Today, a visit to a winery can offer so much more than a wine tasting. There are vineyard tours, reserve tastings, meeting the winemaker, food pairings and barrel tastings. Each of these experiences enhance the wine tasting experience, leaving a lasting memory. On my visit to Soter Vineyards in the Willamette Valley, my friend and I sat down for the Provisions Tasting, which offers a sampling of the current release wines paired with small plates crafted from the produce and meat grown on their biodynamic farm. From the moment we pulled up to Soter Vineyard until the moment we drove away, the Provisions Tasting at Soter Vineyards was extraordinary and that is why it is the Please The Palate pick of the week. Mineral Springs Ranch is a 240-acre oak savanna in the heart of the Yamhill-Carlton AVA. Soter Vineyards is the 32 acre estate vineyard and the entire property is a biodynamic estate owned by Tony and Michelle Soter. We drove up the long driveway to the top of Mineral Springs Ranch. At the top of the hill is the Soter Vineyards Tasting Room. The rectangular wood barn looks rustic from the outside but is anything but rustic on the inside. 
Abbot Kinney in Venice Beach is a busy street filled with vegan, organic, natural hipster-driven businesses. But, tucked info a storefront between a mystic bookstore and custom jewelry boutique, Yours Truly is truly a neighborhood restaurant, or as their website states, "an earnest neighborhood restaurant." Located in the former Salt Air space, Yours Truly serves a "modern California" menu inspired by Chef Vartan Abgaryan’s roots as a native Angeleno, Armenian-American and classically-trained chef. The space has a casual beachy feel with whitewashed brick, fresh greenery, light wood tables with white chairs and bright orange banquettes. 
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