Have you ever stayed somewhere so serene, that after a few days you felt more refreshed then after a two week vacation in paradise? Thats At the Joy for you. A week ago i had the privilege of staying at At The Joy on a blogger retreat with some great bloggers and friends, and it was truly one of the most refreshed feelings i got. The 3 day retreat began with amazing bubbles by the pool from my friend Andy at Lytle • Barnett : French Tradition meets Oregon Authenticity (lytle-barnett.com) while watching the sunset over the vineyards, followed by incredible appetizers from Spätzle & Speck (spatzleandspeck.com), followed by an incredible dinner, with all locally grown and forraged meets, vegetables, mushrooms and even truffles. To try to explain how incredible the food was, is like trying to grasp how incredible our galexy is. A huge shout out to the guys Carl and Alex who fed us so well.
We also had a fun and goofy blind tasting, which is always fun to do with like minded people that enjoy sniffing wine together. But my favorite part, was the beautiful outdoor space that we got to enjoy over the course of three days. At The Joy has an incredible backyard. There is a heated pool, a great hot tub, and a fire place to enjoy the views as you sip on something delicious. But of course the cherry to the whole place was my room. I got to stay at the cottage overlooking the vineyards, and i couldnt have woken up a happier person if i tried. Breakfest on the patio with some coffee and sitting and reading felt like i was taken back to the coutry side in france, with the vineyards and beautiful rolling hills. Oh to travel again.
The best part about staying at At The Joy is that its literally a hop and a skip away from so many great wineries nearby. We took one of our days to make some reservations nearby, and got to go do a few tastings at a couple local favorites such as Cristom Vineyards and Brooks Wine – Award winning Willamette Valley wines. If you havent been at either, they are a must to put on your list. Plus you get the added bonus of taking some bottles back to the house and enjoying them while you make some dinner in the beautiful kitchen the property offers. I could go on and on about it, but ill let the pictures do the rest of the talking. I hope you have a chance to get out here sometime, and have the incredible time i got to have.
The biggest thank you goes out to my frined Chelsea from The Wine Shutter. Thank you for setting up this amazing retreat and making it happen with everyone that was able to attend. And thank you for your amazing photography. Your work is outstanding and more people need to see it.
The Whole Wine Yards 