No one mentioned the ultra-secret sushi/caviar bar with no name that is deep on grower Champagne and ages top, rare/winery only cuvees for five years minimum before putting them on the list (at retail mark-up only no less). Opens late, stays open late and they do an outdoor cigar bar and have a pretty wicked selection of bourbon. Amazing music and atmosphere. Hard to find out about. Harder to get the info on where it is. Thought I would mention it though.
Oh, I love that place
Bet you’ve never been when Todd Hamina puts on a full length ballroom gown and sings “White Rabbit” while they are pouring out bottles of Special Club.
I look good in a gown.
Great itineraries! We went last Memorial Day and will be back this Memorial Day. Here’s what we did last year (note that we had a non-wine geek couple with us)
Day 1
Visited our friends in Portland. Nike HQ, company store, rose garden.
Day 2
Belle Pente
Eyrie
Westrey
Dinner at La Rambla
Day 3
Patricia Green
Valley Wine Merchants to pick up Cameron and other off the run wines
Argyle for bubbles
Stoller for the absurd scenery and rose
Dinner at Thistle
Day 3
Columbia River Gorge hikes
Day 4
Portland
In the wine country, we stayed at the most incredible AirBnB outside of Carlton just up the road from Gran Moraine. The owners are amazing and they have 29 acres surrounded by forest. They have donkeys, chickens, and other animals to play with. At night, we sat on the patio and saw every star in the sky. It was a no brainer to book again for this trip.
Next month we’re going to hit more wineries in Eola-Amity and I’d like to taste at Goodfellow as well. We’ll otherwise do a similar trip. We plan to end the trip on the coast rather than Columbia River Gorge this year though.
Jim - looking forward to seeing you!
My comparison point is Santa Ynez valley and Santa Barbara. Most people stay in Santa Barbara as it is bigger and has more of a restaurant scene, but I prefer not driving 45 mins both ways after tasting wine all day.
Totally understand that. This thread brings back so many memories of that great trip. What an experience. I need to back soon.
Taking notes for an eventual trip once corona dies down…
Me also! This was a fantastic thread, almost sticky worthy. I have never been to WV but I have been Portland and Bend to visit family. Looking forward to going back as an adult interested in wine!
When we visited last year, we spent 2 nights in McMinnville (after 2 nights in Portland) and visited Hundred Suns, Grochau (with a Vincent and Red Electric tasting there), Walter Scott, Cristom, Franny Beck, Violin, Biggio Hamina and Eyrie. We then moved to Newberg for 3 nights and visited Patricia Green, Beaux Freres, Penney-Ash, Roco, Crowley, Rex Hill, Chehalem, Longplay, Argyle, Ayoub, Domaine Roy, Torii Mor, Archery Summit and Domaine Drouhin (we shared tastings). Loved all the smaller wineries and think we’ll stick to those from now on. This was our 4th trip to WV.
Solid recommendation there, mirrors our stays in ore.wine country
I don’t think Beckham has been cited. I’ve visited Oregon a lot in 2013-2015 and to me Beckham made amongst the best wines in Oregon together with a few other, already cited, ones (I need to stress Brittan too). Also, super nice ppl and breathtaking, isolated place, I loved the drive up amongst the huge, moss-covered tree, it’s a sight you don’t get in Europe.
Last year, I opened blind a flight of around 15 Oregon Pinot noir from 2010-2012 vintages that I brought back in those year, Beckham was the hands down winner.
And if you drive a little south, try Brandborg, great cool climate stuff including nice riesling.
This has been a great thread as I too am planning travel when “this is over”. I continue to be amazed by the knowledge of people on WB. I’ve never been to WV and that is next. I’ve only had about a dozen or so Oregon PNs and would like to get to know this area better (most interest in PN but also interested in riesling and pinot gris). What I like to do when I visit an area is to really try to understand both terroir and makers’ styles. Last few years one of my focus areas has been WA syrah and I think I really understand what the AVAs and producers are all about.
With that in mind, I am wondering if some would be so kind as to recommend an agenda for 3-4 days of tasting. Just asking about wineries to visit only. Ideally I usually hit 1-2 places before lunch and 3-5 places in the afternoon (yes, spitting). Not necessarily looking for private visits, I almost always visit tasting rooms, but I vastly prefer visiting when they’re not very busy and when the tasting room staff are knowledgeable and have some time to provide insights on the wines. Thanks!
Have things changed much in WV post covid? I’m looking to visit post vaccine in the summer for my first time. This thread is also the closest thing to a “sticky” similar to the Sonoma thread, which I’ve found invaluable.
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The drive to the WV takes a while from PDX but once in Newberg or McMinnville there are lots of choices. In November I stayed in Newberg and drove to Carlton where I was doing photography every morning. More should be open after vaccinations this summer. Have fun!
I don’t think it is much different, and by summer should be more normalized. We don’t have tasting room but will probably do some out door appointments. Restaurants will hopefully all be still here and during the summer outdoor dining is pretty common.
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It’s been a few years since I’ve visited the valley, but we plan to go back soon. Maybe this fall. We stayed in Dundee on our last trip, and as others have mentioned, it’s pretty quiet.
There were two restaurants we ate at that I did not see mention in this entire thread, and I thought they were the two best for dinner. 1) The Painted Lady 2) Joel Palmer House. I just looked at their websites and both are re-opening this week. Of the two, JPH was my favorite. Very interesting dishes, drinks, and a great wine cellar. I still remember having a mushroom martini and it was amazing. The Painted Lady was a bit stuffy (jacket required), but the service was top-notch, and the food was very good.
We visited too many wineries to recommend many, but of them all, I still recall a very pleasant tasting at Bergstrom, on the deck overlooking a vineyard. They have a terrific Chardonnay, albeit expensive… Another great tasting was at Colene Clemens.
McMinnville is very centrally located
I would suggest McMinnville. If you want a more rustic experience go with Hotel Oregon. More upscale go with Atticus. The restaurant in the Atticus was great and when we there served Heater Allen beer. Which, after a long day of tasting wine a beer can be nice.
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