While a lot of my travel plans for 2020 have been cancelled thanks to COVID, we are trying to make the best of it and do road trips. Our first trip of 2020 was to Willamette Valley. We visited the region for a grand total of one day back in 2018 and I have been gunning to make a return trip ever since. The region is VAST and, even with three full days of wine tasting, we barely scratched the surface of wineries in the region. I’m going back in September with my family and am hoping to add to this growing list!
Where we stayed: We stayed at an Airbnb in Newberg. Anywhere in the towns of Newberg and Dundee are great launching points for wine tasting, as none of the wineries were more than a 15-20 minute drive away.
Where we ate:
Coffee Cottage: What we liked about it: We started every day at Coffee Cottage thanks to our Airbnb hosts. This place has a sit-down cafe that is adorable, as well as a drive thru if you have limited time before your first tasting. They make great lattes (Vivek loves a flavored latte and they had many!) and a variety of homemade scones and muffins. What to order: Coffee and scones, especially the apple cinnamon scone if they have it (chocolate chip was my preferred backup)
Red Hills Market: What we liked about it: This is one of the only options for a quick meal between tastings. They bake everything in-house including the bread and have great sandwiches (and supposedly good pizza which we need to try next. What to order: Vivek loved their fried chicken sandwich and this was good for soaking up wine from the tasting.
Trellis Dundee: What we liked about it: If you have more time for lunch, this place is a great sitdown option for sandwiches and they have a great wine selection. What to order: Their turkey pesto sandwich was delicious
New Burgundian Bistro: What we liked about it: This is a new spot in town that makes fresh French bistro inspired dishes with local Oregon ingredients and has lots of outdoor patio seating. What to order: The coq au vin is their most popular item for a reason!
Rosmarino Osteria: What we liked about it: This place is super authentic and adorable. They make homemade pasta and it is all to die for. What to order: you can’t go wrong with any pasta on the list! I was also a huge fan of the risotto of the day
Joel Palmer House: What we liked about it: Located in an adorable, seemingly residential house in Dayton, Joel Palmer has built a menu centered around mushrooms. Many of the dishes boast local mushrooms and their entire wine list features Oregon wines. What to order: They have an appetizer with seasonal mushrooms that were some of the best we’ve ever had.
Honeypie Pizza: What we liked about it: This would make a great option for a casual night in if you want to drink a bottle of the wine you’ve acquired on your trip. What to order: The truffle cheese bread is something else but, be warned, it’s almost the size of a pizza itself!
Most importantly, where we tasted and what to buy at each spot: I’ll caveat this by first disclosing – if you’re not a Pinot or Chardonnay fan, you can probably stop reading now. While we definitely found wineries that had other grape varieties, Pinot is King and Chardonnay is definitely coming up on the scene.
Day 1
Hazelfern Cellars: Tasting Fee: $25 per person, waived with three bottles What we liked about it: Hazelfern’s tasting room is located in a completely remodeled and revamped horse barn. In addition to the funky and cool architecture, they are serving up awesome wines including hands down some of the best Chardonnay we had all weekend. What to buy: Little Hells aka Seven Hells Chardonnay, $49
Bergstrom Winery: Tasting Fee: $50 per person, waived with purchase of 8 bottles (note: this has gone up considerably since we booked our tasting which was $30, waived with 3 or more bottles.) What we liked about it: The Dundee space is in a beautiful private home and the tasting is laid out beautifully. On top of this, you have the chance to try wine from the Bergstrom Vineyard while overlooking the Bergstrom Vineyar. What to buy: 2017 Shea Vineyard Pinot, $71
Madviolets Winery: Tasting Fee: $25, waived with purchase of 6 bottles or more. What we liked about it: This is a private tasting done in their tiny taster, which is a small hut overlooking vineyards in the Dundee Hills. Because this is a side passion project for the owners, they’re able to hold on to their wines longer before releasing and a lot of their bottles already have good age on them.What to buy: 2013 Willamette Valley Pinot, $38
Day 2
Ridgecrest Wines: Tasting Fee: $20 per person What we liked about it: Our tasting with Jon was entirely private in a yurt overlooking their estate property. We loved the variety they had to offer in terms of the wines they made and loved really going in-depth with him. We hung around for 2 hours! What to buy: Estate Gruner Veltliner, $24
Eminent Domaine: Tasting Fee: $20, waived with $100 wine purchase What we liked about it: Located up on Ribbon Ridge, Eminent Domaine boasts some of the best views in the valley. While it was, unfortunately but unsurprisingly rainy during our visit, we still opted to sit outside on their patio to check out the view in between showers. What to bury: Estate Pinot Noir, $50
Trisaetum Winery: Tasting Fee: $25, waived with purchase of one bottle What we liked about it: Trisaetum makes a variety of wines and they have three options: a white wine only flight, a red wine only flight or a mixed flight. We opted to do one of each of the red and white to try as many as possible, and we loved their rieslings. This is also a more reasonable tasting, as it is waived with just one bottle and many of the bottles are ~$30-35. What to buy: 2018 Wichmann Dundee Estate Dry Riesling, $32
Big Table Farm: Tasting Fee: When they reopen, they will be doing one tasting per day,with a minimum purchase requirement for six bottles per person What we liked about it: Big Table Farm is officially reopening their atelier in downtown Carlton in July, but we were able to go in and meet Clare 1:1. Big Table Farm has built a cult-like following for their wines (for seriously good reason), each of which boasts Clare’s hand-drawn artwork on the label. Clare also uses the studio space of the tasting room to paint and sell her artwork. What to buy: Elusive Queen Chardonnay, $85 (for a less expensive bottle, the $28 Wild Bee Chardonnay is the best deal for Chard we encountered all weekend!)
Day 3
Flaneur Winery: Tasting Fee: $25, waived with purchase of three bottles What we liked about it: Flaneur has the coolest tasting room, located in a remodeled grain elevator. They also boast a lot of nice patio seating for warmer days, as they take you through a flight of their chardonnays and pinot. What to buy: La Belle Promenade Pinot, $55
Dusky Goose Winery: Tasting Fee: $40, waived with Purchase What we liked about it: Lynn Penner-Ash is one of the most well-known winemakers in the Willamette Valley. Dusky Goose offers the opportunity to taste her incredible wines while soaking in the single best panoramic views we saw all weekend. If Dundee Hills is your favorite AVA – you’re in luck, everything they produce is from their property or their neighbors’, so it’s all Dundee Hills fruit.
74 days until I am back in Oregon, not that I am counting own or anything, but I cannot wait to revisit some of these places and try new ones. If you’ve been to Oregon, let me know what should be on my list next!
