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Astoria Report
We had a terrific time at the Astoria Wine, Crab and Seafood Festival, busily pouring tastes and glasses between bites of seafood cakes, fried oysters, clam chowder, and chocolate-covered hazel nuts. There are a great many sophisticated tasters at the festival, and we loved hearing what they had to say about our newest wines. One fan described the 2007 Riesling as "a party in your mouth." State Senator Betsy Johnson stopped by and let out a joyous whoop over the '07 Pinot gris upon which local chef Uriah of the legendary Columbian Cafe swooped up six bottles. As for the new 2006 Pinot noir, we were delighted when a knowledgeable Hillsboronian tasted all the Pinots on the floor, and declared ours the best. "How wonderful," she said, "that the best Pinot is right next door.
What's New, Winewise: Four NEW Wines in Pre-Release
Come by next weekend for a taste of four brand new wines that won't hit the public market until late April!
2006 Pinot noir: Check that amazing color! This is our creme-de-la-creme Pinot noir, in the bottle at last.
2007 Pinot gris: So many of you love our Pinot gris, and we've been sold out for some months. Now here's a whole new batch of that wonderful pear-and-vanilla tinged nectar, available right now.
2007 Helvetia Rose: Fans come back year after year for this wonderful off-dry, hot-pink wine reminiscent of sweet cranberies, which is a harbinger of Spring. We say harbinger, because it's usually all gone by April.
2007 Riesling: Our first-ever Riesling is the one wine almost all our visitors buy these days. We like to say it has a Red Delicious apple and honey nose, but the tasters usually say: "Not too tart, not too sweet, it's perfect. I'll take one of those."
Custom Labels
Here's a fun, unique, and easy way to thank your clients and please your friends and family. Your logo, photo, and message on a wine label, attached to a bottle of our fine wine, makes a thoughtful and impressive gift. A case of our very best Pinot noir 2004 with custom labels comes to only $315.80, or $26.31 per gift. You'd pay $28 per bottle without the custom label if purchased individually. See how sensible this is? We also have more economical vintages available. All you have to do is send us a jpeg. and some wording, or ask our creative staff for advice. Talk to Louise at 503-292-6518 and we'll get you all fixed up.
Our Gift Shop
Our gift shop has delightful wine gizmos for your wineloving friends, and hey, even yourself. There are wine bags, tubes, and boxes to better present your wine gifts, pewter wine stoppers with golf and fishing themes among others, grape-cluster earrings and bracelets, and lots of little surprises as well.
We Love Hillsboro
And so does the U.S. News & World Report, which has just named our town one of the ten best places to retire. Since vineyards and wineries are an integral part of what makes life in Hillsboro pleasant, the film crew headed straight over here to Helvetia Winery to interview proprietor John Platt, who has no plans to retire anytime soon, but loves Hillsboro anyway.
The story ran in last week's U.S. News and World Report, and here's the link to the video clip:
Click HERE to view. Enjoy!