Hood River part III

I know, Hood River must be getting old, but it was such a cool place. We also did some wine tasting which was better than the Southern Oregon wines, but still not particularly wonderful. I wonder if it's just me or if I haven't found the write Oregon wines (I know that the Wilmette valley has some great ones, but i thought we'd find some good columbia Valley wines as well). I ended up trying about 6 wineries (no, I did NOT drag Mom and Asha to six. Only one winerie and one consolidated place that poured from many wineries). Of those six, the best was Phelps but the only wine of theres I thought was truly excellent was their Reserve Pinot, at $42 a bottle (not sure it was worth that). it was rich and full flavored. The rose (made from Syrah, I believe) was good but nothing to write home about (so why am I writing about it . . .)?
the other wines were at this place south of Hood River called "The White House." the experience was marred by the fact that the woman pouring didn't know much about wine (she tried to make up for it with friendliness which was appreciated but I would have liked more knowledge and less cheer). I tried quite a few wines here, including a couple from the eastern Columbia Gorge area. The wine lady explained that for every mile you go east, the rainfall declines one inch (obviously, this cannot go on forever, but it sounds good). Unfortunately, I'm not sure I quite believed her dramatic claim, but the point was clear: good rich reds are going to come from further east. So I did try a five grape mixture that was better but still not particularly great. To Nora Table's credit, they were pouring all oregon and specifically Columbia valley wines, i believe.
The pictures are of Asha reclining on a picnic table at the white House (see how much fun she is having!) and Mom in the background doing her favorite thing (texting).
The other picture is of Phelps which is actually located at a golf course, where we also had lunch.
(Mom is currently texting as I type and I'm listening to this repetitive clicking in the background)