Validation!

Oh, it is so good to be validated! I am sure you have had this experience before when you just absolutely know something- not just in your head but in your heart and soul as well. When the understanding you have about something is logical but is even more powerful because it is instinctual and intuitive as well. Then to have others with more expertise and experience in the matter come out to profess exactly what your brain & bones have known for sometime. Now that is a good feeling indeed. Especially when it is about the bright future of your beloved town!

September 22, TripAdvisor the worlds most popular and largest travel community announced its top 10 North American wine destinations according to their editors and Roseburg was number 5 on the list! This list came about after a survey of 1000 U.S. respondents were polled saying that 48% of them plan to visit a vineyard this year with 40% planning to visit this fall! The top 5 winery locations were Napa Valley, Ca. Sonoma County, Ca. Willamette Valley, Or. Yakima Valley Wa. and our little Roseburg, Oregon! Now I must admit this is not a scientific poll and included a relatively small number of people responding, but even with these factors taken into consideration it suggests one very meaningful thing - Roseburg (or the Umpqua Valley more appropriately) is very much on wine travelers radar screen! And it suggests something else I have been saying for a very long time; wine lovers are always looking for another wine region to explore and most of us plan vacations around our search for great wine areas where wines are high quality with fair pricing. That would absolutely sum up the Umpqua Valley!

But even hearing the news of Roseburg’s rating in this very exciting TripAdvisor poll could not be overshadowed by our visit from Terry Richard the travel editor of the Oregonian Newspaper. The Oregonian is the big Portland newspaper with 320,000 subscribers daily. Terry and his friend Erika spent two days with my husband and me doing research on the Umpqua Valley and our wines for a travel article coming out sometime in June of 2010. Being in the unique position of hosting high profile, very experienced travelers is such a privilege! Tasting and touring our way through the region with these knowledgeable travelers who have seen so much and have them leave us with a true appreciation of our family owned wineries, quality wines and natural beauty, is truly an honor. Just one more validation of what I already know deep down in my soul, the Umpqua Valley is a very special place indeed.

Running a wine tour business, spending time with savvy travelers from far away places and even those from right here in our own beautiful backyard allows me a front row seat into observing the effect our special wine region has on wine lovers. So often their experience seems to mimic not just my own first visit here but how I feel just about every single day. A day of appreciation of the beauty and the great wine coupled with awe of the generous spirit and true passion of the wine makers and their families. And as good as it is to have that validation, I really don’t need it. Having lived in and traveled to some of the most well respected wine regions in the world, I knew how special this place was the minute I first visited. I knew it from my head to my toes and right down to my very soul. That is all the validation I need!