Visiting Willamette Valley: suggestions for visits

I’ve got two days in mid-August for my first visit to Oregon wine country.

Looking for suggestions for which wineries to visit, restaurants to eat at, and the best town to stay in.

On my potentials list (based on my limited tastings of Oregon pinot, assuming they accept visitors): St. Innocent, Hamacher, Shea…

Thanks.

Lots of threads on this already.

I recommend spending a day in Carlton. Lots in walking distance (Scott Paul, Seven of Hearts, WildAire, Carlton Winemakers Studio). Belle Pente (appt needed) is a 5 minute drive. Lunch at the Horse Radish.

Dining: Joel Palmer House in Dayton. Paulée in Dundee.

Numerous options now to stay in Carlton as well.

Thanks, I did a search for prior threads, but I guess my key word combos were off, as nothing helpful came up.

Based on your experience with St. Innocent and Hamacher (Shea seems the outlier), I would recommend visiting Eyrie, Westrey and Matello in McMinnville. Crescent Cafe for breakfast. Nick’s, Bistro Maison and Thistle for lunch/dinner.

I know there are even better threads than these – but these came up just searching on oregon travel

https://wineimport.discoursehosting.net/t/oregon-wine-country-suggestions/42354/9
https://wineimport.discoursehosting.net/t/oregon-visit-pls-help-with-itin-review/7474/25

Grochau is moving in with Matello too. Plus fellow board member Rick Allen’s Heater-Allen Brewery is just a few feet down the street from Eyrie.

Good suggestions so far. Some additional thoughts:

You’ll have much better luck Fri-Sun except for Belle Pente where it’s by appointment anyway.
Westrey is now open for tasting as they’ve finally caved to the pressure. .
As long as you’re in Carlton, try Ed Fus’ zinfandels at Carlton Wine Cellars.
As long as you’re in the neighborhood, stop by Heater-Allen Brewing and Remy wines (both on the same street as Eyrie)
By the time you get there, Grochau will probably be in residence with Matello.
St. Innocent (in the middle of Zenith Vineyard) is a bit of a drive from where you’re going to be.
If you’re going there anyway, stop in and see Todd Hamina at Biggio-Hamina. He’s kind of on the way.

Steve beat me to the punch on Grochau and Heater-Allen.

If you are going to St. Innocent, I would suggest taking a lunch and making the better part of a day out of it by also visiting Bethel Heights, Cristom, Evesham Wood and Witness Tree. All are within about a 3 mile radius of SI.

I was there last August and liked stopping by Bergstrom, Willakenzie, and Brick House.

You’ll need an appointment for Brick House. We were there last Friday and the 2010s are fabulous. Steven was great to taste with.

my wife and i were just there last month. our favorite visit was at matello, and our favorite meal was at thistle. wouldn’t go back to joel palmer house.

Brick House is, I believe, open regular hours on Saturday afternoon. Other than that, yes. Appointment will be necessary.

My trip from last year.

https://www.cellartracker.com/new/event.asp?iEvent=14089

I second not going to the Joel Palmer House.

Joel Palmer House is fine. You must do Corkage for $20 (always confirm ahead) or skip it.

RT

Richard;

The Joel Palmer House is fine, IF, the owner’s wife is not there working that night terrorizing the staff and harrassing the customers. Since we outsiders never know when she’ll be there, it’s best to go elsewhere, imo!

Gordon, this is the first I’ve heard about the “terrorist wife”. I don’t doubt you had a bad experience. I’ve been 3 times over the past 5 years and the only thing I can consistently complain about is the ridiculously high-priced wine list. Jack Czarnecki was a local here in PA for decades and Joe’s (his father’s place) was an institution…well deserved. If the wife is F-ing it up, you might want to give them that feedback. There’s a lot of family history (4th generation) and a genuine concern, from all I can tell, about trying to do things right. Chris Czarnecki (Jack’s son) is now the head chef. You can reach him here: chris@joelpalmerhouse.com

RT

Last time we went (May) the wine list at Joel Palmer had a number of well priced gems given the age of the wines. where else will you find so many 20-30 year old vintages? For $120 or less a bottle? One was $85.

The food rocked too.

This is all I have to say about the JPH “controversy”.

Richard;

Thanks, we always had great food and great experiences when she was not around. Been there 6 times in the past 5 years and the experience always centered on her presenced. Talked about our experiences there at a winery dinner, and the Portland/ locales laughed about it. They told us they often make reservations there, and if she is working that night they just leave upon arrival. We did email the owner/chef of the problems we had but got no response. Locals told us she probably read the email and deleted it.

So, if the son has now taken, over maybe he is smart enough to retire Mom! Might have to give it a try again to see! Thanks again,