I've mentioned it here a few times, but we have a newborn at home and a lot of good wine that didn't get drank, including an anniversary bottle.

We got married at St. Francis in 2017 and immediately did a good and wine pairing in our wedding garb. We loved this cab when they paired it with a steak, and bought A case of it to open each anniversary. We're 5 months late, but enjoying this one tonight.

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Our Willamette Valley trip was awesome. As I mentioned earlier, you really, really need to like Pinot Noir, because that and a little Chardonnay is all you will be drinking. Unlike in Napa, where you might start with a sauvignon blanc, then a rose, merlot, a cab or two, then a syrah and zinfandel, in Oregon, you will have a chardonnay or two, then all Pinot. Ten years ago, it was pinot and pinot gris. Now, almost all of the pinot gris has either been ripped out or had Chardonnay grafted onto it, which is a shame, because I love good pinot gris. The story as to why it was ripped out is a common one: they can't sell it, because the minute you tell someone that it's really pinot grigio, they tune out because they're not going to spend $30 for pinot grigio. But they'll spend $50 for an average chardonnay. Go figure.

We flew into Portland, and it was really nice to leave the airport, and 30 minutes later you're in wine country. Instead of going directly to our VRBO place, we drove to Salem to visit our friend's vineyard, Vitae Springs. I've probably told this story before, but it's worth telling again. One of my wife's former students was a junior at A&M and decided to go to France for the summer and be a cellar rat/vineyard shoot thinner, and whatever the wineries/vineyards asked him to do. He got bit by the wine bug, and six months later his family bought the Vitae Springs vineyard southwest of Salem. It consists of 11 acres under vine with Pinot Noir, Riesling, Pinot Gris, pinot blanc, and Muller Thurgau, Right now, he's just growing grapes for others, and has about six barrels of wine that he's learning to make for himself. For now, the plan is to keep growing grapes for a while and making a small amount of wine for friends and family. We got to try some of his wines in barrel, including one in amphora, and it looks like he's on the right track for making wine.

In the interest of disclosure, all of our tastings were comped (industry, kinda), but no one is paying me to say anything about these wineries. My opinions would be no different.

Friday morning started at Argyle. If you like sparkling wine, get an early appointment here, because drinking sparkling wines at 10:30 in the morning is a great way to start the day. Argyle was probably the most underwhelming tasting, but that's really splitting hairs, because the wines were all really good. I'm not a huge sparkling wine fan, but if someone in your group is, make sure to make an appointment here.

Next up was Adelsheim. I was a fan of their wines, and they make a ton of different pinots. At one time, I had six different pinots in front of me (they just kept bringing different ones to try). Overall, I wasn't a fan of their chardonnay (a little too much oak for me), but their pinots are very, very good. Great views from their garden, and it was a nice hike up to check out their garden and vines.


Evening Land was the last stop for the day. This was my favorite tasting by far, and their chardonnay blew me away. It was focused and driven, with high acid, but enough structure and body to keep from stripping the enamel off your teeth. Rajat Parr is known for liking acid in his wines, but it's not all about acid. There's plenty of fruit in these wines to go along with the acid. The Seven Springs vineyard is currently 90%pinot 10% chardonnay, but the plan is to plant more chardonnay once the sale of the vineyard goes through in January 2021. Don't miss this place.


Dinner Friday night was at Joel Palmer House. The food was excellent, and is not to be missed. We did the Mushroom Madness tasting, and there aren't enough superlatives to describe how good this tasting menu was. The mushroom tart my have been the best thing I ate on this trip. You can also order direct off the menu if shrooms aren't your thing. The restaurant has a very deep cellar of Oregon pinot noir, with vintages going back to the mid-90s, and they are all very reasonably priced.

Saturday started at Bethel Heights. Bethel Heights can lay claim to some of the oldest chardonnay plantings in the Willamette Valley (1977). Their site is a bit warmer (south-facing, some blocks in a bowl, and southern part of Eola-Amity), so their wines have a little more body. But they are still distinctly Oregon. Their Chardonnay is vertically trellised, so you have clusters ranging in height from 3-5 feet from the ground. That also means it doesn't ripen at the same time. We said we could join one club on this trip, and this is the one we joined.



Next stop was De Ponte Cellars. It was an add-on based on a recommendation from our host at Bethel Heights. Typical pinot noir, but their best wine was a sparkling melon de bourgogne. The view from their vineyard is spectacular. If you're going to Droughin or Domaine Serene, see if you can fit this one in.


The final stop of the day was Domaine Droughin. This is the Oregon property of Joseph Droughin in Burgundy. Outstanding wines made here. We did the Oregon vs. Burgundy tasting, and it was really fun to try their Oregon wines against their Burgundy wines. Plus, you can buy their Burgundy wines there too. It's a pricey tasting, but worth it.

Instead of going out on a Saturday night, we cooked at our place. We stopped at Northwest Fresh Seafood in Newburg to pick up some oysters and fish to cook. They have an amazing selection of fresh seafood, but go early, because they were nearly out of everything by the time I got there at 4:00 in the afternoon. Grilled oysters, baked fish, and a sparkling melon de bourgogne. That's tough dinner to screw up.

Final day of tasting was Sunday, and it was a hot day (100 degrees). Thankfully, 100 degrees in Oregon is way different than in Texas. In Oregon, it hits 100 and stays there for 2-3 hours max. We started Sunday at Domaine Serene, and even though it was hot, we were seated outside in the shade, and we were still comfortable. The wines are exquisite, and come with an exquisite price tag to go with it. The place is just over the top and beautiful. If that's not your style, scratch this one from your list.


Final tasting of the trip was Penner-Ash, and it was a great way to cap off the trip. Thankfully we were seated inside, because even at a little elevation, it was getting f'ing hot. Another place that makes a lot of different wines in slightly differing styles. I was impressed.

Sunday night dinner was at La Rambla in McMinnville. Excellent Spanish tapas with larger servings than I would expect. The paella is great, but it takes an hour, so plan accordingly. I was done with pinot, so I had some beers and a sangria with dinner. The lamb nachos were great, but I should have made it a half order.

Overall, this was a fun trip that should be on a wine drinker's list of regions to visit. I would not do more than three wineries a day, because you're going to be drinking lots of Pinot. Anymore than that, and you're palate will be shot. The differences in the wines are very small, and dependent on lots of variables (clones, marine vs. volcanic soils, south vs. west facing vines, etc.). The fortunate thing is that all the pinots are higher in acidity, so that will help in keeping your tastebuds fresh and free of tannins. One drawback was that I had bad heartburn most of the trip. So bring some antacids if you have heartburn.

We stayed at a VRBO called Two Maples Farm just outside of Newburg. It's a two-story bardominium with the living room and kitchen upstairs, and the bedroom/master bathroom downstairs. If you have problems with stairs, do not stay here. Otherwise, it's a very nice place that was very, very, reasonable price-wise ($100/night). If you book them directly, you can save some money since they don't have to pay VRBO a commission. I'd stay here again. If you're looking for other places, Newburg and Dundee are centrally located, and I'd look in these areas first.

As for getting your wine back, Newburg Mail Room in Newburg will ship wine. They were willing to hold our wine until November for free, but with a break in the weather and half price overnight shipping from UPS, we decided to get our wine shipped back. Everything arrived in pristine condition.

A nice Sunday dinner party

Wines on vacation:

2012 Realm Dr Crane
2010 Pott Incubo

Different styles (mountain vs valley floor) but both were in a great place.

Great Night!