Sacred Drop 
A visit to the beautiful hilltop winery of Elk Cove Vineyards in Oregon
Posted on September 3, 2012
I had the chance to visit winemaker/owner Adam Godlee Campbell at Elk Cove Vineyards following the Wine Bloggers’ Conference in August to talk to him about his stylishly made Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blancs. Elk Cove Vineyards is family owned and operated, started by Pat and Joe Campbell in 1974. Adam, their son, took over in 1995 to manage the winery and make the wines.
Adam Godlee Campbell
Adam explained to me that the name Elk Cove came from a time when they had first moved up to land and found a herd of Roosevelt Elk which roamed nearby, and migrated into the valley each spring.
The winery was established in 1974, their first vintage came out in 1979. They are currently creating single estate wines from five separate sites throughout the Northern Willamette Valley. Windhill, La Bohème, Roosevelt, Mount Richmond and most recently Five Mountain Vineyards were have all been selected for specific site characteristics for their Pinot Noirs based on soil, aspect, and micro-climate. The vineyard uses sustainable agriculture practices and all the fruit is hand harvested.
1999 Sparkling Willamette Valley
Adam led us though a tasting of nearly all their wines, we even had the chance to try their limited edition 1999 Sparkling Willamette Valley wine, their carbonic maceration Old School Pinot Noir, as well as finish with their 2008 Ultima-White Willamette Valley ice wine.
If you get a chance, you have to try their 2011 Pinot Gris Willamette Valley and their 2009 or 2010 Pinot Noir Roosevelt, these were two of my personal favorites!
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2010 Pinot Noir Roosevelt
They have a beautiful winery set on a hilltop in Gaston, Oregon that has incredible views and beautiful scenery. If you are in the area, you can visit them at 27751 NW Olson Road in Gaston, OR 97119 or visit them at http://www.elkcove.com for more information.
Special thanks to Adam for showing us around and allowing us to taste his great wines. Cheers!
Ignite Presentations…Wine Bloggers’ Conference 2012
Posted on August 24, 2012 3 Comments
So, I was asked to give a little presentation, 20 slides, 5 seconds each…wait, that is what I practiced for…in the end it is 20 slides, 15 seconds each on following your dreams. It turns out that having extra time is better than running out of time. This is a little bit about me and what I learned along the way. Enjoy! I know I did when I did it!
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you’ve imagined.” -Thoreau
Special thanks to @Consciouswine for recording and posting it for me! Visit him at http://www.consciouswine.com for the other videos.
Portland has been invaded! North American Wine Bloggers’ Conference 2012
Posted on August 18, 2012
Portland has been invaded…by wine bloggers from all over the U.S. and North America! In case you are wondering what the these hashtags like #wbc12 and #avayc or #winelover mean, you aren’t the only one…even we bloggers aren’t quite sure what they are half the time.
Twitter has taken over the wine-blogging arena: the way bloggers talk to each other these days is by @ and # signs. When I first started blogging, I was overwhelmed by the @ people and # topics that people were discussing and using as their means of communication.
This weekend has been dominated by the #wbc12, which means, “Wine Bloggers’ Conference 2012.”, The Twitter term #avayc means American Viticultural Area Yamhill Carlton; #winelover is a team of endearment for fellow winelovers and also has a link to The Wine Hub, a great marketing method used by a fellow blogger to spread the love…of wine.
Interestingly enough, we are all trying to figure out how much influence we really carry and how much credibility we hold. As bloggers, we use the interactions we have with wines and wineries as a way to help disseminate information and spread the word on a particular region or wine. To see the perceived expectations of impact we’ll have on the Oregon Wine Industry, you can check out the news on us:
“Wine Bloggers Conference a chance for Oregon to shine,” Oregon Statesman Journal, August 18th
To see our real impact, Oregon may need to wait a few months to see the direct impact as these blogs are written and shared across the world. As Oregon is now my new home, I hope to create a strong impact outside Oregon for Oregon’s wine industry through what I write and represent. I blog simply because I love writing about wine and helping demystify the wine world for others. Stay tuned!
Related articles
- 2012 Wine Bloggers Conference in PDX: Wine Predator to Ignite! (winepredator.wordpress.com)
- Wine Bloggers Conference This Weekend in Portland (winepeeps.com)
- Story Hour at the Wine Bloggers’ Conference (wineeconomist.com)
- Oregon Wineries Leverage the Power of Social Media at the 2012 Bloggers Conference in Portland (vinoconvistablog.me)
- Wine Blog Award Winners for 2012 Announced (virtual-strategy.com)
- Hundreds of bloggers gathering in Portland to help shine spotlight on Oregon wine (oregonlive.com)
- Welcome to the Willamette Valley of Oregon! (sacreddrop.com)
Sacred Drop 