Noir Is the New Green

Carlos offers Eddie a taste of Pinot Noir on the vine.

African coffee and French toast for breakfast in the rig this morning, a bit of work in my mobile office while Eddie solved several of his NY Times Sunday crosswords, a little doggie walk around the RV park, and then we were off to visit an organic, sustainable vineyard on the South Umpqua River.

Recently retired from his position as an instructor at Umpqua Community College, Carlos Figueroa of Wild Rose Vineyards is a chemical engineer who abandoned the Bay Area some 20 plus years ago to raise his family in the country and grow organic wine grapes. He likens the southern Oregon wine business to Napa in the 60s and he wears the tie-dye to prove it.

After tasting his Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Gris Port he took us on a personalized tour of the vines and gave us samples (warm off the vine) of some of the grapes that will be harvested next week. It was the most intimate and interesting visit to old world viticulture and terroir, or “sense of place” that I’ve ever experienced.

Carlos showed us where he had planted vines in an old rock quarry by auguring six-foot holes in the shale, irrigated the plants for only three years and then let them adapt to the hillside environment. He also explained why he sets his vines on three-foot centers in his quest for quality versus quantity and uses about 5 miles of netting to protect the fruit once it begins to ripen...as opposed to the propane-fired cannons or bird-bangers used by most commercial vineyards.

I’m not an oenophile, trust me. However, I am taken by the simplicity and trust in nature that has resulted not only in delicious organic wines but such a generous and enthusiastic grower. Thank you, Carlos, for a perfect introduction to southern Oregon wines...and you, my friends, can click here for more information on

Wild Rose Vineyard

Lest We Forget...

One of the ways Eddie and I pass the time on these long drives is to tell each other our life stories. This often includes family history and much of yesterday's conversation was about his father's life. This was prompted by the movie we watched the night before.

Katyn is the first Polish movie either of us had seen and this compelling, Oscar-nominated film reminded him of the horrors and hardships his family endured during WWII in Poland.

On September 1, 1939, the Nazis invaded Poland from the west. Seventeen days later, the Soviet Red Army invaded from the east, marking the beginning of WWII. On October 6, Russia and Germany divided, annexed and took control of the country, effectively obliterating the Polish Republic from the map.

While the Nazis busied themselves with rounding up the Jewish population and putting them on trains to the death camps, the Soviets systematically captured the entire Polish military and the "elite" of the country -- sending them to Prisoner of War camps in Russia. Supposedly, Stalin's motive was to deprive Poland of any military and intellectual talent in preparation for the "sovietization" of the land.

Katyn dramatizes what is known as the Katyn Forest Massacre, where more than 15,000 military officers and another 5,000 scientists, engineers, university professors and lawyers were held and then executed. Eddie's father, Wladyslaw Ruminski, was one of the officers who was captured and was on his way to the camp when he and the other soldiers in his cattle car managed to batter down a wall and escape from the moving train in the dark of night.

Wladyslaw rarely spoke to his son about the "war years", but as Eddie grew up he found old photos, eavesdropped on conversations with friends and family from Europe, and gathered a few facts from his older sisters. Many questions remain. Eddie was born in Warsaw while his family was in hiding, but who sheltered them? What role did his father play in the Resistance? How did they escape through Germany to the Displaced Persons camp in England? Eddie was a year old when they left Poland and 4 years old when they emmigrated to Argentina and his earliest memories are of Buenos Aires.

Next week his sister Renee is traveling to South America to visit their older sister, Wanda, who was 5 years old when the war began and almost 12 when they arrived in Argentina. Eddie is certain she recalls more of the war years than he and Renee, and we hope she will share those memories...lest we forget.

Click here to see Katyn trailer

On The Road Again...

I took this picture as were were leaving a KOA camp in Little Rock, Arkansas two years ago. It always reminds me how important it is to have a routine for getting back on the road.

Eddie and I have designated duties at check-in and pull-out. My outbound chores are to settle the hounds and make sure everything inside the rig is stowed and latched down. He handles the utilities and everything on the outside.

This morning after a final check of the signals on the tow car, he fired up the diesel engine and was ready to release the brake when he suddenly exclaimed "Oh Crap!" As he turned off the engine and exited the motorhome he told me he'd forgotten to unplug the shore power.

After disconnecting and stowing the power cord he got back in mumbling "That would have been embarassing." Yeah...sort of like driving away from the gas pump with the nozzle still in the tank.

So you see, even the most experienced and meticulous RVers can skip a step or forget something in their excitement to get back on the road again.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN by Willie Nelson