Oregon - (Williamette Valley)

3,094 Views | 20 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by reddog90
htownag99
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AG
My wife and I are starting to plan a 4-5 day trip to Oregon, specifically the Williamete Valley. We are going to fly into Portland pretty much go straight into the wine country. Has anybody ever done this? From what we are seeing, most of the attractions and wineries are around Newberg, down to McMinnville. Is it worth going all the way down to Eugene area?
rononeill
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Fantastic idea. We did it a few years ago and have been trying to figure out how to get back there. We stayed at Le Puy. Way cool "new" B&B. It's not like your grandparents house- what I usually think of w B&Bs.

Highly recommend:
White Rose
De Ponte
Brick House

Argyle is a good place to start bc they've got sparkling

Beaux Freres is delicious but was an underwhelming to visit.

Domaine Serene was good, but they're pretty proud

Alexana has a beautiful view

Dinner at The Painted Lady was pretty exquisite but a bit much after a day of wining.

Ruddick/Wood was very good and a little more casual.

The last night we ordered a pizza delivery hung at the hotel.

Have fun!

And you need a car. We were also a little disappointed that there wasn't any hiking or anything like that to be active in the mornings, but we went on a couple nice walks along some of the farm roads.

HECUBUS
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Started and ended a trip in Portland. East to Multnohma Falls, found some good wineries and you pick blueberries and cherries near Panarama Point, then went all around Oregan and Washington and back to Seaside and Cannon beaches at the end of the trip. I don't think we missed anything. That is still our GOAT summer vacation.
Greener Acres
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My wife and I did a trip like this recently except we stayed in Portland and just drove down each day. This was in March and traffic was negligible. This also gave us the full scope of Portland dining each night. I'd highly recommend this if your plan isn't to get snockered each day. Or if it's a high tourist time.

Our favorite winery was Soter. We missed the provisional chef tasting but hear it's one of the best out there. We did a chocolate/cheese/wine pairing at Archery Summit in a cave. Not a bad way to spend over an hour. I agree that Argyle is a good stop. Domaine Serene has good wine but they are proud of themselves and we never felt comfortable. I would make reservations and pick 2-4 a day. McMinnville has plenty of tasting rooms if you want to hit a few in a row, but don't miss the scenery around Newberg/Dundee.

If you like planes, the Evergreen Space and Aviation Museum has about 100 planes, including the Spruce Goose. It's pricey at $54/person (I think), but cool.

I would also recommend going east to the Columbia River Gorge. The drive is spectacular and you can cross some amazingly high bridges over the river. Plus Hood River is a cool little town and you drive down towards Mt Hood and drink beer at Solera on their back porch, in the shadow of Mt Hood. Check out Friends of the Gorge for great hiking options. It's all so accessible and beautiful.
Mule_lx
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I recommend seeing the Spruce Goose at the Evergreen Museum in McMinnville.

Remy wines was excellent then too. Laid back local feel (was years ago).
htownag99
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Thanks for the recommendations! We are going to be going in early October, while its still somewhat nice weather-wise.
aggiespartan
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An aggie is the assistant wine maker at Erath. If you are interested in stopping by there, I can connect you on Facebook. He is a nice guy, and will go out of his way to give you a good wine experience.
aphi1983
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I'm interested in an introduction. I'll be in Oregon July 4th week. Can you send me a PM?
aggiespartan
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No stars, but you can email me lesleyherring@gmail.com.
YouBet
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We did this trip in 2008 and it was awesome. We stayed in the valley at The Black Walnut Inn. Fantastic b&b. Williamette Valley was where I discovered the greatness of white truffle oil and hazelnuts. Both are local delicacies and you will find them in many dishes.

White Rose is an absolute must do winery. One of the best Oregon Pinots you can get. I've only found them one place in Dallas since.

Other ones we hit were Brickhouse, Penner Ash, Panther Creek and several more but White Rose was the best.

There were Aggies associated with Archery Summit, if I remember correctly. Also the most expensive at the time.
rononeill
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White Rose was awesome. Had a really cool experience there. The day was drizzly and dreary so when we walked up it felt like we were walking into a scene from game of thrones, the way it was tucked into the side of the hill. When we were there, it was club pick-up week, so most of the people were local getting a Saturday afternoon buzz picking up their hooch. Started talking to a few folks and they offered us their free tastings, then introduced us to one of the tenders - started playing "guess what this is" as the tender started grabbing random stuff from the cellar. Probably spent an hour and a half there. If i remember right, they had a guy serving coffee and espresso too. Having just been at Serene, this place was so much cooler. We joined, then passed our free tastings to a couple folks walking us as we left.
YouBet
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I just noticed that you mentioned White Rose on your first post. Missed that first time around.

When we there they didn't have a tasting room. Instead they opened up those big doors of their barrel rrom and we did a tasting looking out into the valley from the barrel room.
OregonAg03
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Instead of heading all the way down to Eugene, I'd look into heading east on 84 and trying out some of the vineyards on the way out to Hood River. You'll get completely different scenery than what you'll see while in the Valley and as a bonus you'll pass some amazing waterfalls on that drive. You could do a loop and circle back over Mt. Hood if you want to make a full day out of it. You'll love the Valley, but if this will be your first time in Oregon you won't regret taking a day (or two) for that side trip.
notheranymore
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TTT - Flying to Seattle on Sat then headed towards Oregon on Tuesday. Staying at Cannon Beach then McMinnis, OR (I think it's that area). Any more recommendations for wineries/breweries?
notheranymore
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We're headed to Forest Grove, OR on Thurs. It's going to be 106. Does anyone know if the tasting rooms in the area generally have A/C? Any recommended tasting rooms on the coast of Oregon? We're in Cannon Beach now and are wondering if we should change our plans.

Handle @ gmail
notheranymore
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ttt
reddog90
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Don't want to hijack, but my wife and I will have two full days in Portland early February. We are staying downtown and will have a rental car. Should we visit wineries on our own, or sign up for a day shuttle? The shuttle visits 3 wineries with a lunch stop mid day.
reddog90
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bump
Greener Acres
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reddog - that probably depends on your temperament for wine tastings. We only did a couple each day and didn't get sloshed so the drive back was easy. What wineries do you go to with the shuttle?
reddog90
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I actually don't know which wineries the shuttle goes to. I'm leaning towards us doing our own thing and picking 2-3 wineries to try to visit in one day. We are both cheap dates but responsible and not looking to get trashed.
reddog90
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rononeill said:

Highly recommend:
White Rose
De Ponte
Brick House

Did you make reservations at these places or just show up?

ETA Brick house is appointment only, other two take walk ins.
reddog90
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For future visitors of this thread:

We just got back.

Day 1:
Travel
Walk around Portland
Visit Filson, Patagonia, etc

Day 2:

shopping downtown Portland, then
Argyle: most commercialized we visited. Great bubbles, pressured us and we ended up joining their club and buying too many bottles
Red Hills Market for lunch
White Rose: probably the best wine we tasted, intimate tasting room. I wish we knew more about wine to have appreciated the experience more
De Ponte: kind of old school tasting room, stood at a bar. Good wine.

Day 3:

Japanese Garden in Portland
Salt & Straw Ice Cream
Red Hills Market for lunch
Alexana: Tasted at the bar. Good wines, ordered a couple bottles. Owned by a Dr. in Houston, I think he also owns a Napa and Argentina winery.
Soter: appointment only. By far our best experience. Met us at the door with a chardonnay, then walked to a cabin overlooking farmland for a seated tasting. Limited to 3 couples and our waitress. It was just a very unique experience and the wine was outstanding. The main lodge is awesome and I wish we had more time to spend there. Did not pressure us to join or buy anything but we did anyways.

No crowds anywhere we went because of the time of year. Next trip will be in the summer when the vineyards and lush and will also include some sight seeing on the coast and some hiking in the woods.
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