Patricia Ridgeway, Owner Of R. STUART / " Big Fire " ( www.rstuartandco.com ) Tastes Her Oregon McMinnviile Wines 1/30/08 W/ Cleveland Park Customers

It's always a great time when we have Trish ( Patricia Rodgers ) Ridgeway at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits to taste her " new " releases with our customers. This time Patricia had several " new " single-vineyard Oregon Pinot Noirs to taste with Mike Martin and me ( Tony Quinn ). We also tasted the current vintage of the white Pinot Gris as well as the blend that had been made of all these single-vineyard Pinot Noirs. We really liked what we were tasting. So did some of our customers that just happened to stop by like Sherry. We gave her and our Country Vintner rep Chris Pigott and order for these " new " wines which are now in the store and ready to be purchased as special gifts for these upcoming holidays.

It was January 30th, 2008 when Patricia came by our store. We also tasted the " new " Big Fire wines of which I think only the white Pinot Gris was available.

The three R.STUART & CO. 2006 Pinot Noirs that Mike Martin and I chose out of the seven or so of them are: Temperance Hill " , " Goldschmidt " and " Daffodil Hill ", ALL from the Willamette Valley and ALL three sell for $57.99 and are available here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 202-363-4265 ). I liked all three, I had a favorite at the time : they were all three distinctly different, one from the other. They have changed since ( it's now Saturday morning, 12.43 October 25th, 2008 as I type ) and so I will have to revisit them again now. They are superbly-crafted and would make great wines for this holiday, even better ones for next year and the year after that. Buy some now and lose them in your home somewhere so that you are not tempted to drink them now : your patience will be rewarded triple-fold!

Trish comes to see us each year and we try and have her taste with you our customers. We love her : she's Irish and fun, honest and a straight-shooter. She tells it like it is and we enjoy that pure honesty of hers. She's also a tireless worker and enthusiastic and love promoting her wines and Oregon, too. Look at the back of her " Big Fire " ( 2007, Oregon Pinot Noir, $22.99 , also here at the store ) and you will be rewarded with a fabulous Irish poem each and every time. The poems change from bottle to vintage and are a breath of fresh air! The older labels had the writing of Leonard da Vinci on them and I do not see it anymore on this 2007 Pinot Noir. What gives Trish?!? It is still on the 2006 Oregon Pinot Gris that we love to sell, too : $16.49 a bottle.

The poem on the 2007 Oregon " Big Fire " Pinot Noir, $22.99 is :

" But you are more than love / the fiery kiss, / the heart of fire, / more than the wine of life. " Pablo Keruda. Is Pablo Irish? Did I misunderstand you Trish?! Fill me / us in. I might have got it wrong.

The poem on the " Big Fire " Pinot Gris 2006, $16.49 reads :

" For there, in the homey night, / Was no thought else that mattered, / And nothing else was true, / But the white fire of moonlight, / And a white dream of you. " Rupert Brooke

Stay-tuned for Trish' next visit here soon we hope. Come and buy some of her excellent wine here at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits in the meantime.

I forgot to mention that we tried Trish's new sparkling dry bubbly with our customers and sold out pretty much each time. It's really dry, quite complex and very seriously-good sparkling wines for those in search of more flavor and taste. There's a lovely yeasty component to it and I think it is best when served alongside a meal. Funny, we've been out and seeing the pictures remeinded me that it is high-time to reorder some for the store. I'll call Chris Pigott my local rep and see if there is any in stock at Country Vintners!

You can reach Trish at : 845 NE Fifth Street, #100 McMinnville, OR 97128 503/472-6990 toll free at 866/472-6990 and fax her at : 503/472-7940 trish@rstuartandco.com. She will be able to provide you with any technical information that you need/want as well.

Here are some fun pictures of this delightful tasting moment spent with Trish at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ).

I just came across some pictures taken earlier in October 2005 of Patricia's visit to the store and in-store wine-tasting which I am including here as well, at least three or so of them for fun, accent, and ambiance as she exudes so very much and you can see how happy she and her wines make our customers feel!

The old ones include the group shots and Trish eating some soup or yogurt I believe : a girl's gotta eat! Fun times always. Mike, Bob, another Mike and Nadia - all great customers coming to taste Trish's wines. Mike and Nadia had been to Trish's wine-owner dinner at the Corduroy restaurant ( Washington D.C. ) recently and were really familiar with her wines, having already bought some of them.

Enjoy them, cheers , TONY