Wining and Dining at Faith Hope Charity Vineyards
During Trish and my 5th year wedding anniversary week, where we spent 4 days in Sisters, Oregon, we noticed there was a winery on the outskirts of Sisters, in Terrebonne actually, called Faith Hope Charity Vineyards. After looking it up and seeing that it was located on what appeared to be secluded and bike friendly secondary roads, we both decided that a road bike excursion to Terrebonne was in our foreseeable future, like right after we finished watching the Tour de France, to see what kind of wines central Oregon had to offer.
While we weren’t nearly as fast as Tony Martin was that day in the tour, we both felt pretty speedy, due to the minor but steady descent along the 18 miles leading to the vineyard. We both intentionally decided not to think about the return trip quite yet and go enjoy some central Oregon wine instead.
Trish having to force her way into this over-the-shoulder photo attempt.
Command center.
A cool old gas station right before arriving at the vineyard.
After settling down at an outside table in the shade, we were treated with a feast for the eyes: the property has a beautifully maintained pond with a trickling creek running into it (artificial, but still, it’s pretty), wildflowers of every kind – Trish’s favorite aspect of the environment – not to mention the wine-tasting room itself, which was littered with local artisan-made swag and conventional tasting room elegance. It was a stark contrast to the muffled browns and grays of the surrounding terrain.
Disneyland for your eyeballs.
As we got settled and received what could only be considered the biggest and most impressive cheese plate the world has ever known,
our server informed us of the vineyard’s history. Originally, the space was created for the owners’ daughter, who was about to have a wedding. After the wedding was over, the owners decided to use the space for outdoor venues, and start making wine on the side. The space is now well-established as a popular venue for bands and entertainers to perform for a mixed audience of locals and tourists. And of course, the only alcohol served is the wine from the winery. In fact, at this point the wine is only being sold on site and is not distributed to any of the local wine shops or grocery stores.
While the venue and cheese plate were absolutely extraordinary, the winery itself I believe is still in the developing stages. The vines all along the property look very new, and my flight of four red wines had similar notes: a light bodied, aggressive taste with high acidity; not exactly what I look for in a wine, but hey, everyone’s different. I’d say the winery itself is worth the visit simply for the soothing pond-side tables and wildflower ambiance.
As we thought about the long-climb ahead, I think both of us felt that the trip down was worth the time. The environment was beautiful, we were supporting a local establishment, and the staff on the property were incredibly friendly and lacked the pretentious uppitiness or nose-raising that makes so many quality wineries intimidating and uninviting. All I can say is, we were as happy as we possibly could have been as we got back on our bikes and considered the 18 mile sludge back to Sisters we had ahead of us.
Goodbye beautiful Faith Hope Charity Winery. Wish us luck on our uphill slog home.
Categories: Pubs and Pinots