Clouds starting to break up.
Drive, Wine & Dine BY HEINZ HOLZAPFEL | PHOTOS BY SYLVIA NESSAN, TED DAVIS, GARY FELDMANN AND TOSH KANNO Bill and Anne Rasnake graciously organized a
The 23 members who braved the cool morning for the drive.
fall drive to Ponzi Vineyards west of Beaverton on November 4. We met at a Starbucks in Tigard on a very misty morning. Light rain, fog, and chilly temperatures greeted us, but there was a promise of
did its best to get through the clouds. Ponzi had the
some sunshine later in the day. All 23 members in 13
parking lot in front of the event building reserved for
cars made it to the driver’s meeting and were in high
us, a very nice touch. Inside we were greeted by
spirits.
a glass of bubbly and some nibbles, followed by a
Bill had created a great fall route mostly on back
tasty lunch with tastings of Ponzi’s Chardonnay and
roads from Tigard, around Henry Hagg Lake, and then
Pinot Noir. Familiar, but always delicious. We learned
up to Bald Peak and down through wonderful wine
to our surprise that Ponzi was acquired back in 2021
country to the Ponzi winery. We started in mist and fog
by the French champagne producer Bollinger. It will
but as we drove we were surrounded by spectacular
be interesting to see what Bollinger will do with the
but muted reds and yellows of the fall foliage. Hagg
property. Another fun Oregon Drive, Wine, and Dine
Lake was our first rest stop on this quiet morning.
experience! Our thanks to Bill and Anne for all their
Bald Peak, our second rest stop, greeted us with
work on this wonderful adventure! n
dense fog. Once we started our way down from Bald Peak, fog gave way to some sunshine breaking through dense clouds, allowing the foliage to shine
Here are some photos from this drive. There are more
in brighter tones. By the time we arrived at Ponzi, the
on our SmugMug site: https://orpca-pix.smugmug.
fog was gone, the mist had stopped, and the sun
com/2023-ORPCA-Events/Drive-Wine-Dine-1142023
34 | Anzeiger | December, 2023
