Every week the McMinnville Chamber of Commerce sends an email blast. to its membrs  Here;’s their lead item on for July 24.

Kudos to Kelty Estate!
The Kelty Estate B&B Blog, recently ranked by Google’s Blog search as the #1 blog for Oregon Wine, announced the winners from the Willamette Valley at the prestigious San Francisco International Wine Competition.  Ten area wineries received 21 medals, including a gold medal for the Arcane Cellars 2007 Pinot Gris Reserve. The complete list of winners is posted at the Kelty blog.  There you will also find a map to all the medal winner wineries.

SAN FRANCISCO, July 18, 2008  Ten wineries from the Willamette Valley, receiving a total of 21 medals, were among the winners of the prestigious San Francisco International WIne Competition.  In all, the competition examined wine from 23 states and 23 countries. 

 ”The medal count included 125 Double Gold (a wine is elevated to Double Gold status when all judges on a particular panel agree that a wine deserves a Gold medal), 180 Gold, 941 Silver and 1,593 Bronze. “ (PRNewswire via COMTEX, July 18, 2008)

Read the complete CBS Marketwatch report on the competition here. You can also download the list of medal winners winners.

The owners of the Kelty Estate Bed and Breakfast,  Bill and Joava Good and its manager, Nicci Stokes, congratulate the winners.

 To encourage people to visit these outstanding wineries and purchase these award winning wines, we have created a Google map to these award winning wineries. In addition to listing the awards, the list below also includes links to these winery websites.

The Willamette Valley Winners

Abiqua Wind Vineyard 
Other Best, Double Gold Medal Abiqua Wind Vineyard 2007 Müller-Thurgau, Chloes Breeze, Willamette Valley $12.

 Amity Vineyards

Silver Medal Amity Vineyards 2007 Pinot Noir, Eco Organic, Willamette Valley $27.

Silver Medal Amity Vineyards 2006 Pinot Noir, SunnySide, Willamette Valley $40.

Bronze Medal Amity Vineyards 2006 Riesling, Willamette Valley $17. [1.48%]

Bronze Medal Amity Vineyards 2006 Pinot Noir, Crannell, Willamette Valley $40. 

Arcane Cellars

Gold Medal Arcane Cellars 2007 Pinot Gris, Reserve, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley $20.

Silver Medal Arcane Cellars 2007 Pinot Gris, Estate, Wheatland Vineyard, Willamette Valley $16.

Bronze Medal Arcane Cellars 2007 Riesling, Estate, Wheatland Vineyard, Willamette Valley $16. [2.7n%]

Bronze Medal Arcane Cellars 2006 Pinot Noir, Reserve, Dundee Hills, Willamette Valley $32.

Battle Creek

 Bronze Medal Battle Creek 2006 Pinot Noir, Battle Creek Vineyard, Willamette Valley $40.

Domaine Serene

Bronze Medal Domaine Serene 2005 Pinot Noir, Evanstad Reserve, Willamette Valley $58.

Bronze Medal Domaine Serene 2005 Pinot Noir, Jerusalem Hill Vineyard, Willamette Valley $75. 

Elkhorn Ridge Vineyards & Winery

Bronze Medal Elkhorn Ridge Vineyards & Winery 2006 Pinot Noir, Le Terre Foss, Willamette Valley $39.

Griffin Creek

Silver Medal Griffin Creek 2004 Syrah, Rogue Valley $35.

Bronze Medal Griffin Creek 2005 Viognier, Rogue Valley $25. 

Tualatin Estates

Silver Medal Tualatin Estates 2007 Muscat, Frizzante, Willamette Valley $15. [10.6%]

VX - Vercingetorix

Bronze Medal VX - Vercingetorix 2006 Pinot Noir, Estate Grown, Willamette Valley $30.

Willamette Valley Vineyards

Bronze Medal Willamette Valley Vineyards 2006 Pinot Noir, Estate, Willamette Valley $40.

Bronze Medal Willamette Valley Vineyards 2006 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley $25.

Bronze Medal Willamette Valley Vineyards 2006 Chardonnay, Dijon Clone, Willamette Valley $18

Bronze Medal Willamette Valley Vineyards 2007 Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley $15.

When you visit the Willamette Valley, you naturally want take a wine country tour of several of the 75 or so vineyards in this part of heaven.  I’m going to assume for the moment that you like fine wine but perhaps don’t know enough to talk about it “properly.”

Suggestion:  Download and print a glossary of wine terms.  Then taste some of the spectacular Oregon wines, you can begin to make comments like:

“I loved the lingering aftertaste.”

Or you could say, “That was an atractive wine.”  According to our glossary that is “a slight put down for expensive wines, a slight compliment for o thers.” 

The glossary will further advise you on the proper sequence of communicating your perceptions.

a) Colour/clarity of the wine when the wineglass is tilted and its contents viewed against a light source.

b) Smell - (known in the general sense as the “nose”).

c)  Taste - (first in the “mouth” or “palate”, followed by the “finish”)

Our limo service, All Events Limo, always has a copy of this glossary.  By matching the terms in it with the wines you taste, you will return home not only relaxed but enlightened to the point you can show tell your friends a thing or two about wine tasting.

Cerainly one of the best, if not the best, photographer in these parts is Janis Miglavs.  He took the exterior shots of the Kelty as well as many of the interior shots you see on our site.

I just found his blog where he exhibits some of his photographs and describes a behind-the-scenes look at photography, wineries, and vineyards.  His recent set of posts deals with this spectacular country we call home.  And no, you don’t have to come here to see his photographs.  But warning, when you see the beaty he saw through his lens, you will be firing up your car or booking air.

In a word: spectacular.

And by the way, I thoroughly enjoyed his essays about wine and photography. The man can also express himself in words.

With this post, I’m starting re-naming my series on things to do in Oregon WIne Country.  There are undoubtedly hundreds of things that can draw you to our part of the world.  Beginning with this post, I’m going to start numbering them. As you might imagine there are five others. They are all in the “What To Do” category.  So stay tuned for more.

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A scant 10.1 miles from the Kelty Estate Bed and Breakfast, you will find the 99W Drive-In Theatre. There’s not a lot of drive-ins left, giving you still one more in a very long list of reasons to visit Oregon Wine Country and stay, naturally, at the Kelty. They are open Friday, Saturday and Sunday night.

For current showtimes, features and a map, visit the 99W Drive-in Website.

There is always something to do in Oregon Wine County. Pick a week-end, and the Concierge here at the Kelty will recommend places to go, wineries to visit, where to eat. Heck, with our All Events Limo service, we’ll even take you there. But sometimes the choices are just staggering. Take July. Of course the 24^th to 28^th is the International Pinot Noir Celebration. Can’t get tickets to that? Check out the week before. Check our availability here.

Saturday, July 19: Motor on over to the Sokol Blosser Winery in Dundee (5.1 miles from the Kelty which is, of course in the heart of the heart of Oregon Wine Country.) From 12:00 to 4:00, enjoy their “Inaugural Grape & Grill BBQ.” Your cost: $0.00. Get complete details here.

Saturday, July 19. This could be quite a day. After your BBQ in the afternoon at Sokol Blosser, by all means attend an awesome evening at Stoller Vineyards.  Bill and Cathy Stoller are hosting “Starry Night” an evening of dinner and dancing under the stars—all to benefit the McMinnville Education Foundation. Tickets are $85 per person. You will enjoy a traditional Northwest Salmon Bake as well as dancing and an auction.  For info call Maria Stuart at 503-472-6990 or visit the Foundation’s website at www.mac40kids.org.  Oh, by the way, you are all of 4.1 miles from your BBQ at Sokol to the Stoller Vineyards. See what I mean about the Kelty being in the heart of the heart of Oregon Wine Country?

Sunday, July 20. Vista Hills Winery and Bike Gallery are teaming up for a bike ride ande catered lunch and wine pairing. 100% of the proceeds go to Oregon’s Children’s Foundation. It all begins at 9:00 AM and wraps up to 2 PM.  After the ride, you will enjoy a  lunch at Vista Hills catered by Olive You from McMinnville.  You are a big 5.2 miles from the Kelty, about 11 minutes. Anyone interested in the ride can contact wineride@bikegallery.com for more information. To register they can visit any Bike Gallery location or call Kelly at 503.636.1600.  To find a Bike Gallery website near you, visit the Bike Gallery website