I recently went to Oregon with one of my besties and discovered one of the most charming and breathtaking places to visit in the U.S. I really didn't know much about Oregon before jet setting Northwest except that their wines, especially Pinot Noirs, are excellent and on the up and up in terms of U.S. wineries. I did not expect to find all the natural beauty that laid in store for us over our long weekend.
The trip started off ironically enough with us girls laughing and telling each other that in the spirit of the weekend we both chose a new shade for our mani/pedis in honor of our wine tasting trip. She got Merlot and mine, Bordeaux. Naturally, laughter ensued. When we finally arrived in Portland we ate a wonderful meal at the bar in our hotel, as the main dining room had already closed for the evening. Apparently people eat rather early in/around Portland we soon found out. We stayed the night at the Heathman Hotel in Portland. A charming hotel in the city center with wonderful down comforters and slippers waiting alongside the beds. In my general opinion, if there's a clean white down comforter in the pictures for a given hotel...that means it's typically going to be a pleasant stay! The next morning we took off with a vengance to conquer as many wineries as humanly possible for two girls in two days. And here it goes...the list of the vineyards we visited and some of our favorite wines as well. Pretty much any of these can be purchased online through the wineries sites if anyone is interested. Oregon is mainly known for Pinot Noirs, but they also have excellent Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and their Chardonnay isn't bad since they're mainly done in stainless steel barrels instead of oak which gives off that strong oaky flavor.
WILLAMETTE VALLEY VINEYARDS:
Rex Hill (under the umbrella of A to Z wines)
2007 Chardonnay
2006 Jacob Hart Pinot Noir
2005 Francis Tannahill Grenache
2007 Dundee Hills Reserve Pinot Noir
2007 Dundee Hills Pinot Gris
Domaine Serene
2006 Two Barns Pinot Noir
2006 Etoile Chardonnay
2006 Rockblock Reserve Syrah*
*This is a wine you would want to age if you can wait that long. We tasted a '99 vintage from this vineyard and it was excellent.
Patricia Green
2007 Pinot Noir Reserve
Need to make an appt at this vineyard. Closed during harvest but Press Wine Bar also sells.
Chehalem
2007 Stoller Vineyards Pinot Blanc
2007 3 Vineyard Pinot Noir
2006 Spirithouse Pinot Noir (there's a rumor the house is haunted hence the name and PR)
2007 Brut Rose
Try the sparkling wine/champagne flight. Fun to have a few bubbles in the mix of all the tastings!
Sokol Blosser
Evolution, Lucky Edition
2007 Pinot Noir
2008 Dundee Hills Cuvée Pinot Gris
Penner-Ash
2007 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir
Wines By Joe
2005 Dobbes Syrah Grande Assemblage Cuvée
2007 Dobbes Pinot Noir Rouge Valley Skippers Cuvée
Erath
2007 Oregon Pinot Noir
Winderlea
2007 Pinot Noir
Amazing views of the valley. Great time to stop and have a break on the deck.
Beautiful vineyard but didn't fall in love with any wines. The land was previously a turkey farm hence the turkey logo on their bottles.
Duck Pond
Same deal. Pretty land but wouldn't recommend the wine. Good stop if there's traffic on the road though!
Note: Shipping wine back appeared to be a challenge for us. Either have the place your staying handle it for your or we heard of a UPS store in Newberg and of course if you're at the beach we found one store there with the nicest owner, Jeff at Copies & Fax on Cannon Beach.
WILLAMETTE VALLEY DINING:
(we didn't get to all of these, but I've put our favs on top)
Bistro Maison (best mushroom ravioli I've ever had! So delicate and mouthwatering!)
Allison Inn
Tasting Room/Press Wine Bar
Dundee Bistro
Farm to Fresh
The Painted Lady
Nick's Italian Café
Red Hills Provincial Dining
La Rambla
Kame
After days full of tastings, we were in no shape to go out after dinner either night, but we did hear about a few local bars that sounded like a good time: Golden Valley, McMenamins (3 bars: rooftop, cellar, main), The Deluxe (local dive bar).
We stayed at the most wonderful, quaint and genuinely nicest B&B I've ever seen called the Black Walnut Inn. There isn't a single other place that I saw in the Willamette Valley that looked any better. Fabulous views, breakfasts, cookies...ohh the homemade cookies! The owners are a husband and wife and they are living their dream. A definite must stay!
If you have an extra day or so I highly recommend driving an hour or so to the coastline. We had a fabulous time in the charming beach town of Cannon Beach. The Stephanie Inn on the beach with beachfront views was the perfect way to relax and wind down a whirlwind trip of wine tasting!
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