I am new to this community and happy that I found WB, especially as we plan out first visit to the Portland and the Willamette Valley. My wife and I have been drinking wine “with interest” for a very long time, since the early 70’s in the Boston area. Anyone else remember Myron Norman and his “Les Amis du Vin” tastings? (“Wo, oh, what I want to know, where does the time go?”)
Oregon wines just came onto our “radar” earlier this year at a wine dinner featuring a range of Ponzi wines. We enjoyed all the wines at that dinner, which is not always our experience. Our favorite was their 2013 Pinot Noir Reserve. It was eye-opening tasting these wines(including a humble but delicious Pinot Gris) How had we not (knowingly) had Oregon wine before? We had another wine dinner opportunity to taste some more examples a few months later (we like the wine dinner format) which just confirmed to us that winemaking is happening out there in Oregon. (Who knew!) Domaine Drouhin and Andrew Rich were our favorites at this second dinner, especially the Rich 2016 Croft Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. Outstanding.
We like to take “wine-centric” travels and with our Oregon wine appetites now whetted, we are coming to Oregon for the first time in September. So many wineries, and such a range of physical settings from the humble to the “showy”, and accolades all over, make it extremely difficult to set a tasting visit agenda. We hope to put together some quality tasting experiences, but planning only takes one to possible opportunities and no guarantees. Some of our best tastings have been serendipitous; some of our most carefully planned tasting experiences have stunk. C’est la vie! Generally some type of memorable personal interaction along with the good wine has marked our best tasting visits.
With this in mind, I have used some of the Oregon discussions on WB to give me a few ideas. Combined with some other inputs, we have come up with the following scheduled tasting visits : Walter Scott, Evening Land (at the Seven Springs vineyard), Lingua Franca, Brittan, Goodfellow, Mo Ayoub, Domaine Drouhin, Flaneur and hopefully Andrew Rich and Division Winemaking (these two not yet scheduled). We also hope to have some open spaces for the serendipitous happenings. Maybe wrap up our Willamette visit with a stop at Ponzi on our way back to Portland to catch our flight back to Boston. I see that Ponzi does not appear to generate much activity on WB (?) but a final stop there for a glass of wine and a toast seems like a nice way to wrap things up for us.
Want to thank those on WB who actively comment on Oregon wines. As you share your experiences and opinions you are helping out some of the rest of us. I plan to keep visiting WB for both education and amusement. Cheers.
Looks like you have some good places picked out. Other places in the vicinity of Walter Scott that I like are Evesham Wood and Cristom. Check their hours but I don’t think either require appointments.
Jim,
Hope your trip is memorable, it sounds like fun.
I posted a while ago in another Willamette Valley thread about our trip there 2-September’s ago. It was our first trip to Oregon and we had an incredible time. My one piece of advice to you is to enjoy all the winery visits and tastings, but don’t make your trip 24/7 wine-related. Oregon is such a beautiful place, go see some of it. We flew into Portland and spent 1 1/2 days there, happily bopping around the city visiting, eating, and drinking at some really cool places. Then we drove out to the Valley (only about a 90-minute drive), and spent 4-days there (we based ourselves in McMinnville, but we drove all over the Valley) and did all the winery stuff. We tasted some great wines and met some cool people along the way. Then we packed-up and drove out to the Coast to Cannon Beach, again only about a 90-minute drive from McMinnville. The Oregon Coast is breathtaking, you shouldn’t miss it if you have a chance to get there. Then we drove out to the Columbia Gorge area, which is also spectacular, then back to Portland for our flight home. 4-days of winery-centric stuff in the Valley was perfect for us, with the City, Coast, and Gorge mixed in. It was the perfect vacation mix for us. Your goals and likes/wants may be different, to each his own…
Enjoy your trip, looking forward to seeing your trip-report when you return!
Paul
Great advice. We were there two weeks ago and did pretty much the same thing. Lots to see and do.
Thank Guys! We are on the same wavelength. We will start our week in Portland for three nights(two full days) to start, grab a car rental in Portland, head out to the coast for a day (may or may not stay a night), then off to our wine adventures of three full days + . I am even trying to not overdo the wine tasting within a single day - planning for three visits per day , but playing it day to day whether to do more.
Bethel Heights is very close and worth stopping in IMHO.
RT
Late to this thread, but a second for drop-in at Bethel Heights, just up the road from Walter Scott. Harvest season might limit things a bit, but Belle Pente, Brickhouse and Crowley would be worth a visit. Depending on day of the week you were around Dundee, it’s only a few minutes up Worden Hill Rd to the Maresh red barn. Only open for drop-in Fri/Sat/Sun afternoons (could make an appt for others), but I think Arterberry-Maresh doing really good things with both chard and pinot and I always stop in. Eyrie another drop-in to consider when you’re in McMinville visiting Goodfellow. J. Christopher also a nice drop-in and does some interesting things, including a sauvignon blanc that I found very distinctive. Very nice facility too.
Hope you have/had a great trip.
+1 of the Arteberry Maresh recommendation. Totally unpretentious tasting experience with exceptional wines IMO.
+2 to this.
Also – you definitely want to spend the night on the coast. Pay attention to the tides (google for tables) and ask the locals where to find tidepools at low tide.
Have a blast, Jim. I’ve done five-day Portland/WV trips each of the last two Memorial Day weekends and they’ve been incredible. I’d second Evesham Wood as a great producer to visit when in Eola Amity. You can conveniently go right before or after Walter Scott/Bethel Heights. I’d also recommend stopping by Heater Allen (WB member Rick Allen’s brewery) when you visit Marcus in McMinnville. Exceptional beers that we ended up enjoying throughout the weekend when we needed a break from wine. He was also pouring Goodfellow Chard on tap!
Feel free to PM me if you’d like more detailed recs!
+1 to the Heater Allen visit. Rick’s beers are delicious, well balanced, flavorful, and refreshing.
We had an awesome trip in June; you’re going to have a great time! Favorites from our trip included Arterberry Maresh, Goodfellow, Vincent, Evesham Wood (the private tour/tasting with Chris), Patricia Green, and Franny Beck. Enjoy!