I am planning on a trip up through Oregon soon to end up not far from John Day.
In any event I have a few days plan and am seeing if there is anything I can fill in.
Day 1
Weed to Newberg
I don’t have anything planned but I could be tempted to find a winery to visit sometime after 2pm just to be safe as I plan to be up and out of Weed by 6am. What I would most likely prefer to do is stop by one or two wine shops if anyone can recommend.
Day 2
-Antica Terra (morning): main reason I am going
Beaux Freres (afternoon): not committed to this
-Food? Wine Bar?
Day 3
Newberg to our ranch is about 4.5 hours & will take me along the Columbia River.
-I want to stop in Hood River & I was only really familiar with Hiyu. Nothing is available that day so I can’t do that. In another thread someone mentioned Analemma & Syncline. I have had the Anamleema sparkling wine and recall liking it so besides flipping a coin to decide which that would be the only other deciding criteria I have.
Both places have good times around Noon that would work perfect to allow me to get there form Newberg and then also leave in time that I’m not driving the last 2 hours of the drive in the dark with no phone service.
If anyone has some ideas please let me know. I had originally planned to go up to Walla Walla but I think I’ll save that for another time, the logistics of this work out better.
Justin, there are several previous Oregon threads that might be helpful.
Per your request, where are you staying in Oregon? I’m assuming Newberg. Also, what day of the week is Day 1?
Per your Day 1 thoughts, yes, I would highly recommend Valley Wine Merchants in Newberg. Andrew is very knowledgeable. I’m uncertain of any other wine shops in Newberg. Fred Meyer has a decent selection of Oregon wines.
Per your Day 2 thoughts, I would try to arrange something with any of the esteemed producers that contribute to this board. Patricia Green Cellars wouldn’t be too far from Dundee. Red Hills Market for lunch in Dundee is a popular spot. Plenty of other dining options in Dundee, Newberg and McMinnville.
Per your Day 3 thoughts, I have visited Hood River, but I didn’t have the time to visit any wineries. Likewise, I have heard great things and enjoyed some of the sparkling wine from Analemma. I have enjoyed my visits to pFriem in Hood River.
Would 2nd Valley Wine Merchants in Newberg as a place to stop. I think Andrew does an excellent job.
As to other wineries, there are a number of them that would be feasible depending on day of week. Many have reopened although my recent experience was that all of those I visited are still taking visitors by appt only. As noted above, perhaps looking at some of the other Oregon threads and targeting those who’s style suits your taste might be a suggestion. From your current visits if you are looking for a bigger, more full style you might enjoy Domaine Serene, White Rose, Penner-Ash all a short trip from Newberg. But plenty of other options for a broad range of styles.
No help here with wine in the Gorge, but I too would recommend Pfriem if you’re interested in exploring beer. My favorite brewery in Oregon.
Instead of Beaux Freres, or in addition, you might consider their near neighbor Patricia Green. We stopped by for a visit in May, sitting on their wonderful new deck, looking at the beautiful gardens. A snack was included in the tasting. The servers were knowledgeable and insightful. Jim came out later and we had a good conversation. It ranks in the top ten of hundreds of winery tasting experiences.
Oh, the wine was outstanding too. I can’t promise that you will get the same amount of attention on a busy day, but the wines will be the same.
Seems there was another recent thread on the Columbia Gorge. Newberg to Hood River can be 4.5 hours, can be less, can be longer. My recommendation for late stops in Hood River are to relax on the patio at pFreim, Full Sail, or Double Mountain. There are a couple of wine tasting rooms in downtown HR, but it’s been a while since I checked out any of those.
For your Day One, a wine shop that will surprise you is the Harry and David Home Factory Outlet Store in Medford, OR. Not far off I-5. and an excellent selection of OR wines from Willamette plus pretty much everything available from Southern Oregon. Other stuff too, but a huge OR selection at reasonable prices. It’s not apparent from their website, and it may have changed, but wine shop is located here. Harry & David Medford, OR | Food Gifts, Gift Baskets & More
Loop de Loop Wines is a newer property in the Gorge (Underwood, on the Washington side, just across from Hood River). Julia Bailey started making wine in our facility in 2012, and she and her husband bought the Underwood property and have been farming it the past few years. The wines I have tried recently have been really lovely, the place looks beautiful, and Julia is a delight. Not sure about their hours, but is definitely worth reaching out!
Thank you to this post and others to recommend Patricia Green & other producers. I was just looking around on Google Maps honestly and was like “oh there’s a name I know” and penciled it in.
Excuse my brevity to others in replying I just found out my schedule and when I’m going so I want to get everything squared away (hotels, I’ll have my dog - not a concern for wineries she can sit in my climate controlled car) before letting it slip this weekend.
This is kind of a road trip with a dash of wine thrown in. I could spend the 12.5 hours driving (through Klamath Falls, Bend) straight from my house to the ranch but since I have a few extra days I am going to make it a bit of an extended route up. Instead of staying in Weed when I don’t drive the full way I may go up through Eureka and then drive from there up towards Newberg to take the coast and stuff for a bit and would rather just roll into town, hit up a wine shop and get food. It looks like next Thursday or Friday would be the tasting day around there & the following day the lunch pit stop in Hood River.
My other option was to skip this and just drive 3 hours up to Walla Walla and do stuff there but I think I may save that trip for later in the year.
Plenty of food options that have been noted in other threads. But if you’re staying in Newberg, Ruddick/Wood is a good place to eat. Only a block from Valley Wine Merchant. Casual environment with good food and some attractively priced bottles also available for retail purchase…notably some very well priced Cameron Clos Electrique Blanc.
If you’re stopping in downtown Hood River be sure to check out Upsidedown Wine too. Really cool up and coming winemaker who did some work for K Vintners before going off on his own. Great Rhônes and the tasting room is cool as well.
Maaaaaaaaan I had a pretty detailed post and then I dropped something on my keyboard that clicked whatever and caused my browser to refresh losing the post. I used to do pretty detailed Trip Reports on FlyterTalk about 6-10 years ago when I was on the east coast and traveling a lot. In any event not trying to plug but if you want to see photos and other things from the trip my ig @justviovin has most there.
So a quick recap -
Peay - Didn’t realize they were behind the Chevron I was getting gas at until I drove up the street to let my dog out for a minute. They indulged me barging in asking to buy some wine. Picked up a mix of a Chard and a few of the Pinot.
Boonville - Seemed like a neat place to visit again, I’d like to eat at The Bewildered Pig sometime as well. Also found out that (for a person who has never, ever found a beer he can drink) I’m a fan of Gowan’s cider that I picked up at the Navarro General Store.
Antica Terra - Really beautiful morning tasting Maggie’s wines along side a few that she drinks/is inspired by (Marie Courtin champagne, Slovakian white, Vega Sicilia Valbuena No5). While I’ve drank & had a general synopsis of her/AT it was nice to hear about the blind blending to compose the wines, as well as the free run juice manually topping of all the barrels during press. The food that goes along with it was really spot on. Fresh veg & dip, sturgeon rillettes, rabbit pate. Pre-COVID it is done at a communal/shared table but they had a nice set up for each group throughout the winery with lit candles in bottles, Zalto glasses, etc.
Patricia Green - Literally came at the recommendation of this forum. Nice staff and tasting room, sat by the fire with a blanket outside on a drizzly day. The Tempranillo rosé I really liked and then I got a mix of Marine Sedimentary, Old Vine Estate, Olenik/Wads Block Pinots.
Analemma - Was a stop in Mosier at about halfway point where after The Dalles I would head south-east for 2.5 hours on a 2 lane road. I had a glass of the Blanco (Godello + others) along with some cheese/crackers & dried cherries. Their sold out blanc de noir is what I’ve had before that brought me here. I took the Blanco home along with the rosé and then some Pinot & Chard. I would like to come back to the area in general and for sure visit again for a tasting/orchard visit.
