Come for the Wine, Stay for the Cougars
Tastings Are By Reservation… Unless You’re a Mountain Lion
Our four-legged visitors continue delight us. The deer are all over, and our wildlife cameras show how they are constantly careful and vigilant. Look at this doe and see how much time she spends looking around rather than eating:
The deer are clearly puzzled by the camera, and curious about it, hence some fun close-ups:
Why are the deer always looking around, always sniffing in every direction? Because they want to stay alive. They’re worried about this neighbor on Kristof Farms. We lost our local mountain lions (one was shot by a neighbor for stealing his livestock, and another was run over), but this one seems to have moved in. And as you can see, he’s also curious about the camera:
We’re regularly asked about arranging (human) visits to our farm. Or sometimes we’re not asked and people just show up. We’ll be in the middle of an important Zoom call or a television interview and a family will drop by in hopes of getting a tour. (If you’re ever watching us on live TV and you hear Connie-the-dog barking furiously in the background as we look alarmed, that’s probably what’s happening.)
But we do want to accommodate visitors and show off this farm we love, so we’re going to open up the farm to visitors for tastings on Saturday, May 17.
We’ll have one group on May 17 from 1:30 to 2:45 and another from 3-4:15. We’ll offer tastings of wine and cider, snacks, a tour of the farm and some discussion of the wines/ciders and whatever is on your mind. It’ll be $50 per person, which is credited toward any purchase of more than $150 of wine or cider. For more information and to reserve a place, email info@kristoffarms.com and specify how many people and what time. If space runs out, preference will go to members of our wine club or cider club and their guests.
If that afternoon doesn’t work for you, remember that we’re part of the Carlton Winemaker Studio, which has a much more elegant tasting room and is open every day from 11a.m. to 5p.m. The bartender, Nick George, can guide you through our wines, as well as other excellent ones from the area. We’ll also have other open houses in the summer, and we’ve decided to welcome groups of 10 or more people by appointment: email info@kristoffarms.com. Again, preference goes to club members.
Our Yamhill-Carlton AVA turned 20 years old this year, and there are a string of celebrations for it. We just joined the AVA’s spring tasting, which was sold out, and it was fun to share our wines with hundreds of visitors. Here’s a snap of it:
We’re also delighted to announce that we have a California distributor, Vinifera Wines. So if you’re in California and want our wine or cider for an event or a restaurant or a store, Vinifera can supply you. We’re delighted to be working with Vinifera, which has specializes in working with high-end boutique wineries. You’re also welcome to email us, and we can put you in direct touch with Vinifera’s team.
Meanwhile, we love mothers! So for Mother’s Day, we’re offering a discount on our Rosé wine. Information on our website.
I have a product request, could you maybe experiment with developing a sugar-reduced cider (or other, more pigmented fruit juice) for visitors who like the flavor and antioxidants but not the destabilized-blood-sugar outcome? We're told wine isn't a health drink after all, and that fruit should be savored in its pre-juiced form. But presumably a reduced-sugar juice would retain the good stuff, right?
(Of course with its natural sugars only)
Love the deer and cougar videos!
I live on the east coast - not planning on being on the west coast any time soon (do gave a dear friend who lives in Ocean Side, CA...so might venture to Oregon on my next visit). Ergo, right now cannot stop by for a wine tasting. 🥲
I frequent a purveyor of wines in NJ: Moore Brothers. They've been in business for a few decades. Have relationships with small vintners in Europe and CA (I think). You might want to check them out.
Yes, they have a website.