Oregon Wine Trip

[CtznCane]

We just arrived home tonight after taking an impromptu drive for a week up to Oregon and Washington. The bad news is we didn't go to the Washington wine country due to the heat, but the good news is that we did get to try Oregon wines for the first time.

I must say that I have come away from our trip being very impressed by the wines being made in Oregon. Yes, just like in California they have their share of low end wines, they also have a very good amount of fine wine as well. Perhaps we were lucky in finding some of the best wineries or perhaps we just guessed well. Most likely a combination of the two. Our primary focus was on the Willamette Valley (and surrounding area) as well as a stop on the way home in the Rogue River Valley.

While I've looked at a few Oregon Wineries before and inquired about them here on EG (without much response) I really didn't know where we were going. On our first day, wandering over from the coast it was only by chance we got headed up in the right direction, on our own Sideways type of journey towards the heart of Oregon's Pinot Noir Region. Our first stop (which we also hit again on our way back home) in 108 degree heat was Benton Lane Winery. Though this was not the best of the Oregon Pinot's we certainly felt it offered some of the best values in Pinot Noir as well as an intriguing Pinot Noir Rose that is much closer to a Pinot Noir than a Rose. Quite interesting and absolutely delightful! What a wonderful introduction to Oregon Pinot's this was. We wound up buying their 2004 Pinot Noir as well as their 2002 'First Class' Pinot, both of which were very nice PInot's at a very attractive price point for what they offered. This was also one of the few wineries that did not charge a tasting fee in Oregon. I don't know how others feel but we invariably will buy at least one bottle of wine from anyone who doesn't charge a fee (though here we bought 5.)

From there, last Friday we were also able to stop at Tyee Wine Cellars just south of Corvallis and also Orchard Heights Winery which was off of 18 towards Salem Oregon. The wines at Tyee were pleaasant , nice, but nothing more. Orchard Heights on the other hand was not worth the time. A lovely view, and some of the oddest tasting varietals I've ever run across.

Saturday turned out to be one of our two major days for tasting (along with yesterda/Wednesday.) This was the day that we found what is certainly the treasure of Oregon Wines. The Dundee Hills AVA. There is no doubt in my mind that this is Oregon's most hallowed land for Pinot Noir (as well as Chardonnay.) Between Saturday's visit and Wednesday's visit we went to 5 wineries in this area. Archery Summit, Domaine Druhin of Oregon, Domaine Serene, Sokol Blosser, and DePonte Cellars.

The only advice we can give among these wineries is that (in regards to Domaine Drouhin of Oregon, Domaine Serene, and Archery Summit) you should go to them last for they will certainly spoil you for wherever else you may go. The Dundee Hills offer a spectacular view of the Willamette Valley as well sitting high up on the hillside. The lowest of the Vineyards was the Sokel Blosser Winery. Speaking only of Pinot's, their 2000 Pinot Noir was very intriguing. It was very light and delicate. Quite understated. Yet all the components were quite harmonious and even for being light bodied had a long lasting finish.

DePonte Cellars was a flat out disappointment. Their Melon, white wine was decent (but unspectacular) and their Pinot's really didn't have any qualities to set them apart from the crowd.

The other 3 wineries we visited in the Dundee Hills were nothing short of spectacular. Spectacular in terms of their setting, the facilities, and the wines. The tastings are not the cheapest, 15 each at Archery and Serene, and $10 for Domaine Drouhin but well worth it. While we were there for the Pinot Noir, both Domaine Drouhin and Domaine Serene also produce Dijon clone Chardonnays and both are absolutetly top notch. Both of these Chardonnays were reminiscent of the French style Chardonnays. A touch more mineral too than we are use to in California. Quite delightful. We even bought one of the ones from Domaine Serene, there 'Sud Vineyard' Chardonnay.

The Pinot Noirs from all 3 of these wineries were absolutely top shelf. Their prices are also top shelf. The best value is Archery Summits Dundee Hills cuvee (04) for $37.50 per bottle. Archery Summitts other 3 Pinot's that we tried were 75, 75, and 150 respectively. Were they worth the price? Yes, I think they were, and for me saying that it says a lot as I am very reticient to think a wine of $150 is worth the price. I must say though, that their Dundee Hills Cuvee seemed like a steal at $37.50 and itself was an excellent Pinot Noir. The Pinot's of Domaine Drouhin and Domaine Serene were also in the same approximate range. For myself, I don't buy that many wines at $50 or above and to do so it better be pretty special. We wound up buying wines at all 3 of these wineries and that should say something. Bottom line is, these 3 wineries do represent the best of the best of what Oregon Pinot Noir has to offer. We look forward to opening these winds with friends and enjoying them to their fullest. If I get the pictures downloaded I"ll try to post some of these 3 vineyards. How would we rate these 3 best of the bests? Probably Archery Summitt, Domaine Serene, and Domaine Drouhin but on any given day that order could be reversed in any combination. You can't go wrong with any of these three.

After the highlight of our tasting there is the rest. Yes, not as good as these (for the most part) but still delightful none the less. We visited Agyle Winery as we are quite keen on sparkling wines. We were not disappointed. We tasted all 4 of thier sparklers and all represented good values and and good sparkling wines. The one we decided to buy (like we need any more) was their Brut Rose which was quite appealing. I can't find my notes but they did have one high-end pinot noir as well, I believe it was their "Nuthouse" Pinot Noir that was outstanding and for $45 per bottle was a great value.

While we didn't hit numerous wineries, I'll leave off the totally innocuous ones and ones not worth mentioning. We did stop as we headed North (on our first visit) to Rex Hill Vineyards & Winery. This is one of the few Pinot Noirs we've previously expericenced. We had their wine at a lovely restaurant outside of South Lake Tahoe. Nice Pinot Noirs across the board. Nothing spectacular but nothing that wasn't pleasant as well. Certainly we had been spoiled by our earlier visit to the Dundee Hills.

Outside of this area, we did, on our way back through, visit the Carlton area. The Carlton Winemakers Studio which features the wines of several different wineries and the Wine Shop in Carlton, which also features several wineries. The Carlton Winemakers Studio featured their own wines as well as wines from Hamacher Winers, Boedecker Cellars, Domanine Meriweather, Lazy River Vineyards, and Andrew Rich Wines. Of their Pinot's we were most impressed with the Boedecker's Pinot Noir which was also attractively priced at $28. Most interesting was that the Andrew Rich Wines are all Stelvin Closures now. I haven't previously seen a $45 bottle of wine with a Stelvin Closure. While I think it is fine, I still think it takes a lot of... well let's just say nerve, to put a stelvin closure on a wine in that price range. Certainly a very nice Pinot to be sure, but perhaps even as open minded as I am I was way-layed by the closure. One note is that the Domanie Merriweather Rose Cuvee sparkiling wine ($30) was absolutely dellightful.

The Wine Bar in Carlton has been one of the highest rated wine bars. While we found their selection to be good, we were not impressed overall with their establishment. We did find one good value Pinot Noir ($18), the Freja Cellars to be a very good value.

Our next to last stop as we started to head home was Amity Vineyards. Amity Vinearyds is what we'd describe as a Funky little winery up on the hill at the top of a winding gravel road. A littel bit south of the heart of the Willamette Valley but nice all the same. Delightful wines across the board. Good pinot Noirs. Most interesting though is a wine that is made at several Oregon wineries from a grape called "Marechal Foch". This red grape is very earthy, yet full bodied and quite pleasant. It is always nice to find a different varietal that is pleasant. This certainly fits the bill. Appparently several different Oregon winemakers make the variety as well. Amity Vineyards markets their Marechal Foch under the name "Madrona View Vineyard."

Lastly on our way out we did stop again at our first winery, the Benton Lane Winery. Again, this was not the best winery, but certainly an excellent winery. Stopping again only supported that judgement. I"d certainly like to see some of their wines down here in our area.

We sort of found it ironic that we did our own little Sideways journey and where do we wind up staying last night but at a motel chain called "The Windmill"!

Go figure!!!

We thought our wine tasting was done, but as we headed down I5 headed home this morning there was a sign for 2 wineries right off the highway at Ashland in Southern Oregon. The two wineries we stopped at were Ashland Vineyards whose wines are all under a "Shakespeare" label for the most part and "Weisingers's of Ashland."

These last two were stopped at purely by whim. No expectations whatsoever. The first, Ashland Vineyards was at best what I would describe as funky. Good funky it turned out. They were out of their most popular wine (an innoucuos but pleasant wihte) because the winemaker hadn't bothered to bottle any more. They also ha an organic Merlot that had been (at least according to the lady serving) laying around in oak for 7 years which turned out to be quite nice. Go figure! Hell, at 18 per bottle we figured we'd take a couple home. Strange place. Fun place, but strange.

The secnd stop, Weisinger's of Ashland turned out to be an absolute jewell. We tasted 10 wines. All 10 were pleasing. Rarely do we find that to be the case. Unlike the Willamette area, the Rogue River is focused on Merlot. While all were pleasing, the 2 that I liked best were their 2002 Petite Pompadour which was a blend of 46% cab franc, 44% merlot, 8% cab sauv and 2% malbec. Deep, rich, bold, and with a long finish. Delightful. My other faovire there was their Claret. A 62/38% Merlot/Cab Franc which again was delightful. They also had a very interesting light and clean Cab Franc Rose.

A few observations overall about Oregon Wines. Unlike California, the Oregon wines strive and concentrate on the wines best suited to their area. In the southern Willamette area that is Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris for the most part. In the Northern Willamette area that is again the Pinot Noir (by far the main focus) and Pinot Gris and some Dijon Clone Chardonnay. In terms of a white wine grape, Reislning tends to do well throught Oregon and there are some very pleasant Reislings offered. A major differnece between California and Oregon is that the ORegon wineries (for the most part) don't try to grow all the different varietals there. Pinot Noir is what works best in the Willamette Valley and that is their focus. They don't hvae any Cabs, no Zins. They have Pinot Noir. Sure, a few places have other varietals though for many of those (another ORegon oddit is) come from Washington State grapes. In the Willamette Valley the focus is Pinot NOir which is what they do best. In the Rogue River it is Merlot and Cab Franc.

I feel stongly that Oregon is really keeping a focus to what they do best. I think many California Vineyards could learn from this example.

I guess you could say that the bottom line is, for me, that I am now a fan of Oregon State wines as well. Granted I sort of want to steal and plaguarize the Will Rogers Line "I never met a wine I didn't like.." but I am just flat out impressed with what they are doing with wines in Oregon. Most of all I am impressed that they are doing what they do best as opposed to trying to cater to what they think the public wants.

I know I've rambled in this post but I have long wanted to try Oregon wines and especially the Pinot Noirs. Their Pinot Noirs are top notch. No doubt. Will they cause me to stop driniking my favorites (J Vineyards and Gloria Ferrer) No. Will they provide others I want to enjoy? Most crtainly!

[SBonner]

Nice run down on your trip. I'm a big fan of Oregon Pinot Noir.

Thanks,

Stephen Bonner

Vancouver

[bobferdon]

The Dundee Hills best area is the three hillsides. From the air they look like three fingers. Some of the best wines and wineries are on these three fingers.

[Bill Miller]

Great report!! I just had an 01 Domaine Drouhin and it was lovely--I did not go there when I toured. I was dissappointed in Erath, Sokol Blosser, and another in a red barn (the name escapes me--I didn't purchase any). Elk Cove was very nice. When you return try Anne Amie and Bella Vida. They were my highlites. Raptor Ridge is also lovely but they were not open when I was there.

Edited July 28, 2006 by Bill Miller (log)

[CtznCane]

Great report!! I just had an 01 Domaine Drouhin and it was lovely--I did not go there when I toured.  I was dissappointed in Erath, Sokol Blosser, and another in a red barn (the name escapes me--I didn't purchase any). Elk Cove was very nice. When you return try Anne Amie and Bella Vida.  They were my highlites. Raptor Ridge is also lovely but they were not open when I was there.

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I agree in part about Sokol Blosser. I found their one Pinot intriguing but the rest of their wines were innocuous at best.

We thought about trying to get to Anne Amie but would have needed an appointment.

A couple of points I wanted to mention but didn't were in regards to hours and tasting fees. Unlike California wineries many of the Oregon ones are not open during the week. We were very lucky that our second tasting day was Wednesday as Domaine Serene is not open Mon or Tues and only this year (not sure how long ago) did they start even being open on W-F. A great many of the wineries are by appointment only during the week. Without knowing the area well and wanting to hit a certain few we knew were open it sort of nixed our being able to fell comfortable about setting any appointments. Next time I"m sure we will have a better feel for the area, drive times and hopefully set some appointments. Better yet, maybe by then they will be open during the week.

A nice point with Oregon wineries was that there were signs for most which really helped. This was true not just in the densely populated regions like the Dundee area but throughout Oregon for their wineries. In this regard it was a great deal easier finding some of the places than it is out here in California.

Tasting fees in Oregon seemed to be a bit on the high side and I do not recall any in the McMinnville, Dundee, Newburg and surrounding areas that did not charge a fee. Out here (in Calif) many of those who do charge a fee will waive it if you purchase wine. In Oregon most do not waive the fee even if you purchase wines. I don't have a problem with tastings that are 10 or 15 dollars at a very high end winery. At least Drouhin which is $10 does refund if you spend over 100 I think it was or such. There were however some who for 8 or 9 dollars per person I thought was a bit much, especially when the quality just didn't seem to be there. I guess my peeve about tasting fees is that typically we buy wine and when the fee isn't waived with purchase that cuts into my wine spending budget. I guess I should look at the bright side though. When tasting wines at a place that doesn't charge we will almost always buy at least 1 bottle of wine unless it is just total trash. At least when I pay for a tasting I don't feel motivated or compelled to buy anything so in that regard it is probably a cheaper route to go .

At least now I will definitely be on the lookout for more Oregon wines as well as I'll make sure to talk to my local merchant about carrying some of these wines. -- I'll have to make note of the ones you recommend to see if I can get some down here to try.

[philadining]

Great report, thanks CtznCane!

I was out that way in the spring, and hit a few of the same places, and had similar reactions.

Amity was a big fave of mine: I liked the vibe, liked the wines, didn't resent the tasting fee for the more interesting single-vineyard Pinots. They let me keep the glass (great... one more thing to worry about breaking on the plane...) and they kept my tasting fee even though I bought several bottles. Still, it was the most interesting wine I had on my brief tour.

I found a couple things I liked at Erath, and they did refund my tasting fee, even though i just bought one bottle. Sokol Blosser is a lovely spot, but I didn't find much of interest to drink.

Argyle was a surprise in that I enjoyed the sparklers, but ended up buying only some of their "Nut House" Merlot, of all things. It was a rather unusual wine, rather tannic and woody, but pleasantly distinctive, and cheap too...

We stopped at a few others, nothing worth mentioning... I was pleasantly surprised that most places we drove by were open on a tuesday before Memorial Day. And most had a few wines available to taste for free, but charged for the higher-end reserve stuff. This might have been an advantage of being there on an off-day, during off-season, if they're open at all, perhaps they're a little more generous.

Thanks again for the report, I'm eager to get back to Amity some day, and will add Drouhin and some of your other highlights to my itinerary next time!

[sadistick]

I only wish the LCBO carried more upper tier Oregon Pinot's...*grumble*...damn monopolies.

[syrah girl]

Just stumbled across this thread. Loved the comment about the Domaine Drouhin, Archery Summit, Sokkol Blosser. It is totally true, they are simply the BEST Oregon Pinot in the area. We recently found Domaine Serene on our afternoon in the Oregon wine country a couple of weeks ago. Beautiful grounds and outstanding Pinot Noir.

After tasting at Domaine Serene, we also found the Scott Paul tasting room in Carlton. His Audrey scored high points with us. Wish we would have purchased a case instead of a bottle that is already gone. ( We took it to the Nehalem River Inn for dinner.) Went to the Winemaker Studio there in Carlton, but the Pinots we tasted didn't come close to the Domaine Serene or Scott Paul Pinots. We left without purchasing anything at the Studio.

Had wonderful meals at Tina's and the Joel Palmer House that day! Cheers!