We will be in the PacNW for vacation end of the month and will have a couple days to spend exploring Willamette Valley. However, we’ll also have our two young kids (under 3) with us. While recognizing it’s not ideal for all parties involved, any recommendations on child-tolerant wineries to visit while there? Particularly interested in anywhere that might have an outdoor area we could enjoy while visiting.
Wasn’t able to find anything particularly helpful using the search forum here or in the Travel forum. Thanks in advance.
Chris, is there anyway you can find a nanny or relative to watch the children while you are on vacation. That would free you and your wife up to enjoy a few winery visits without the responsibility and supervision of children. Many wineries are moving away from allowing children for the obvious reasons, not the least of which is liability should you be involved in an accident after leaving the winery.
I see a day when there are signs at the entrance: No Children, No Perfume, No Cologne permitted.
I’d reach out to winemakers with young kids and ask them. Ken and Erica at Walter Scott and Marcus and Gaironn at Goodfellow come to mind. They’d probably know the kid-friendly spots if they exist.
Not so. Children are allowed at wineries - they, of course, can’t drink. We often have children come with their parents and encourage it (we have children, also). As the winery is located on an organic farm with cute animals, they have a great time.
I don’t think any tasting rooms will turn you away if you bring kids.
If my memory serves me correctly, Argyle has a kid’s area.
Like Sineann, Belle Pente has lots of cute animals, including geese, goats, sheep, and highland cattle.
You need an appointment for those two, but the visit is well worth it.
Penner Ash and Domaine Drouhin have a bit of an outdoor area. Way down near Eugene, King Estate has extensive outdoor grounds and regular winery tours. Much farther south in the Applegate Valley, Schmidt Family has picnic grounds where you can sit outside and drink wine purchased from the tasting room. If you do happen to venture into that area, Cow Horn is another organic/biodynamic farm.
Thank you. This is refreshing to hear.
I don’t have any experience visiting Willamette Valley wineries, but in Napa and Sonoma I found most wineries were receptive to kids.
I took my young children to numerous wineries in Sonoma and Napa, including Opus One and Chateau Montelena (they loved the gardens). Granted, it was many years ago and my children were quite well behaved. At Opus One, they allowed the kids to explore and walk around the wine barrels.
They were all accommodating and gracious.
I have a particular fond memory of sitting on the lawn with my kids outside the Benzinger house when the winery was closing up. The family was kind and came over and “introduced” my kids to the family dog and said we could stay as long as we wanted.
At Arrowood, the daughter of Richard Arrowood (Kerry?) was so kind to my then four year old daughter, showing her the different grapes and explaining the habits of rattlesnakes in the vineyard.
Their kindness and warm welcome gave me all the more reason to support them with my purchases.
Thanks all for the thoughts. Ideally would like to find a couple spots where we could sit at a picnic table or spread a blanket outside and picnic. Appreciate the suggestions.
Chris, David Hill is “out there”, like 10 miles north of Elk Cove, which is already the northern outbacks of the WV, IMHO.
Most WV wineries will work out just fine. Chris L…you should target wineries you WANT to visit first. You can list them here and I’m sure you’ll get ample feedback.
This is very true. It’s a hike. Even in a car. I’ve visited WV north to south at least a dozen times and honestly David Hill was first and only one that came to mind when he said “picnic area”.
We always took our children along to wineries. Sometimes they would sleep or be rocked in a stroller while we tasted, sometimes my son would play in a corner with his toys, sometimes one of us would taste while the other let the kids run around outside and then we’d take turns, and now that they’re a little older, they can sit and watch or play something on an ipad or phone while we taste. If things go sideways for some reason, you can always go outside or leave.
You’re not going to take them along some big 10 winery Napa tasting day or something like that, or for some sit-down two hour library and barrel tasting with the winemaker, but we can plan two or three visits for a day, stop on road trips for a couple of visits, that kind of thing. I don’t think it’s ever been a problem for us, for the winery, or for other visitors. Most wineries seem quite happy that you made it anyway, and they often make extra efforts to accommodate the kids with snacks and things (though I don’t ask for it or expect it).
So Chris, don’t be deterred and don’t be fearful, but also be realistic about what you can expect in terms of how many visits, how long you can be there, and probably avoid longer commitments like tours, barrel tastings, etc. until you’re comfortable with how you guys can handle the kids.
