– by Suzanne Morphet –
If you think you need to go to Europe to enjoy a river cruise with fine wineries, spectacular vistas, and rich history, you’re mistaken.
You need only go to Portland, Oregon. That’s where I climbed aboard the SS Legacy for a week-long cruise that takes in four rivers, nine wineries and countless moments of swirling and sipping.
While the Legacy – a replica coastal steamer – waits for us near The Bridge of the Gods on day two, we discover why grapes have joined apples, pears and cherries on the fertile slopes of the Columbia River Gorge. “What’s unique about the Gorge is the variation in climate, altitude, aspect and soil,” explains Carey Kienitz, the winemaker at Springhouse Cellar, as we taste a flight of his whites and reds amidst the Romanesque ruins of this former pear cannery and distillery.
Further up the road, Mt. Hood Winery is making a name for itself beyond the Gorge. “Their ice wine was one of the five top wines out of 1,600 wines at the Great Northwest Wine Competition in 2015,” says Steven Sinkler, a wine expert who’s accompanying us on this maiden wine cruise with Un-Cruise Adventures.
Later, we cross the storied Columbia River that Lewis and Clark paddled to the Pacific more than 200 years ago. At AniChe Cellars, we sit within earshot of clucking chickens and savour crisp white and complex red blends made by the all-female winemaking team.
Back on board, we join Steve in the lounge to talk and taste yet more wine. “The finest wines in the world are blended wines,” Steve tells us, swirling a glass of red and comparing AniChe’s Seven Gables to blends from France’s famed Châteauneuf-du-Pape Appellation, where one wine can have up to 13 varietals. “She has seven of these grapes,” Steve enthuses. “This is a $125 bottle of wine selling for $26 … a spectacular value.”
And so our cruise progresses, our small group of wine enthusiasts visiting wineries by day and learning by night, as we move ever eastward. By our third day the landscape changes to arid plateaus and basalt rock formations that are blacker than the blackened scallops we enjoy for dinner one night.
At Walla Walla, Steve tells us “we’re basically in Bordeaux”. With more than 150 wineries, the town that was once famous for sweet onions has been named one of the top ten wine regions in the world. On our return down the Columbia Valley there’s time for more wineries and a visit to the Maryhill Museum of Art.
By week’s end we’ve learned to sip and swirl like a pro, but my friend Julie and I still can’t pick out those flavours of black cherry and plum and cedar and everything else that oenophiles rave about. At our last wine tasting Julie throws up her hands. “Who cares anyway?” she asks peevishly. I laugh and buy a bottle to take home. I may not know a Merlot from a Malbec, but I know a good cruise when I’ve had one, and this one has been – as Steve would say – “spectacular”.
See Ameritage! Four Rivers of Wine & History www.uncruise.com
In Portland, The Jupiter is a funky hotel close to good restaurants. www.jupiterhotel.com
