We are still in the process of moving to Portland OR, and have been occasionally trying out some OR Pinots to find some we enjoy. On one trip, we spent a day in the Newberg area. Back in a couple of weeks, and plan to drive down to McMinnville this time. I found the recent thread, so we are good for restaurants etc, but need some winery suggestions.
Walk in tastings preferred. Our taste in Pinot is very Californian, most in cellar are Ancillary, Scherrer, Wesmar, Rivers-Marie. We also enjoy Loring when in the mood. In trying to “go local” we haven’t found much yet. We’ve been taking CA bottles to Portland restaurants, so gauche. The problem may be that we just don’t care for young OR pinot.
Friday or Sunday? Which would be busier? Walk in tasting rooms preferred, under $50 a bottle please. Probably no more than 2-3 tasting rooms.
I hope I am not asking the impossible. Thanks!
It sounds like you like your Pinot on more the fruitier side instead of the lean burgundy style. Here are my recommendations. I prefer the burgundy styled wines but my wife loves the more fruit driven pinots. Here was our favorites in your style from our last visit:
De Ponte Cellars- big, rich, and ripe and spans every price point
Hawk’s View- very close to Portland. Adam Lee of Siduri is the consultant winemaker. They source from local fruit and California.
Saffron Fields- owned by a Houston Cardiologist but makes his wines with a dollop of oak and richness that isn’t over top. Plus a beautiful tasting room setting too, very zen like.
Alexana- owned by Dr. Revana of Napa Valley fame. Rich but nuanced pinots. Great riesling, Pinot Gris, and you can taste their Revana cabs made by Thomas Rivers Brown/Heidi Barrett and wines from their Vineyards from Argentina- Corazon Del Sol (last few vintages were very good!)
I’ve been tasting through quite a few young OR Pinots lately.
The more Californian ones were Elk Cove, Willamette Valley Vineyards, Ponzi, Sineann, Siduri, Chehalem, Grochau Cellars, Benton Lane, and perhaps McKinlay and Panther Creek.
The more AFWE ones were Evesham Wood, Trisaetum, Belle Pente, Westrey, Cloudline, Goodfellow, Patricia Green, Vincent.
Also, look for the 2015 vintage which is riper across the board. 2014 is pretty ripe as well.
I’d quibble a bit about Grochau and McKinlay, especially cooler vintages. Most of your picks I agree with…adding: Archery Summit, Stoller, Penner-Ash and Dom. Obscene. All with big accommodating tasting rooms.
For the bigger end of the spectrum. Colene Clemens has a beautiful estate and make some of the most rich full-bodied wines in the area. Antica Terra also leads the pack in this area. Even her rosé is >14% etoh and darker than many OR pinot red wines. The tasting there is expensive, but a great experience. They pour wines from all over the world (like FX Pichler and farmer fizz) and had Iberico ham on my last visit. Ayoub would be another option. Vintages make a huge difference in Willamette. If you like big, go with 14,15 and and avoid '11 and '13.
Just keep drinking the Oregon wines, it doesn’t have to be love at first sight
You should avoid the walk in tasting rooms. Yes, they are convenient. No they are not the best wines.
Regardles of your preference in style, IMO, you will get more soulful wines from people who are appointment driven. In my experience, wineries focused on the wines, do appointments as an afterthought because people want to come and visit(usually because the wines are very good). Visits are eccentric but often the best visits because of the personalities. Wineries with tasting rooms are focused on their tasting rooms and making wines that work in their tasting rooms.
I’ll defer to your expertise, but the bottles of 2015 McKinlay WV I had recently were definitely on the larger end of the spectrum. The 2014 version of this wine was middle of the road to my palate.
Paul, a lot of OR Pinots from recent vintages are going to taste big and Californian. Nature of the beast. It’s a not a style I normally associate with McKinlay, i.e.: 10s, 11s, and 13s.
Marcus, with Diana moving to Portland, it shouldn’t be long before she figures out the lay of the land. I remember enjoying open tasting rooms for their convenience. Kind of like an IPNC tasting event except driving from table to table. For the richness of the experience, you can’t beat appointments and winemaker interactions…but they aren’t for everyone…or you wouldn’t have time to make any wine!
It’s only one data point, and not very current, but a case or so of assorted 2002 & 2003 pinots I bought at Cristom’s tasting room 12-13 years ago is for the most part drinking fabulously today. I love individual tastings with winemakers as much as the next person, but they’re not always practical and it’s not fair to paint any winery with a tasting room with such a broad brush.
I think it’s great for you to branch out a bit and learn more about the wines being produced in the new region in which you’ll reside, but ultimately you may find you prefer California wines over OR wines that lean Californian. Personally I find that even the ripest of OR pinot noirs are just different from CA pinot. I say build a cellar that includes the “best” from each region, even if they are stylistically different, and drink whichever style you are craving at the time. That’s why I do keep some CA pinot in the cellar (e.g., Sandler, Ladd, Cabot).
Richard, exactly my point. We love tasting with the winemaker etc, but are not big bucks buyers by any means. We’ve done it with wineries we regularly buy from but feel a bit like false advertising to ask for a private tasting at a winery that is new to us. Am I the only one that feels in that situation, you need to buy at least a case?
Ron, this is likely. We love our CA pinots. In fact, our Portland residing daughter very specifically loves “2014 Sonoma Coast Pinot”. Will have to find another vintage for her. And most restaurant servers probably do not really care where our wine is from.
What I’d really like to find is a place in Portland that has decent OR wine to purchase by the growler. Husband likes his Rose every day after work rather than beer, need to keep him stocked.
