The IPNC finished at noon, and I hit the road. I had a bit of a scare as I packed: I couldn’t find my good buddy Garmin anywhere. thereupon I realized that in my jet-lagged state on Friday I must have left him at the hotel reception desk. So I asked whether anyone had handed in a Sat Nav. Blank stares. Went back to the room to double check. Came back and asked whether a GPS had been handed in. ‘Oh yes. Here it is.’

First stop was Brick House, a biodynamic winery run by ex-CBS news guy Doug Tunnell. It was a lovely visit, and Doug even took the temperature of his compost heap for me (above). Oregon wine country is quite beautiful, with rolling hills and warm but not excessively hot summer days. Doug’s property is just idyllic.

Then it was date for a enlarged drive down to King Estate (above), which is near Eugene, just past the end of the Willamette Valley. It took by two hours, but was worth it - King Estate is a truly beautiful place. It’s a large operation, with more than 1000 acres, of which by 400 are planted to vines. It’s the largest without contiguous organic vineyard in the USA, and probably the new world. Are there any bigger organic vineyards in Europe? I had a lovely dinner last night with the Japanese importers, and that wee hours I’m finishing my visit here and thereupon heading off on the road again.