Andrea Johnson Photography

 

International Pinot Noir Celebration

Another amazing year at International Pinot Noir Celebration- hard to believe I’ve photographed and filmed this incredible event for 12 years and it’s the 33rd anniversary  of IPNC.

IPNC 2018 lunch, vineyard tour, and blind tasting seminar at Bethel Heights, Eola-Amity Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon

A few of these quotes and photos memories from 2018 capture a glimpse into what Jancis Robinson describes as ‘One of the most enjoyable wine weekends in the world “

Cheryl Wakerhauser of Pix Patisserie & Bar Vivant dessert: strawberries, lemon & cheesecake mouse, candied lemon, basil ice-cream and strawberries inside

It’s truly a one of a kind event, a fabulous way to celebrate pinot noir with 1,000+ friends old and new.  “Three days of tastings, seminars, vineyard tours, and meals. Throughout the weekend, guests have the chance to taste wines from 70+ Featured Wineries and the opportunity to meet and converse with the winemakers themselves. Highly regarded as one of the world’s finest wine events, the IPNC is also praised as a showcase for the Northwest’s famed farm-to-table cuisine. This year, more than 60 chefs from the region’s most revered restaurants will cook for IPNC guests over the course of the weekend.”

Grand dinner, Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon

Grand dinner dessert

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Saffron Fields Vineyard Fireworks celebration

Saffron Fields Vineyard in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley wine country throws the best private fireworks event I’ve seen, and each year the show gets even more spectacular. A great way to celebrate Independence Day holiday with friends, tasty food cart treats, a bottle of pinot noir rosé, and their Japanese summer garden bloom at it’s peak. A few photo highlights from all year, and video teaser from 2018 (stay posted for longer video update soon).

Fireworks reflected in Japanese Garden pond July 3, 2018

Drone’s eye view over sold out croud before fireworks show

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Vietnam – food & photography as the ultimate connectors into intimate cultural experiences

Every time I share this story of Sa Mei and myself meeting in 2007, and coincidentally reuniting in 2017 I’m amazed and inspired by the power of photography to connect.  Sa Mei is a member of the Red Dao hill tribe and lives in a small village about a days walk outside of Sapa, Northern Vietnam.  We had met her in 2007 on the trail, and I was taken by her warm smile and welcoming face, asking her to pose for a photograph. We only had about 30 minutes to connect, and limited English to communicate initially but she made an impact on me and I saved her photo on my phone.

Photo of myself with Sa Mei in 2017, holding photo I took in 2007 saved on my iPhone

In 2017, we were back in the same area leading a small group of photographers on a tour when we happened to run into Sa Mae on the trail.  As you can see from the two photographs, she looks nearly identical, but I wasn’t sure it was her until I pulled up her portrait on my phone to compare.  When I approached her and shared this portrait she was of course surprised and I’m sure uncertain of who I was, then nearly began to cry as she examined the photograph and we began to share memories of this encounter.

Portrait of Sa Mei in 2007 & 2017, a Red Dao hill tribe women near Sapa, Vietnam

Sa Mei and I shared stories of our lives the past decade (she has become more fluent in English with the influx of tourism & in fact speaks 4 languages), and we discovered that we were the same age though have led very different lives.  As she walked along the trail with our group I learned she is a grandmother and has a small farm where she lives with her husband and her son and daughter in law and grandchildren.  When she invited our group to join her family for lunch we happily changed our schedule and met her the next day at the trailhead.

Sa Mei walking on trial to her village Giang ta chai of the Red Dao hill tribe people outside of Sapa, Northern hill tribe areas, Vietnam

Sa Mei and her daughter in law guided us along the paths to her village, about an hour walk outside the main tourism trekking areas to a delightful village we would have never discovered on our own.

Sa Mei holding my hand as she leads me on trail to her village Giang ta chai of the Red Dao hill tribe people

When we arrived we were greeted with a bountiful welcome – the family had gathered the equivalent of a thanksgiving feast including fresh vegetables and poultry from their farm and a freshly slaughtered pig all being cooked by the family on open fire in the middle of their house.

Man May Lo cooking lunch for our group inside her home

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Aug 21, 2017 Eclipse video at Cristom Vineyards

“Dance beneath the stars, as you drink in the night…feel the force of nature penetrate your skin, spin with the world as the magic sinks in” Christy Anne Martine.

I’m still feeling the emotions from experiencing the total eclipse on Aug 21, 2017. Words can’t express the energy of the totality, the awe of the diamond ring and solar flares, the surreal glowing of a 360 degree sunset view of Mt. Hood and the vineyards during the 94 seconds of totality. But fortunately we we were able to capture several perspectives with 7 video and photo cameras – telephoto lense close up detail of the stages of the eclipse, wide angle views of the of the crowd & vineyard, and drone views of our group of 100 people hiking from Bethel heights winery past Temperance Hill Vineyard to Cristom’s highest elevation planting, Eileen vineyard. Here, on top of the Eola Hills, we drank wine, ate oysters, and shared a once in a lifetime experience with unobstructed views over the Willamette Valley.

Diamond ring in all it’s glory just before eclipse totality at Cristom Winery, Eola Hills, Willamette Valley, Oregon

Eclipse day began with a hike from Bethel Heights winery through Temperance Hill Vineyard.

Eclipse viewing event at Cristom’s highest-elevation planting, the Eileen Vineyard with an unobstructed view of the Willamette Valley.

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