We spent Sunday afternoon bumping around the Willamette Valley wine tasting with friends. We had no real plans except to eventually pick up our wine shipment. If you truly enjoy wine and happen to be lucky enough to find a winery that you absolutely love, becoming a member makes total sense.

Being a wine club member means you typically receive two to three shipments a year each containing four to six bottles of wine. You pay for the wine at cost and then can visit the winery whenever you like and receive a set amount of free tastings for you and your guests. Wine members are also treated to special member events and often get first and last picks of popular wines.

Our friends are members at Mystic Wines which is located just outside of downtown Amity, and we were treated to free tastings on a cold and cloudy afternoon. I miss summer, but I sure do enjoy this type of fall weather!

What I enjoyed about Mystic is the variety of red wines they produce. In the Willamette Valley everyone is so focused on Pinot Noir, so it’s rare to have a tasting menu with so much variety. We tasted Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Barbera, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and even the last of their Pinot Noir Rosé.

The tasting room was warm, inviting, and perfectly decorated for fall.

The Syrah, Zinfandel, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Barbera are all sourced near The Dalles which is located east from Portland up the Columbia River Gorge. Heading east from Portland the weather is much warmer and drier which is perfect for different varietals of grapes.

I could not get enough of this wood fireplace. With gorgeous views and a crackling fireplace, all I needed was a book and I could have spent all afternoon enjoying the scenery. This is my kind of tasting room!

Since “variety is the spice of life”…we decided to purchase both the 2008 Syrah and the 2011 Zinfandel, certainly a change of pace from the typical Pinot Noir. When checking out we learned that they had some remaining Pinot Noir Rosé which we picked up as well. Rosé was a hit this year in the valley and most places have been out since July! The Rosé was crisp and dry with notes of grapefruit and raspberry.

I told The Renaissance Man that we’ll have to break out a bottle of Rosé from time to time to remind us of our wonderful summer.

Cheers from Mystic Wines!