As I mentioned in my last post, my good friend and college teammate Julie was in town last weekend vising from Atlanta. Julie is a huge fan of Oregon Pinot Noir (she finds her Oregon Pinot Noir at Total Wine in Atlanta), and on Sunday we decided to do a quintessential day in wine country. We kicked off Sunday with the highly recommend brunch from the Babica Hen Café. Our neighbors have been raving about their brunch, and ever since we had dinner at Babica Hen over Memorial Day weekend, I’ve been looking for a reason to go back!

It’s hard to believe I haven’t seen Julie since our wedding last September, Julie was one of my bridesmaids! Although given how much we talk on the phone, it was like we hardly missed a beat. Julie and I were both on the Women’s Golf Team and in the Civil Engineering program at Vanderbilt, we’re teammates through and through. Anchor Down Commodores!

Brunch was amazing! The Renaissance Man raved about his Bloody Mary and we all enjoyed our meals. The highlight for me was the cornbread and crispy potatoes! The best part of eating in a group is getting to try out other dishes, we casually shared (top to bottom) the Hen House Breakfast, Fried Chicken and Waffles, and the Eggs Benedict.

As you may recall, a few weeks back The Renaissance Man and I volunteered at the Fuel By Fine Wine Half Marathon. One of perks of volunteering was getting a “swag bag” full of promotions to different wineries around the area. Julie and I  went through the bag and picked out a few places with tasting promotions that she wanted to try out. Our first stop was at the Stoller Family Estate.

We learned that Stoller wines are made exclusively with grapes harvested from estate vineyards. The tasting room is absolutely stunning and I look forward to going back and bringing friends. On a clear day you have views of Mt. Hood and of the vineyards. They even have a Frisbee Golf Course on site, so be sure to bring your discs if you plan on stopping for a tasting!

What I really enjoyed about the tasting was comparing the 2013 Dundee Hills Chardonnay to the 2012 Reserve Chardonnay. The 2013 was fermented in stainless steel, while the 2012 was barrel fermented in 20% new French oak. I’m relatively new to wine tasting, and the woman pouring did a great job of educating us about the difference between the two types of fermentation, and you could really taste the difference!

I snapped this photo just as we were heading out to the next winery. The architecture of the tasting room really is impressive and visiting on a warm day when the sliding glass doors are open to the vineyard is a must! Just look at the lovely people enjoying wine.

Our next stop was Vista Hills Vineyard & Winery. At the Visa Hills tasting room you feel like a kid again up in a tree fort. We were so busy chatting and tasting that I forgot to take pictures! The one good picture I did, get speaks to the tree top feel of the tasting room.

I was surprised to see horses out back when we first arrived, so I asked what was going on? I learned about an awesome local business called Equestrian Wine Tours that does wine tasting by horseback. What a fun idea!  I have a feeling that we’ll be doing some horseback riding sometime soon!

Our last stop of the day was at Winter’s Hill Vineyard. I made The Renaissance Man stop the car on our way down their long gravel road so that I could take this picture, I just love how the tasting room is tucked away through the vineyard and the trees.

I follow Winter’s Hill on both Twitter and Instagram, and they’ve been winning all sorts of awards lately which is why were were so excited to bring Julie along for a tasting! We discovered Winter’s Hill about a month ago when we did a pizza making class there.

The 2008 Pinot Noir Reserved seemed to be a winner with both Julie and the Renaissance Man, and my favorite was the 2013 Rosé of Pinot Noir. It was such a lovely day spent with a friend in the Dundee Hills!

I’m saving the rest of our adventure in wine country for my next post. My only hint is that we ate dinner at a pretty fantastic place in McMinnville!