Mother's Day Gift Guide

Mother's Day is just a few weeks away! We've rounded up some fun wine-inspired gifts for the special women in your life: your mom, your wife, your grandmother, your favorite aunts, your sisters, or your friends. Treat them a Pinot Noir scented soap made of specialty oils, wine infused coffee or jelly, or the perfect nail polish color to wear while they sip their favorite Rosé...Torii Mor's perhaps? 

1. Drinking Wine and Feline Fine Tank - $19.99

2. Grape Mother's Day Card - $4.50

3. Rosé Vibes Nail Polish - $18.00

4. Wine Wipes - $8.75

5. Merlot Infused Coffee - $19.95

6. Wine Jelly - $14.00

7. Pinot Noir Bar Soap - $9.00

Cheers!

Alexis Truitt

Social Media and Marketing Assistant

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Spring in the Vineyard

Springtime brings the beginnings of the hustle and bustle of the year here at the winery and vineyard. Jacques's once again writes us a letter about the happenings here this spring. These letters are always a special read and we include them (along with lots of other goodies!) in our quarterly newsletters. If you're not signed up for our mailing list, do so now to get the first look at all the action. Click here and then scroll down to the bottom of the page to sign up! 

Yes, it is still raining. Spring arrived a couple days ago without fanfare, and it still looks and feels like it did a couple days ago, but the plants are noticing; the daffodils are finishing their hoorays while the Tulips are beginning theirs and every day more trees are also getting their flowery spring dresses on.

The vineyards are also coming out of dormancy. Our vineyard workers have been busy trimming the vines down to two canes that are now laying down on the fruiting wire from where the new shoots will sprout upward toward the sun. As of now the bud scales are just opening and the wool protecting the new shoots are starting to show, meaning we are going to start our spray season to protect this new crop still hidden from us.

In the winery, we have been busy finishing the new 2015 white wines, bottling the new Pinot Gris and Rosé, and also the 2014 Chardonnay and 2014 Olson Pinot Gris. The new Pinot Blanc, Riesling and Viognier will be next. The 2015 Pinot Noirs are a lot like 2014's: rich, sweet, soft tannins and very fruit forward.

We are starting to plan for the 2016 grape harvest barrel deliveries. The cooperages are now busy in France making those barrels that will have to be shipped across the Pacific by mid-July to arrive early to mid-September (everybody is on vacation in August in France).

We know the rainy days are behind us, but it will be nice to see the blue sky…

Cheers,

Jacques Tardy

Winemaker

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Earth Day All Year Round

Earth Day is next week! In honor of being kind to the planet, we wanted to share how we honor and respect the Earth every day and break down some of the different green certifications that wineries can obtain to help their facilities be kinder to the planet. 

We have a long-standing tradition of environmental sustainability here at Torii Mor. We're pretty proud of the innovations made in the state of Oregon in the past several years and we're equally proud of our own contributions. Since 2007 when we built our winery, we have aimed to keep our facilities as earth-friendly as we can. Our winery is a gravity flow building which enables us to use less electricity, and it's equipped with solar panels to allow us to generate some of our own power. 

Because of our efforts, we've been awarded two special achievements: LIVE Certification and LEED Gold Certification. Next time you visit our tasting room, be sure to take a peek at our two plaques for these special awards!

Here's what we do to stay Earth conscious and hold these prestigious awards. 

LIVE (Low Input Viticulture and Enology) Certification: We are one of 41 wineries that strive towards responsible wine production and vineyard cultivation. We limit water consumption and fuel usage during production and use only environmentally safe chemicals and fertilizers in the vineyard. As well we have our own aquifer on our property which allows us to better control our water usage. 

Torii Mor's water well

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Certification: We received our certification in March 2010 by meeting very specific guidelines. Our gravity flow winery helps us reduce our footprint in a variety of ways. From a roof with a low Solar Reflectance Index to our solar panels on the south side of our roof, to installing aerators and planting local plants to reduce overall water usage, and using recycled materials whenever possible, we have a building that is not only functional but kind to the environment. 

Torii Mor Winery with solar panels

How do you keep your businesses and homes earth-friendly? 

Cheers!

Alexis Truitt

Social Media and Marketing Assistant

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Care and Keeping of Wildflowers

In our most recent club shipment we included a little surprise: a packet of wildflower seeds! This spring at Torii Mor we're celebrating Hanami, the Japanese celebration of blooming flowers. And what better way to celebrate than with brand new seeds to grow your own summer celebration? 

Wildflowers are one of the easiest plants to grow, but we thought we'd include some tips and trips here so your wildflowers last and last. 

American Meadows breaks down the process of planting and growing wildflowers into three steps: Plan, Plant, Grow.

As a general rule, you want to plant after the last frost, in spring, summer or fall. For wildflowers, you want to choose a spot that gets at least 6 hours of sunlight each day and is clear of other growths, like weeds and grass. Also be sure to plant your seeds the same day as you prepare the area where they'll be planted. Weeds are inevitable, so planting your seeds the same day as tilling the plot of land gives the wildflowers a better jump to grow.

Planting wildflowers couldn't be simpler: you simply scatter the seeds on the soil and walk over them to press them into the dirt. You can mix the seeds with light sand or vermiculite before you scatter them to better see where they fall. 

Then you can mostly leave them! Be sure to keep the soil moist until the plants are a few inches tall, but after that they can rely on normal rains. 

The mix we included in the cub shipment is a mix of perennial wildflowers which will continue to bloom year after year. We'd love to see your pictures! Use the hashtage #tmwildflowers to share them on social media. 

Want to join in the fun? We'd love to have you as a wine club member! Click on over here to see our club options and to sign up. 

Cheers!

Alexis Truitt

Social Media and Marketing Assistant

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