+1 for the Ribbon Ridge AVA. The wine that really opened my eyes was the 2006 Bryce.
My best suggestion would be to try a signature wine from each AVA. There are currently 10 of them as subAVAâs.
Walter Scott, red and whites.
I had the pleasure of tasting with several gents of dubious repute and experienced palate last year and we tried a pair of Chards blind. Iâd brought an 18â Henri Boillot Clos de Mouchere, and a Walter Scott 18â X-Novo was blinded next to it.
First off, we all agreed that both wines were great.
Second, I knew one of the two wines was my Boillot and still missed it, saying the Walter Scott X-Novo was the white Burgundy. So, the more fool me, but a nice lesson.
I am a Burgundy guy, but other Oregons we like: Patricia Green, Bethel Heights, Dusky Goose, Big Table Farm, Tendril (Tony Rynders), EIEIO, Belle Pente. Lingua Franca and Beaux Freres make excellent wines, but they price them like Burgs ![[scratch.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/42a16863a8714da3c1604419e3eb9206bb87aa50.gif "scratch"){kind=small}
Many more good ones out here. Cristolmâs reds seem to give me headaches but Steve Doerner definitely makes good wines.
I like Valley Wine in Newberg for eclectic mixed cases of whatever is good in the Willamette Valley. Recommended.
https://www.valleywinemerchants.com/ Andrew Turner does an excellent job.
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Always one of Vincentâs best along with the Armstrong which is also Ribbon Ridge.
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I need to make a point of stopping there sometime. Many winemakers have recommended I stop there but a Subaru Forester can only hold so many cases on my trips down from Seattle. 
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I am fortunate to have enough red Burgundies to last me the rest of my life as long as I donât drink them on non special occasions. However, the food Lucie and I eat day to day most often demands Pinot Noir, and Oregon Pinot Noir is fine for that. Moreover, when we have drunk both Oregon Pinot Noir and Burgundy at the same meal, sometimes we have preferred the Oregon PN even when it costs half or less as much as the Burgundy. Consequently, I am a big fan of Oregon PN and buy quite a lot of it.
Our personal favorite producer in Oregon for Pinot Noir is St Innocent. We also belong to the wine clubs at Domaine Drouhin and Cristom, and we buy PN from many other places, especially Goodfellow. I think that the approaches of these wineries are not that close, but all produce excellent PN. Since you are a lover of Burgundy and looking for an acceptable substitute because of the insane price of Burgundy, it is great to explore Oregon. One nice thing when you are getting started is that Oregon PN tends to be better than Burgundy when it is young. I suggest that you try a variety of 2017 OR PN. This is on the Burgundian side but still tastes really good. One of my personal favorites is the 2017 St Innocent Temperance Hill. We recently drank the 2017 Louise from Domaine Drouhin (it is their top PN and costs $100+); it is already appealing. I imagine that almost all of the 2017 are good now even if many will be even better in 10+ years.
2014, 2015, 2016 are all Oregon vintages even if they differ a lot. All, but especially the 2015, reward patience, although the 2016 and 2014 are fine now with a lot of air. 2013 is another Burgundian vintage, and PN from 2013 are beginning to come around. 2012 and 2008 are particularly good Oregon vintages, but wines from these vintages are hard to find.
Goodfellow produces my favorite Oregon Chardonnay. I particularly like those from Whistling Ridge.
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this would have been my list.
I am also a fan of some of the French->Oregon transitions as well: Lingua Franca and Drouhin for sure. Evening Land and St Innocent are on my list also. not quite as Burgundian but also delicious is Big Table Farm
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IndeedâŚwhere to begin? So many good names.
Iâve always felt Cristom offers good QPR. Ditto St Innocent.
Beaux Freres, Drouhin, Eyrie and Ponzi have made some of the greatest older wines I have drunk.
Maybe 15 years two wine collectors put on an amazing dinner, that I got snuck into. It included wines from the Doris Duke collection, âŚI think I passed out when we hit 1929. Anyway one of the surprise bottles was a special cuvee of Drouhin Oregon 1993âŚwow!! Also, a 61 Romanee St Vivant from the DRC vineyard but made at Drouhin in BurgundyâŚtoo much good stuff!
The explosion of chardonnay in Oregon is happening and I have not kept up with it.
Appreciate the recommendations from @Todd_Hamina, @Marcus_Goodfellow and others on McKinlay. This is a producer that was totally unknown to me until AB Vintner began carrying them with the 2021 release. Based on the limited info on this board, they sound right up my alley!
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They are definitely worth checking out. Particularly the single vineyards and special select. I bugged Simon at AB to talk to Matt, fortunately they got his son âcause Matt doesnât talk to anyoneâŚ
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I posted something similar over on the âTeeny Tiny Wineries of Oregonâ thread, but does McKinlay have a website so I can checkout their offerings? I couldnât find anything in my searches.
No website, I once (couple years ago)left a phone message on a number I found somewhere a the netâŚno return. Just decided to work with a couple small retailers. Have since gotten Estate, Chehalem Mountain, and Special Select. All wonderful!
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Avalon Wine in Portland has a number of their offerings.