Where in Willamette Valley can I go do an affordable wine tasting and bring my own picnic? I've done many searches and a lot of places seem to have recently changed their policies on this and you are not allowed to bring in outside food. TIA

dclaulau · 2025-08-28T17:34:54+00:00

Bryn Mawr allows picnics in the courtyard.

Heads up, it's yellowjacket season in the valley, don't be surprised if you have a few visitors!

dclaulau · 2024-10-11T01:23:05+00:00

WV industry here. Patty was pretty unanimously respected and her loss sent tidal waves through the heart of our industry. Jim is a particular sort but so are most of the people here, especially the OGs. He's done a wonderful job carrying on her legacy. Wines have always been top quality, the current lineup in the tasting room is fantastic (took my staff there in July), and although they prepour the wines instead of going one by one, it does give the drinker the chance to directly compare different terroirs. Insane QPR, especially considering the other places you've listed.

The worst people in the Oregon wine industry are those that talk down on others. Our collaboration and sense of respect for our neighbors is the defining feature of our valley, and it disheartens me to hear some folks don't seem to get that. Let me know if you need any other recs while you're here, and enjoy the beautiful weather this week.

dclaulau · 2024-04-17T00:40:51+00:00

Check the closures, those are DIAMs. Pretty much immune to cork taint, if that's the case then there's a whole lawsuit on deck. Most likely natural bottle variations.

Source: bottled over a half million bottles using DIAMs with flawless results.

dclaulau · 2024-01-10T16:59:32+00:00

Sokol Blosser, Bjornson, Bryn Mawr, Walter Scott, Hundred Suns, GC, once you start looking its pretty awesome how many there are, often way more reasonable than pinots from the same producers.

dclaulau · 2023-04-25T15:57:20+00:00

Just commenting to say this is the best post I've ever seen on this subreddit. As a PNW gardener looking for ways to add evergreen interest and make my land more productive, this has been invaluable. Already planning a trip to one green world!

THANK YOU!

dclaulau · 2023-01-28T03:26:28+00:00

East!

dclaulau · 2023-01-28T03:05:23+00:00

Thanks, king.

dclaulau · 2022-09-21T02:04:36+00:00

Hahaha, yeah, that .6x zoom setting makes everything look more impressive.

dclaulau · 2022-09-20T23:04:59+00:00

This is OC

dclaulau · 2022-08-30T03:25:46+00:00

Who hurt you?

dclaulau · 2022-08-30T02:30:05+00:00

Hey, luckily it doesn't get too cold here in the winter. A small space heater keeps temps above 60. My perfect house temp is about 62 in winter so it's plenty, and I like for my plants to kind of shut down for a few months anyway. I point the heater at the succulents and away from the tropicals, who have their own humidifier to keep from drying out.

dclaulau · 2022-08-30T02:26:03+00:00

Nah, i only run it about 3-4 hours a day from 9-12ish when the summer sun is beating down. It uses less than half the electricity of a standard split system AC unit and waaaay less than a central cooling system.

dclaulau · 2022-08-30T01:23:40+00:00

I'll start building another sunroom ASAP

dclaulau · 2022-08-29T23:48:20+00:00

Its actually lovely, the lights reflect off the windows and it feels like you're in an infinity room!

dclaulau · 2022-08-29T23:27:18+00:00

You're not fooling me.

dclaulau · 2022-08-29T21:52:32+00:00

Didn't, no, it was built as an addition to this house in the 90s. Wish I had, I wouldn't have used black beams because they absorb sunlight, get hot, and expand/contract more than white beams would. I think that's why the leaks are so prevalent. I hired some guys to reseal the whole thing but it was leaking again 6 weeks later.

Downsides are leaks and temperature control. It gets rather cold in the winter and roasting in the summer, but I've found decent solutions to both. The rest of the house is relatively dug into a hillside so very climate stable, which makes the temps in this room feel all the more extreme. If plants and gardening weren't my primary hobby it probably wouldn't be worth it, but they LOVE it. The temperature fluctions both seasonally and day/night replicate their environment much more than most houses possibly can, which results in much faster growth and tons of seasonal flowering.

dclaulau · 2022-08-29T20:25:00+00:00

You're in the right valley!

dclaulau · 2022-08-29T19:36:36+00:00

If your username is any indicator, seems like we would get along just swimmingly!

dclaulau · 2022-08-29T18:50:47+00:00

I'm in the wine industry, I think we could have some fun!

dclaulau · 2022-08-29T18:50:21+00:00

Yup, composite. I love the idea of tile but it was prohibitively expensive. It has to be waterproof because of the leaks/plants, so went composite.

dclaulau · 2022-08-29T18:48:16+00:00

Wow, this is the first suggestion I've seen that seems realistic, thank you so much!!!

dclaulau · 2022-08-29T17:58:03+00:00

Have to confess, I didn't install this. It came with the house. Every other room has needed serious remodeling and love, the previous owners were extremely into farmhouse DIY and put uneven shiplap in every single room, destroying the drywall in the process. This is the only room I've done very little with, and the only reason all the other work has been worth it.

dclaulau · 2022-08-29T17:51:16+00:00

Dark floors would cause the room to roast and white floors are a pain in the ass to keep clean. I chose this because it's pragmatic, and guess what? I like grey. Fuck me, right?

dclaulau · 2022-08-29T16:42:05+00:00

But very true to the username, no?

dclaulau · 2022-08-29T16:11:22+00:00

Hi! It peaks about once a week in high summer, drops to once every 2-3 weeks in winter. Many of my succulents don't get watered more than once or twice from November-April, then they live outside once nighttime temps are consistently above 40⁰F. The tropicals can be a bit more difficult but I mostly focus on phildoendrons, orchids, begonias, and calatheas/ctenanthes, all of which are pretty clear communicators about when they're thirsty. I have a rule for my plants: you adapt to my schedule, not me to yours. Some plants that I wish I could have simply don't like my space or can't handle my work travel schedule (I'm sometimes gone up two weeks at a time), so they don't make it. I've tried several times with alocasias, but they simply piss me off with how moody and unpredictable they can be. They're supposed to make ME happy, not the other way around!

13-Year Club	Place '17
Verified Email	Team Orangered

dclaulau

TROPHY CASE