When selecting a wine for dinner, many of us typically play it safe.  We tend to choose a wine we know and like.  It’s like driving the same route home every day without even thinking of it because we do it so often.  We recently had a wonderful experience playing with our food at the Wine Country Cooking Studio in Dundee with Chef Wendy Bennett.  It was an experience that was interactive, educational, creative, and hands on.  Something as simple as making a salad with ingredients you hadn’t thought of before but were right in front of you.   We played with the food and gained an appreciation we didn’t have before.  It got me thinking, why not play with wine the same way?  We love when we are able to share with guests how the grapes are grown and the wine is made; you can see them light up with discovery.    Everything comes together with an understanding of what you’re enjoying and why.  Yes, wine can be fun if you play with it.  We see it daily in our tasting room when a guest might taste our Pinot Blanc, or something else they haven’t tried before.  Or when someone visits us from another state, and experiences Oregon Pinot Noir for the first time.

 When was the last time you played with your wine?