The next stop on the 2017 Truffle Shuffle was at the combined tasting room of Brittan Yineyards and Winderlea Yineyard and Winery

The interior is a bit ultramodern for our tastes, but was full of happy people having a good time. They probably wouldn’t want to hear this, but the most memorable part of this stop was the truffle cheese and truffle salami they were serving. The staff was too busy for us to find out where they found these fine items, but I can assure you, these truffle-y wonder nuggets were salty taste nuggets of joy!

And it’s Dominio IV for the Truffle Shuffle win!

In truth, there were no losers on the Truffle Shuffle path through McMinville, but Dominio hit it on all cylinders.  Delicious red wines, attractive space, friendly staff and excellent truffle snacks, as you’ll see below!

Dominio IV’s wines are also biodynamic, which in our opinion is even *better* than organic.  Why?  In short, organic strives to grow food without the use of chemical additives, etc, and of course we believe that is good.  Biodynamic takes that a step further … in short a system in balance manages pests, soil fertility, etc without much additives of any kind.

For additional fun, check out our visit to El Toledo, biodynamic coffee farm in Costa Rica.   They were once a “traditional” coffee farm until the pesticides nearly killed the owner.  Long story short, they’ve developed a biodynamic farm that today is more like a native forest that happens to have a lot of coffee plants.

The walls are adorned by art from the winemaker which attempts to show visually what happens on your palette as their wines cross your tongue.  Fun and unique!

Our lovely and helpful hosts today were LJ on the left and Nicci on the right.  LJ was pouring and Nicci chef’d on up the delightful truffle snacks!  The best combo of the day!

We found the site of these barrels stacked by the giant agricultural building quite visually attractive.

Joyce prefers this photo to the one above, which I prefer, so you get to see both.

…and after all the beauty, here’s a bland industrial photo, just to even things out.

Update August 2018: Dominio VI has moved their tasting room to the country outside of Carlton.  They are no longer tasting at the winery in McMinville.  Click here to read our full report on the new location.

Next stop on the 2017 Truffle Shuffle — Eyrie Vineyards

We’d been warned that they could be a little snooty, but not today and not to us.  They make organic wines and served a fine Oregon black truffle biscotti and truffled chicken liver mousse crostini.  We snuck back for seconds!

Here’s their home-grown version of an argon wine thief device.

Our second stop of the 2017 McMinville Truffle Shuffle was Remy Wines.

As frequent readers may know, we’re more fans of the heartier reds than the lighter pinots that rule the Willamette Valley.  Remy specializes in european styles and they are ready to drink!  Our favorite this visit was the Nebbiolo.

Her tasting room is also “da bomb”, as the kids once said.  Very comfy to hang out in with knowledgeable and pleasant staff.

The only blemish on this visit was the truffle risotto.  While indeed creamy, didn’t seem to have any truffle in it.  Oh well.