KRISTOF FARMS, AN UPHILL JOURNEY

Kristof Farms showed up on the radar, just not mine.

Our ‘couple friends’ were attending an event and it sounded like something I’d like.

Not as excited as my wife, but I was properly enthused.

Who doesn’t like a wine tasting event that starts with cider tasting?

I got more excited as the day approached, which is a good sign when going to a vineyard.

I was ripening up right on schedule.

We drove out to the farm on the backroads of NW Oregon, as if they aren’t all ‘backroads.’

Out of Beaverton west on Scholls Ferry to River Road to Hwy 10, then, by following online map instructions, a gravel road with no traffic because common sense says stay on pavement.

An Oregon backroad with a full tank of gas? Perfect.

My wife spent time in Kansas. This wasn’t Dorthy’s Kansas, but close enough on an Oregon Saturday afternoon.

We found our way to a paved road, went up and down, round and round, before taking a one lane gravel road up a steep hill.

How steep? Tire spinning steep.

Up further and steeper, past one or two spreads, we arrived, parked the car.

We filled in the group with a table our pals saved.

We were right on time for introductions. Introductions?

Everyone in the assembled group told their name and where they were from.

Where was I from? Not Portland, not Tigard. Not today.

I played my native card with:

“My name is David. I grew up in North Bend, which I thought of idling up your logging road driveway.”

 

The View From The Other Side

How many times have you seen a stunning view and wondered what was really up there?

Saturday’s trek to Kristof Farms answered that question.

It’s a jewel.

 

The View From Inside

The moveable feast from sheep barn to vineyard.

 

 

I’m glad to be here, to be there.

 

 

Thank you for the tour.

 

 

It’s been an eventful week on BoomerPdx beginning with meeting and actually talking to interesting people.

Tuesday it was dinner with our couples friend and their friends, another couple.

After Saturdays run to the Kristof Farms and meeting Nick and his wife Sheryl I wondered what it would have been like having them at the table on Tuesday.

One thing we’d all have in common is interest in China, which I’m glad for.

Another thing is being good listeners. Nick heard a lot on Saturday, and not all from me, though I tried.

You need to be sharp with a two-time Pulitzer Prize winning country boy from Oregon who is also a Rhodes Scholar and NY Times columnist, among other titles.

Call me old fashioned, but it’s a relief seeing a guy looking at home in his hometown.

A t-shirt and jeans weren’t props.

The Kristof’s are brand-building and market savvy.

Like the couple friends who told us about the event, the Kristofs are multi-tasking for a better future.

Let’s raise a glass to the effort.

In between dinner Tuesday and Saturday on the farm, we saw The Importance Of Being Ernest at The Armory with dinner nearby at the Screen Door.

All in all, the farm trip was a good recovery drive after a Portland run.