For its winter issue, a local food magazine asked me to interview the new chef, Jason Stoller Smith, at Timberline Lodge on Oregon's Mount Hood. The chef invited me last week to tour the lodge, follow him around a bit, and stay the evening for a winemaker's dinner at the Silcox Hut, a stone cabin a mile up the mountain from the lodge only accessible by skis or snowcat.
Timberline Lodge is a W.P.A.-era ski resort built of huge stones and mammoth timber, full of late 1930s art and textiles. Its newel posts are carved into animals, and Native American symbols adorn the chimneys. The Lodge sits right where Mount Hood, a volcano, transitions from forest to a moon-like, boulder-strewn landscape. As I packed to spend the night, I thought "lodge chic" and wavered between a Sonja Henie-inspired, muff-accessorized ensemble and a late 1930s, bias-cut black crepe dress with velvet appliquéd peonies. The chef had not very helpfully said the dinner's dress code was "casual formal." And, of course, there was the question of perfume.
What fragrance would feel right with the remote Lodge and yet not intrude on a winemaker's dinner? Lingering in my mind was M.F.K. Fisher's foreword to Angelo Pellegrini's book The Unprejudiced Palate where she recounted Pellegrini shunning her because he thought she'd worn perfume at a wine tasting (in fact, he was smelling the scented soap from his hotel.) I couldn't imagine having the experience scent-free, but I didn't want to intrude on anyone's enjoyment of dinner.
Finally, I decided on one spritz of Serge Lutens Chêne between the breasts on the theory that (1) a spritz in the morning would be faint enough not to bother anyone by dinner but would still fill my nose; and (2) if anyone did smell it, they would think it was the scent of the fire from one of the Lodge's gargantuan fireplaces. My back-up choices were Caron Tabac Blond, Ormonde Jayne Woman, and L'Artisan Parfumeur Havana Vanille on the basis on their natural, forest-like, or gourmand smells. (I went with the late 1930s black crepe dress, too, and packed a 1930s nightgown and Agatha Christie novel to complete the picture.)
Timberline Lodge was the model for Overlook Lodge in the movie, The Shining. Remember the opening scene, an aerial shot of a car driving up a winding, forested road? Now imagine a battered 1986 Nissan pickup on that same road, being passed by an R.V. towing a boat. That would be me in the pickup.
At 6,000 feet, I breathed more deeply to catch up on oxygen. My room had a fireplace and a king-sized bed with a feather bed, Pendleton blanket, and a stunning view of the tip of Mount Hood. The chef gave me a tour of the Lodge, then retreated to the kitchen, where he accessed Epicurious on his iPhone to find out how much flour to add to the gnocchi. Rabbit legs and Kobe beef simmered in the sous vide cook tub. My Chêne performed admirably — and, it turned out, suitably, since the Lodge's fireplaces were being relined and were boarded up. The only smell of roaring fire came from my cleavage.
As the day dimmed, the Lodge's staff took select guests up another thousand feet up to the Silcox Hut for dinner. Here a fire blazed in the gigantic fireplace at one end of the cabin. A long oak table set for 20 people and sparkling with votive candles and Riedel glasses stretched across the stone floor. Chef Jason and a sous chef hustled in the open kitchen at the opposite side of the room.
Each course of dinner was paired with two vineyard-specific Cristom pinot noirs, one fairly recent and one from an older vintage. Tucking into the bacon-wrapped halibut and sipping one of the pinots, it struck me: this particular wine tasted just like Guerlain Parure. I put down my glass in astonishment. Across from me was the Cristom marketing director. At my left sat a local wine critic. "Dried rose petals!" I said. "Plum, cigarette ash, and oak moss. I taste it!"
The marketing director started snorting like a truffling pig and motioned as if he were scooping dirt to his nose. "Yes, potpourri. And I taste forest floor." The wine critic launched a loud discussion of whether terroir trumps weather and tossed out a few French appellations to compare to each of the Cristom vintages. Not knowing much about wine, all I could think was that Nuits St. Georges would be an excellent name for a novel.
A studious woman across from me and to my right asked how I liked the wine. "I love it!" I said, thrilled by its Parure-like complexity. "What do you think?"
She said something about fruit and tannin and acid and ended with a pronouncement about how the wine died on her mid-palate. I stared back blankly, thinking, Honey, all I get on my mid-palate is your liberal application of Fendi. Meanwhile, my Chêne was faint but discernible to me, and a perfect match for the crackling fire.
After dinner, back at the Lodge, the evening was winding down and the Lodge had emptied out. The wine critic and I cadged a cognac from the bartender at The Ram's Head as he was shutting down. We sat at one of the couches near what would have been a fire had the fireplaces not been under construction and talked about the evening and about our writing careers.
"So, you write about perfume, yet you're not wearing any?" he of the discerning nose asked.
I smiled. Success.
Angela – great write up! Ah, it makes me miss PDX all the more. We had friends who got married up there many years ago. What a memory!
“Honey, all I get on my mid-palate is your liberal application of Fendi.” That is priceless – now Fendi is gorgeous but a room clearer for sure. I only need a pin prick of that to last me for hours and hours. Really not something to wear to dinner!
My rec’s for a dinner at Timberline would be SSS Tabac Aurea – just a tad. All that wood and history… you walk in smelling like you are already waiting for the brandies to be served.
Great selection of a perfume to wear up there!
My night at the lodge really was fabulous. The Silcox Hut would have been the perfect site for a murder mystery, too–isolated, full of a small crowd of strangers.
LOLOL —check my comment below! great minds….or at least minds that read a lot of books!!
Great imaginations! Too bad you weren’t there with me.
“The only smell of roaring fire came from my cleavage.”
Perfect.
Cold hands, warm heart, right?
My favorite line, too. Really wonderful article, Angela!
I’m pleased you liked it!
omg. I loved every word of this article…every word!
You are so nice! Thank you.
Sounds fantastic! Tabac Blond would have been intriguing yet not intruding, the sandalwood cinnamon of Egoiste always works for me. Application is more important in these circumstances rather than the actual fragrance. Less be more!
You’re right–it’s all about sillage management. Egoiste would have been a great choice!
I suppose if he was cute you could have let him snuffle your scented cleavage a bit…. oh, wait…that might be a different blog…
This was a wonderful write up Angela…every essay you do is good but this is one of a number that will always stick with me….too bad there wasn’t a murder, a few suspicious characters, an avalanche and a power outage…..oh, and toss in a handsome man with a somewhat brooding manner…just in case you need rescuing at some point (perhaps our wine critic?)
Oh Yes! Nice brooding man, cozy fire, after dinner whiskey…. now we’re talking!
I also think that in close company or dinner a small dab in the cleavage or on the back of the neck is plenty of fragrance.
Cleavage is always good because the scent travels straight up to the nose, I find.
Totally agree. And it gets all heated up too which helps for smelling more intensely.
Exactly!
I agree, but it’s never enough for me. Have to do wrists, too.
It is nice to have something to lift and plaster to your nose every once in a while!
Definitely the ingredients for a good mystery! Plus, the Lodge has Saint Bernards, and they would have had to play in there somewhere. (It wasn’t that way at all with the wine critic, by the way, but maybe a member of the ski patrol?)
okay, we’ll pass on the wine critic and accept the ski patrol hunk instead (better muscle tone ) and hey, he’s already trained to get on with the rescuing! Oh! maybe the wine critic is the murderer…was he even the faintest bit nefarious? A little sly, shifty eyed? ohmigosh! maybe he’s the victim!!! (gotta watch what ya say in those reviews!)
I like the way you think! Between the two of us we could cook up a pretty good plot.
There is a VERY old Remington Steele episode with a similar plot! Great minds…
Oh I want to go there right away. Thanks for the great article. I want to wear Ormonde woman and sit on a feather bed with a pendelton blanket.
I woke up early the next morning, just as the sun was rising, opened the blinds and read in bed with a cup of coffee as the sun came over the mountain.
**sigh…**
It truly was wonderful.
Oh, man….
Well, for me it would have been tea, but, man.
They had tea, too!
Angela – please finish and publish your novel, please, please!!!
“The only smell of roaring fire came from my cleavage.” This is surely one of the greatest sentences in English literature. I want to run home and spray myself with Chene!
I’m a huge Chene fan (thanks to Erin!). I finally bought a bottle–they have it at parfum1, believe it or not.
Ooh, I can’t wait for the novel either. And see, you already have built-in readership…
I already have one novel finished and I’m fishing around for an agent. The second, tentatively titled “Dior or Die” is in the works…
Hello Angela, you really are born to write novels .
And that title “Dior or Die” is excellent!
vtg. Miss Dior parfum is absolute perfection for me.
When I read your stories along with comments, I never fail to wish that I could have coffee with you , with everyone I’ve ever interacted with on here. I consider you all friends that are so kind , witty and smell so good!
Aren’t the nicest people on NST? I wish I could have coffee with everyone here, too!
How about a huge NST book signing event??? Count me in!
I like the way you think!
That’s where I bought my bottle!
I’ve been wanting one for a long time, but it’s been a Barney’s exclusive, so I was happy to see it show up at a discounters. Congratulations on your bottle!
I’m shocked but pleased by this, even though I bought my bottle (bell jar) in Paris. The thought of Chene being at parfum1 is oddly heartening. Congrats on both your bottles – I hope you got a great price.
It wasn’t a gigantic savings, but a lot less than I would have paid had I done mail order through Barney’s.
What a delight! There are so many different ways to describe sensory experiences and I really enjoyed how you brought that out in your description of the evening.
Thank you! The evening had lots of sensory experiences to share, that’s for sure.
Oh, I love the imagery here. A black bias-cut crepe dress? Be still my heart!
It has some great detail around the neckline–sort of a sweetheart neckline–too. Give me a vintage dress over a new one anyday.
Great article, Angela!
I glanced at the picture and yelled “Timberline!” – which scared the cat, but Timberline has lots of memories for me. I learned to ski there when I was a kid, and Mom remembered being there when the lodge was brand, spanking new. Gorgeous place.
I’ve often wondered why I don’t have the same interest in wine-tasting that I do in sniffing perfumes. And heaven knows, since my father used to own a wine shop I certainly had the opportunity. But I have no discernment when it comes to wine other than “I like it!” or “I don’t.”
Do you think your reaction to the pinot noir (dried rose petals) was the same as the marketing director’s (potpourri)? Were you saying the same thing but using different language, or were you experiencing the same thing in different ways?
It sounds like it’s been a while since you’ve been to Timberline. You should come visit!
The marketing director had a lot more experience with wine–and in particular pinot noirs and Cristom’s wines–than I do, so I bet our experiences were a lot different. We may have been tasting some of the same things, though (at least I hope!).
I loved picturing you in your Nissan pickup on that winding road! (I’ve seen “The Shining” enough times to know exactly what you’re talking about.) I’m so glad the Chene worked out perfectly too (now I’m going to go look up my sample vial). Thanks for a truly wonderful piece!
The cinematography in that movie was brilliant, I thought.
I totally agree, it’s fantastic cinematography!
I love the scene where the kids is riding his Big Wheel down the hall, too.
I always think of that scene when I’m in a hotel with really long corridors …
Gripping descriptions . . . . really, absolutely gripping. I want the perfume; I want the trip; I want the wine; and, I guess, I pretty much want a new life. Thanks for that. 😉
I think we all want a new life from time to time! At least the Chene is obtainable.
What a lovely article (and a lovely trip)!
I actually started out with wine tasting before my fragrance obsession was launched. IMHO, there’s a lot of overlap in evaluating and enjoying both, especially in determining the aroma of a wine before drinking it. And I love fragrances that have wine notes–Une Rose is one of my faves.
Oh, and I forgot to add that I do not spritz if I’m wine tasting–I want to make doubly sure I’m not throwing myself or anyone else off–but I think one spritz to the decolletage is a great idea.
I think that’s a good principle for going out to dinner, too. If you’re fully enjoying a delicious meal, you don’t want to have to fight with the neighboring table’s CK Euphoria.
I definitely agree!
I’ve always enjoyed wine, but as my interest in perfume deepened, so did my enjoyment of flavors–including wine.
Joining in the chorus to say I loved the post – MFK would be proud! (Hey, speaking of great writers, my copy of “An Omelette and a Glass of Wine” is finally on it’s way – thanks for that recommendation of many moons ago.) So happy the Chene worked out….
Also glad to learn the real story on “The Shining”! Until very recently, my parents lived in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, home of the famous, old grand hotel, the Algonquin (not the one of Round Table fame, obviously), about which there are many ghost stories. When they moved there about a dozen years ago, everybody in town insisted that Stephen King had stayed at the the Algonquin, which is not far from his home state of Maine, in the early 1970s and that The Shining was based on the hotel. This never made sense to me, as the Algonquin and the town are not isolated (although it *feels* that way in the winter, ask my parents!) and the hotel doesn’t resemble the Overlook. I’ve just finally looked up The Shining on Wikipedia, and see that the novel was based on the Stanley, and some of the exterior shots of the Kubrick movie were filmed at the Timberline, as you indicated.
I asked a few different people at the lodge if there were ghosts, and I only heard one tiny hint of a ghost story (a guest swearing she saw a figure outside her second floor window.) How disappointing!
Now I want to stay at both the Stanley and the Algonquin.
The Chene has been a hit for several years now, and now that I have my own bottle I won’t be so stingy with it. Enjoy the book!
Although the grounds are beautiful, sad to say: the Algonquin is an overrated and overpriced place to stay and eat, IMHO. (It does have a great golf course, though, where my brother has learned to ply his trade of course and greens maintenance. Don’t know if you play…) As you may be able to tell from TripAdvisor, the best place to stay and definitely eat in town is the Rossmount Inn, owned by our family friends, Chris and Graziella. Glorious food – it’s where B and I were married.
I play barely competent miniature golf, but that’s it, so maybe just a trip to the Rossmount Inn is in order!
What an enjoyable read, so atmospheric. Must try Chene! I think if I am ever lucky enough to participate in a similar event I might dab a tiny drop of Tabac Aurea in the cleavage…
Tabac Aurea has been a popular suggestion!
Really nice piece, Angela. The photo of the Timberline reminds me just slightly of the El Tovar at the Grand Canyon — the only such grand lodge I’ve ever visited. I do love places like that though — even just sitting in the lobby is a treat.
Sounds like an amazing dinner. I wish you could eventually share a link to the food magazine article with us … and I also wish you could share a photograph of that dress you wore (and the Sonja Henie number as well!). Oh, and of course, I really love Chêne.
And yes, the line about the roaring fire and the cleavage was perfectly written.
I have to say that visiting Timberline has made me want to visit lots of lodges! Forget about Paris, I’m going to be lodge-hopping for future vacations. El Tovar, here I come.
The dinner was marvelous. Really, I’ve been spoiled by good food in Portland.
Beautifully written! Big flamboyant artistic kisses to each of your cheeks! You smell marvelous!
I’m sure it was a lovely experience start to finish, and I’m so glad that you had it – and could share it with us.
I still can’t believe how lucky I was–I’m so grateful. I wish you all were there, too! We could have taken over the whole Silcox Hut ourselves. And the hut has 24 bunks in the back, so we could have had a giant slumber party!
Sniffa 2012? 😉
Hmmmm …. I think you’re on to something, Joe 😉
It’s definitely possible to rent out the whole Silcox Hut!
I wonder how altitude affects perfume sniffing?
I’m there! But please don’t invite Jack Nicholson. 😉
He’s definitely NOT allowed!
I’m in!!
The only problem is that we’d have to bring in all the perfume–it’s not like Saks is up there waiting for us.
Wonderful story, Angela – and like Joe, I would love to see the article that came of it for the mag.
Cleavage is definitely the spot – I do wrists and decollete for work – although I work primarily alone, I do interact with the public so don’t want to go crazy. I wore Chene the other day when it was cold and had forgotten how much I like it. My sample seems to have gone a bit syrupy, which only makes it better. Thanks for the Parfum1 tip!
Cleavage is usually my base, with optional sprays on wrist and behind knees (I’m a confirmed skit devotee.)
Whoops! I mean “skirt” of course.
Angela – You writers get to go to the niftiest places! I love mountain lodges – the view must have been spectacular.
Interesting about the Shining – the movie gave me nightmares in the daytime – that it was modeled after Timberline, yet it was actually filmed at Yosemite’s Ahwhanee hotel. At least that’s what I’ve been told by folks working at Yosemite years ago. I was too scared to notice…
I love that you were able to associate your wine with Parure. I really love wines that brings to mind perfume notes. Never tried Chene, guess I ought to.
Chene is a good one to try. It’s basic but beautiful and fairly linear. I guess it wouldn’t suit everyone, but I certainly love it.
Angela, how truly delightful! As a fellow Oregonian I can just picture your surroundings up there! There is nothing like Timberline for that Northwest experience.
I would probably choose to wear a natural scent such as La Via del Profumo’s Tcharas or Hindu Kush for such an event – rugged, earthy and animalic. Not sure how eau de musk ox goes with expensive wine, but I would love to find out! 🙂
Musk ox! Hey, it might be pretty interesting! Rugged, earthy, and animalic sounds perfect.
This is so wonderfully evocative, I sighed in pleasure. Look forward to NST everyday, but the morning after. All the contributors write so well, it is a daily delight. Thank you for leading me into a new world of wonder.
I look forward to reading what people on NST write, too! I’m glad you enjoyed this.
Feeling curious about Fendi, I found a review of it over at the Non-Blonde. Seems like Fendi is getting quite hard to get! Your dinner companion should be saving her’s against the day it becomes completely unobtainlble.
Thanks for the review. I’m on a plane tomorrow morning for a work trip, so no perfume for me I guess. Might drop a sample vial of Kelly Caleche in my handbag for later. I’ll be needing some relaxed chic for a difficult meeting.
I mean thanks for the article. Lord, I’m a wee bit weary.
I knew what you meant, no problem.
I hope you’re traveling safely and your meeting are too wearying! A sample of Kelly Caleche sounds like a good antidote.
Oh, this is a great post! I got a chuckle out of the wine comments, expecting each guest to try to top each other! Someone above asked you to finish that novel and I could not agree more. You created a few great characters in a blog post so I’m anxious to read what you can do with a complete novel.
Side note–oh how I wish I could put perfume in my cleavage. Sadly, I break out big time and end up itching for days!
I guess the skin between the breasts is awfully tender, but too bad you break out there. Still, there’s plenty more skin real estate for perfume!
I’d take Itasca by Lubin, to a ski lodge, which is supposedly based upon the smell of the northern at the top of the Mississippi. Although it is a man’s fragrance, I have it on right now, because it is such a beautiful/handsome smell.
By the way if you are ever at a ski resort during winter, the proper attire for even the most exclusive restaurants is slacks and a fancy sweater. Just avoid those creepy twins.
I haven’t tried Itasca yet, but it’s going on the list. And, yes, avoiding the creepy twins is even higher on the list!
Just getting to this beauty this a.m. but wanted to add my praise to the chorus. What a wonderful post – I felt like I was there and of course loved both the Fendi line and the roaring fire line. Classic lines both!
I’ve never tried Chene, and now of course I have to! Of all of the perfume bloggers, you are the very closest in taste to my own. Surprisingly, I might have put a small dab of Mitsouko parfum in my cleavage. I know many, or even most wouldn’t for tasting wine, but Mitsy is always very soft and mellow on my skin. Maybe my natural body scent is oak moss!?! 😉
I know what you mean about Mitsouko. I can easily imagine a discrete dab of it blending in very well!
Wonderful writing, Angela! It was practically a short story.
I’m glad you liked it!