

Newberg’s Recipe for great food

Today we had lunch at Recipe in downtown Newberg. at 115 North Washington Street.   This was our second visit to this restaurant and both experiences were equally positive about the service and the food. The owner/chef is Paul Bachard, formerly of Farm to Fork.

The food is all local, while the wine list is global.  I love their cold plate of homemade sausage, specialty cheese, salad, and antipasto. Sanjeev and I shared the ricotta gnocchi which tasted like little clouds.

Definitely a thumbs up.