Willamette wineries to visit in October???

WINE TALK
41

Lots of local takes around Portland, for sure. That’s mostly what we have, although they tend to be small places so advance reservations (if accepted) are often essential. Lots of threads on local “semi-haute” cuisine.

On the non-haute cuisine more local-ingredient/take front I have sent larger groups (including kids) to Shalom Y’All SE and have received grateful thanks as feedback. Good, fun place, something for everyone there. Not haute cuisine but very tasty, affordable. https://www.shalomyallpdx.com/ Afuri Ramen is another option. All Japanese, but fairly wide menu, high standards. Bollywood Theater for excellent fresh-ingredient Indian street food. Lovely’s Fifty-Fifty has hyper-local creative pizza and ice cream. Tasty n’ Alder appeals to a broad range and sometimes takes larger reservations.

More (west coast) Portlandy and chef-driven but casual is Ned Ludd, although smallish. Best wine lists in town if you get to sneak out are Davenport (eclectic) and Pix/Bar Vivant (champagne).

For a completely unique Portland dessert spot that all ages enjoy, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rimsky-Korsakoffee-House/1395108637388970

42

As a heads up, Davenport and Bar Vivant are literally next door to each other.

And you should add:

Ken’s Artisan Pizza

43

+1 to Davenport

44

Cute, LOL.

Jim is on my priority list myself to visit whenever I do get out there for the first time, Stuart. That said, I’ve had 3 Patricia Green Pinots (that I can source notes for, anyway) and while I have liked all of them a lot, I’m not sure they fit completely comfortably in your tasting wheelhouse----but go and taste and prove me wrong! :slight_smile:

I think you would like Bethel Heights and Brick House. And if Eyrie has any aged Pinot Gris to try, you owe it to yourself to try it, I was utterly blown away by a 1988 version a couple years ago. I’ve also had the chance to try Todd’s wines, and those of Kelley Fox and have liked what I’ve had.

Hope you and Elly have a wonderful time and visit.

Skal,

Mike

45

Wow, John…couldn’t resist looking at the place with a name like that. Sounds like a perfect experience on many levels. The food looks great.

thanks

and, thanks, Mike for your advice…(we’re heading to Montreal for a few days at the end of the month and then to family wedding in VT). Busy year.

46

[thumbs-up.gif]

47

Grew up in PDX and make it back with family ~ once a year. Similar needs re: dining out as we usually have parties of 6-10 and a wide range of ages/food interests. Love some of the places mentioned above, but these are a few that I really like for the food + have worked well for us with larger groups. Were last there summer 2018.

  • big +1 for Ken’s Pizza. Casual place but real food and good wine for a small list. Great for a group. Don’t miss the wood roasted vegetables.
  • Nostrana- We love this place with a group. Cathy Whims has been a top PDX chef for a while, but it’s casual and fun. Pizzas are great for kids. They’re take on a Caesar (with radicchio) is one of my favorite salads ever.
    • 1 for Bollywood theater- fun vibe. very casual. good food.
  • Pok pok- hasn’t been cool (and probably even a bit portland stereotypical) to recommend for a while, but still good food and a broad menu with something for everyone. + $10 corkage! (at least it used to be)

Mike

48

Thanks to the efforts and enthusiasm of Seth Long, who responded to this thread this summer, my wife and I had a lovely day of tasting and exploring in the Willamette Valley last week. Seth help put together the four appointments. And, he met with us the day before to taste his newest vintage of chardonnays (under “Morgen Long”) that were top flight and as good a chardonnay gets. I’d have no hesitation in saying that they were the best lineup of chardonnay I’ve had outside of Burgundy/Chablis. Wonderful stuff that I had no idea was coming out of Oregon. I plan to age the bottles we bought.

Seth set up appointments for us with Marcus Goodfellow, Walter Scott, Cristom and Bethel Heights.

We spent a wonderful morning tasting at Marcus’ and getting a real understanding of where the quality of Oregon stands, especially with its shocklingly good chardonnays and Marcus other-worldly riesling. The pinot noirs are maturing in many senses and have their own decided characteristics. I wish I were younger and still buying wine, as I’d be happy to try to understand this region and its parts. But, that won’t happen, and doing it half-assed is not my style. (I will look forward to seeing how the 2017 pinot noirs we bought will age). Tasting with Marcus was as good as it gets as far as education and curiosity. However, the time flew, and our schedule was irretrievably broken. [oops.gif] Marcus, we though, was calling our next two appointments: Walter Scott and Cristom. But, when we arrived at Walter Scott, we were (probably justifiably) greeted by a decidely annoyed winemaker who said we were an hour late and to come back “next time.” (There is not likely to be a next time, sadly) I had been particularly interested in tasting their wines, and am still curious, but…

Our visit to Cristom was interesting…more “corporate”, organized, beautiful views and wines that had a common signature and were priced among the highest we tasted all day. We finished with Bethel Heights, which is also making some nice white wine, in this case, Pinot Blanc (with oak a la Andre Ostertag from Alsace). Their pinot noirs were very impressive, as were Marcus’, and though it was out of my price comfort zone, I could not resist a particular one, the 2015 “Shallows”, which I thought was like a Vosne Beaumonts…or even Cros P: shallow soils, making the roots fight to get to nourishment, etc…So, I think I paid as much as I ever had a for single bottle of wine. I plan to have it rest until 2025. For me, it was as good as any Oregon wine I’ve tasted.

So, thanks to all who responded. A lovely memory and very educational two days in the Portland area, thanks to Seth. We would have been happy to have visited more places had we had the time, but…are grateful for what we did get to do.

P.S. We did go the the SE “Shalom Y’all” and were suitably impressed, though we ended up eating a lot of hummus that week.

The wines from the region have come a huge distance from the large tasting in NYC (with winemakers) I went to in 1985…and the whites surprisingly so. The Oregon “experiment” was clearly worth all that effort, and will only improve.

49

Stuart, I feel that it is important to share how difficult it is for small wineries to host appointments during harvest, as we have modest crews juggling an incredible amount of work. We feel that it is such a special time of year, so we make it a priority to share the process with our guests. During this time of year, we limit appointments to once each day, 5 days a week, where we combine a few groups together and show them all that is happening in the winery. Had you made the appointment directly with Walter Scott I would have communicated that punctuality is VERY important as you are tasting with others AND due to it being Harvest, our team’s schedule is incredibly tight. Our appointments were full in the morning of your visit, and because Seth requested on your behalf we made an exception to host a second group that day which quickly filled up. The appointment was scheduled to begin at 1:30 in the afternoon. Ken and the other guests waited for 15 minutes for your group to arrive. At 1:45 I began texting Seth to try and reach you and determine if you were still coming to the winery that day. At 2:10 Seth responded that he was not sure, as he was out of the state. By that time, the tasting was well underway and we asked Seth to tell you we no longer able to see you, as it would require us to host the 3rd appointment and that wasn’t possible. Your group arrived 2:40 just as I was leaving the winery to collect our daughter from school.

As a note to all who visit small producers during harvest, or really any time of year, please keep in mind that they are incredibly busy running their small businesses and they rearrange their entire schedules and open wine to host you. Making sure to stay on schedule and respect everyone who has made it a priority to host you is so important. Communicating with the wineries what your schedule is so they can help keep you on schedule and get you out to your next appointment, as well as not overbooking your trip is important etiquette.

50

:hammer::alarm_clock:

51

Erica,
Couldn’t your daughter have hitchhiked :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

52

We just got back a two weeks ago.
I kept our itinerary loose and flexible, with visits limited to no more than 3 appointments a day. Doing my homework beforehand I made notes on who was by appointment only, and who was walk in welcome.

Usually we had only 2 appts. per day which left us able to add more walk in visits if desired.

Had a great time with Jim at PGC, and Doug Tunnell at Brick House, and also Jim Prosser at JK Carriere. Love the opportunity to sit and talk with folks who are hands on, and taste and chat about the wines.

53

[quote=“Erica Landon” post_id=2839590 time=1572708408 user_id=16028

Stuart, I feel that it is important to share how difficult it is for small wineries to host appointments during harvest, as we have modest crews juggling an incredible amount of work. We feel that it is such a special time of year, so we make it a priority to share the process with our guests. During this time of year, we limit appointments to once each day, 5 days a week, where we combine a few groups together and show them all that is happening in the winery. Had you made the appointment directly with Walter Scott I would have communicated that punctuality is VERY important as you are tasting with others AND due to it being Harvest, our team’s schedule is incredibly tight. Our appointments were full in the morning of your visit, and because Seth requested on your behalf we made an exception to host a second group that day which quickly filled up. The appointment was scheduled to begin at 1:30 in the afternoon. Ken and the other guests waited for 15 minutes for your group to arrive. At 1:45 I began texting Seth to try and reach you and determine if you were still coming to the winery that day. At 2:10 Seth responded that he was not sure, as he was out of the state. By that time, the tasting was well underway and we asked Seth to tell you we no longer able to see you, as it would require us to host the 3rd appointment and that wasn’t possible. Your group arrived 2:40 just as I was leaving the winery to collect our daughter from school.

As a note to all who visit small producers during harvest, or really any time of year, please keep in mind that they are incredibly busy running their small businesses and they rearrange their entire schedules and open wine to host you. Making sure to stay on schedule and respect everyone who has made it a priority to host you is so important. Communicating with the wineries what your schedule is so they can help keep you on schedule and get you out to your next appointment, as well as not overbooking your trip is important etiquette.
[/quote]

Erica,

My apologies for the visit at my place taking longer than anticipated. I should have asked on arrival what the day held, and kept the visit on track. I checked in over at Cristom to let them know that we had run long, and they were just on a general visit. I should have checked in with you as well.

Harvest is a chaotic time for all of us, and I am sorry both that you were inconvenienced and that Stuart missed your wines.

54

Stuart,

It was really lovely to meet you, your wife, and friends. It’s always a pleasure to spend a bit of time with someone as knowledgeable as you. While time got away from me, the opportunity meet you was a highlight.
Your generosity with wampum is also VERY appreciated. I hope that the Willamette Valley wines you took home are highlights for you in the coming years as well(and an indication that the terroirs in the Willamette Valley are worthy of the early hopes).

55

Erica, it sounds like there was a “failure to communicate”-- all around here. We had no idea of the details you list. We had no number to call; and were told that time wasn’t of the essence and that someone would be calling you to confirm we’d be there.

Making sure to stay on schedule is a great concept, IF you know it’s important to do so. (My experience in Burgundy and other places is that it only sometimes is, but that’s irrelevant.) It’s all about communications…and we were all “guilty” here. (I guess Seth should have given you a phone number or email or whatever…or told us to call to confirm-- IF he knew the need for punctuality.

Of course, it is impossible to hold tastings at a small winery during harvest, and we therefore, understood. But, frankly, we didn’t know much about Walter Scott or that the harvest was even ongoing.

This was not a matter of “etiquette”; we would have been happy to comply. But, it is also incumbent on a winery, I think, to make clear what it expects from visitors. And, other than a time and location, we were told nothing, and didn’t even think it necessary to call when we were running late, due to some misinformation about such things in the Willamette. Maybe we just slipped through the cracks and you do communicate with other visitors.

It is a shame, as your operation was very intriguing to this Burgundy-lover. I hope someday to be able to taste one of your wines…

56

Marcus, you are a great ambassador for the Willamette Valley, and your wines a wonderful indication of the potential of the region for all of the varieties of grapes. I really look forward to see the evolution of the wines we bought. Thanks again.

p.s. The biggest problem we had that day was the number of single plots, with singular (and sometimes confusingly similar names). But, then we realized that the vineyards of Burgundy are organized the same way…with simple names that meant something to somebody at some time in the past. It sounds more memorable in French, but…

57

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:neutral_face::neutral_face::neutral_face:

58

terrible place… people need to stay away!!

good god it’s already 1.5-2 hour wait normally!! (kidding aside it’s awesome)…

59

Wait… wha?? No offense meant Stuart but the post sounds a bit entitled… [wow.gif]

The winery flexes their schedule to get a party in during a super busy time of year, and it’s incumbent ON THEM to tell the visitors to be ON TIME? what are we, 6 yr olds?? you get an appointment’s time/location and what else do you need? We need to be TOLD to be on time? that’s bizarre, seems common sense no? Keep the schedule lose, and be on time for appointments… that’s kinda common courtesy?

Curious when you are late in Burgundy, do you not call? When i visited we always called even if we are 15 mins late. not only burg, piedmont, bdx, napa, basically anywhere… just seemed right (even tho it’s long distance calling most of the time, always call unless the phone number just doesn’t work).


Try the Chards… some of the best in Oregon.

60

Yes, a tasting with Marcus is “as good as it gets”.

Price comfort zone? Have you priced any Vosne Beaumonts or Cros P in the past 10 years? Bethel Heights really does make some lovely Pinots. I almost always wish I’d bought more.

Sorry the Walter Scott visit didn’t work out. Frankly, they’re “killing it”. I’m sure Ken and/or Erica would have appreciated your “wampum” and impressed you with their own offerings.

WV Pinots have indeed covered a huge distance since the 1980s…and only getting better.

RT