Volcanic Mineral Water

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Volcanic Mineral Refresher is a natural resource high in Magnesium, Zinc, and Bicarbonate with a smooth, clean, mouth-filling taste,  sough after my health conscious consumers beginning in the 1870’s.  The minerals are pure, naturally occurring state for maximum absorption without being bound to undesirable Iron, Chloride, or Sulfate. The National Institutes of Health states that … Read more

50 Plates

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In the previous years, there have been a multitude of fads and trends in the world of wine. Regions come and go; vintages wax and wane; buzzwords are carelessly tossed to and fro. As a result, we often overlook the gems that are hidden right under our noses. American food and American wines are excellent … Read more

Eat, Drink Central Oregon

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From Deschutes Brewery: Slow Food “Eat, Drink, Central Oregon” Saturday, May 15th, 2010 6:00pm-9:00pm Deschutes Brewery Mountain Room Deschutes Brewery and Slow Food High Desert are teaming up to bring you EAT, DRINK CENTRAL OREGON! This event will highlight a mouth watering assortment of locally grown, seasonal food and of course, delicious beer! Come meet … Read more

Coffee House Cafe

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The Coffee House Cafe in Salem serves 100% Organic Coffee locally roasted in the traditional Italian style from Ticos Coffee roasting company in Stayton. They have free wi-fi and comfy chairs to enjoy your coffee and talk with friends.  Large space inside and out. Their menu is varied as is their selection of drinks.  Beyond … Read more

Honest Chocolates

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They are good, honestly.  I dropped by Honest Chocolates‘ Newberg location after a recently sunny day visiting Willamette Valley Vineyards and had some very delicious chocolates, especially the peanut butter cups.

They make the candy themselves, with their own recipes, and in a kitchen, not a factory. Their chocolates are hand-dipped with high quality “eating” chocolate, not the inferior “dipping” chocolate that can taste waxy or slick.  They choose natural ingredients whenever possible to avoid impurities that might affect the candy-cooking process.

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Volcano Vineyards

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Volcano Vineyards is a Micro-Winery producing about 1000 cases per year.  Their Tasting Room is a located in Bend, a Central Oregon city.  The founders are two former waiters with a love for wine and a great story of how they started i the wine business found here.

What is a Micro-Winery?

We are very small – hence the “micro” – it’s along the lines of a micro-brewery. A “small” winery is considered to be one that produced less than 50,000 cases per year. For our first commercial vintage release (2003), production was a mere 250 cases. And we are now up to a whopping 1000 cases annually!

Awards:
Double Gold Medal – 2009 National Women’s Wine Competition
Double Gold Medal – Wine Press Northwest 2008 Platinum Judging
Gold Medal – 2008 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
Silver Medal – 2008 World of Wine Competition

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Hop Valley Brewing

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Some of the largest hops farms in the country were located at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette Rivers until prohibition destroyed the demand.  Hops Valley Brewing pulls from this rich history to brew some fantastic beers on site.

Their Brew Master is Trevor Howard.  A graduate of the OSU Fermentation Science program in 2004, he has already won 41 medals at national and international beer tasting competitions.  He started with Rogue in April, 2004 before joining Hop Valley where they brewed the first batch of DD Blonde.  

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Green Plow Coffee Roasters

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Green Plow Coffee Roasters is the only locally owned coffeehouse in Redmond with an in-house  roastery!

Green Plow Coffee Roasters is located in the heart of downtown Redmond, Oregon serving as a living room for the community.  Go in, grab a cup of their house roasted coffee, and talk with friends, old and new.

Green Plow roasts coffee fresh in our shop on a Probat L12. As Volkswagen owners, we appreciate its simple German engineering.  It’s important to us to find coffees that not only taste great, but that are ethically produced. We also look for coffees that have been grown with environmentally friendly methods. Watch here for updates!

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Cheese Bar On Belmont

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6 Beers on tap, 50+ bottles of beer, and  200+ types cheese.

I had a chance to talk to Steve of the Cheese Bar on Belmont near 61st. It’s great to talk to someone who has a passion for what they do.  Steve has been selling cheese for 15 years.  Steve and his wife started experimenting with pairing cheese and beer and loved the results.

“Beer pairs better with cheese than wine.” It seemed like a bold statement but he had some good points.  Beer is made of grain and the animals eat grain. It isn’t a gigantic leap why they should work.

Steve has three ways to pair cheese with beer.

1) Comparative – Acid to acid, pairing bright wheat beer with Chevre,goat cheese.

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