I almost passed by this hidden gem of a winery, actually I did a U-turn and went back to see about a tour and tasting.  I was no more than 30 minutes away from my final destination of the day to Bend and stumbled upon Maragas Winery in Culver, OR.  Little did I know I would end up scoring a private tour with an endless tasting, but I had to be mature and responsible knowing I still had a drive ahead.  I also made a sweet friend out of this pleasant stop.  If you get out this way stop in to say hi to Nathan and he will make you feel right at home…better yet HE KNOWS HIS WINE.  Meet Nathan  Notice the exquisite art work that varies on each wine variety.  I chose the Beat Red wine which was amazing (the bit the flies didn’t taint). **Side story- I took it camping the following weekend on the way to Crater Lake NP and the flies decided they liked it just as much when I stepped away from the bottle to try to play Frisbee.  I was so disappointed about this situation.  The wine bottle AND surface of the wine in the glasses were seriously covered with these little fruit flies.  Did I mention it was only a half bottle to begin:(Look closely and you’ll notice the rooster below the wine barrell.  Meet their Maremma Italian sheepdog called Peaches–the sweetest wine (and chicken) guard dog. Believe it or not Peaches is just a pup; what a beautiful breed. Nestled in between the 7 peaks of the Cascade Mountains

Quite a lovely experience!