Wanderlust Traveler: Willamette Valley, Oregon (Wineries)

The beautiful Willamette Valley

We spent a long weekend in August of 2012 in the Willamette Valley, located about 30 minutes southwest of Portland, to visit several of its wineries in Yamhill County. I also have blog entries from this trip on dining and on our accommodation.

I planned the trip only a few weeks in advance after finding out I would have a business trip to one of my offices in Salem, Oregon. I figured we should take advantage of my mileage reimbursement and spend the weekend prior to the business trip exploring the Willamette Valley as it has been on m1y to-see list for awhile.

The Willamette Valley encompasses quite a large area, but after doing some research I determined that we would focus our winery visits to Yamhill County, which included wineries in Newberg, Dundee, Dayton, and Carlton.

We visited the following wineries over the course of our weekend and further below is a description and review of each of our visits:

The Four Graces:

This warm and inviting winery is located just off the main highway in Dundee and happened to be the first winery we visited. Evidently the winery was named in honor of the owner's four daughters, which he referred to as The Four Graces. The tasting room is located inside a quaint and charming little house that has been beautifully decorated. In addition to the tasting room, there are plenty of places to sit outside while one enjoys their tastings. The staff here were extremely friendly and kind and went out of their way to speak with us, and even took us on a quick walk around the gorgeous property. They even went so far as to share some of their favorite local eateries and even some of their favorite wineries in the area! And the wines? Those were great too!

The Four Graces Winery

Enjoying the property at The Four Graces Winery.

The Four Graces Winery

Shyawn enjoying his wine at the Four Graces Winery.

The Four Graces Winery

Argyle Winery:

This winery, located just down the street from the Four Graces Winery, specializes in sparkling wines, pinot noir, chardonnay, and happens to be Oregon's leading producer of sparkling wine. We opted to split their "Pop Flight," which included three different bruts plus a brut rose. Their tasting room is rather large when compared to other tasting rooms in the area and therefore works well for groups. Due to the high concentration of pinot noir in the area, I think that most would find this winery a pleasant change from the other wineries.

Argyle Winery

Winderlea Vineyard and Winery:

This modern but extremely beautiful winery is located up in the hills of Dundee and overlooks an incredibly gorgeous view. The interior space features floor to ceiling windows as well as a lovely balcony from which to enjoy the views as one sips their wine. The winery produces pinot noir and chardonnay, both of which were very good. If you are looking for great views in a peaceful setting, then this is your winery!

Winderlea Vineyard and Winery

The view from Winderlea Vineyard and Winery.

The vineyards surrounding Winderlea Vineyard and Winery.

Winderlea Vineyard and Winery

The view across the street from Winderlea Vineyard and Winery.

The view from across the street at Winderlea Vineyard and Winery.

Brick House Vineyards:
I had read about this winery in a local travel magazine and knew we had to make a stop after seeing photos of its tranquil setting. The winery does not accept walk-in visitors (unless you happen to visit on Memorial Day or Thanksgiving weekend) so you must make an appointment in advance if you want to visit. Brick House Vineyard is a small winery that focuses on Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir, and Chardonnay. We happened to be the only two during our appointment so we were able to talk quite a bit to the man who was helping us whom was extremely kind and engaging. The grounds are so picturesque and quaint with its namesake adorable brick house and rustic but charming barns. I could have spent hours here just sitting and enjoying how serene and quiet it was.

Brick House Vineyards

The namesake building for Brick House Vineyards.

Brick House Vineyards

Rex Hill Vineyards:

This winery, one of the oldest in the Willamette Valley, has been producing wine since 1982. Rex Hill makes a convenient stop for most travelers as it is located directly off of Highway 99W, which is the main thoroughfare in the area. The grounds were quite beautiful with lots of colorful flowers but the starkness of the dark concrete building surprised me. Fortunately, the interior of the building was much more welcoming and decorated nicely. We tasted several pinots as well as a chardonnay. As Rex Hill happened to be the fifth winery we visited that day, the wines themselves unfortunately don't stand out. My favorite part of the winery was the awesome wrap around deck that surrounded the main building. We had a great time sitting outside with our tastings as we enjoyed the warm sun and pretty views.

Rex Hill Vineyards

Shyawn enjoying the views at Rex Hill Vineyards.

Sokol Blosser:
The view from this beautiful winery is absolutely breathtaking and, from a visual standpoint, was my favorite winery of the entire trip. Grapes were originally planted at the winery back in 1971 and the first vintage was released in 1977. The tasting room is bright and airy and is surrounded by a large deck that offers great views of the property. The tasting we completed included several pinot noirs but my personal favorite was the Rose of Pinot Noir. This winery would make a wonderful picnic lunch stop for those spending a day or two in wine country.

Sokol Blosser Winery

Domaine Drouhin:
This winery was begun by the well-known French Family, Drouhin. Back in the 1880's Joseph Drouhin opened the first winery in Burgundy, France. In 1987 his grandson purchased property in the Dundee Hills area of the Willamette Valley and established the Oregon version of the winery. As with so many of the other wineries in the area, this winery featured amazing views of the surrounding countryside from its large deck. Domaine Drouhin makes excellant pinot noirs in the Burgundian style, all of which we were impressed with.

Domaine Drouhin

View near Domaine Drouhin.

Soter Vineyards:
Wine tasting at Soter Vineyards was hands down the best experience of the trip. Reservations are required and should be made a few days in advance during the busy summer months as they tend to fill up rather quickly since they limit the tasting to six people per session. The tasting room is actually situated inside the owner's (Tony Soter) open-air living and dining room, making for a very personalized experience. The staff was incredibly gracious and welcoming, even greeting us at our car with our first glass of wine. They also sat at the table with us as we tasted each wine, creating a very intimate experience as we chatted with the other guests. The home is situated atop a hill in Carlton that provides the most expansive views that we enjoyed as we sipped our wine. All of the wines were quite good (albeit a tad on the expensive end) but unlike most of the wineries in the area, their tasting fee actually applied towards a bottle of wine for those that made a purchase.

Soter Vineyards

Friendly dog at Soter Vineyards.

Soter Vineyards

Anne Amie Vineyards:

One of the more popular and well-known wineries in the area, this winery offers a beautiful and stunning view along with a large tasting room decorated in sort of a confusing medieval theme that didn't really seem to go with the outdoor scenary. Confusing decor aside, I did enjoy their dessert wines after having had so much pinot over the weekend. They've got a ton of outdoor seating and tables so this would be a good winery to have a picnic at.

Anne Amie Vineyards

White Rose Estate:
Located in a beautiful setting at the top of Dundee Hills in Dayton, this very highly-rated winery specializes in Pinot Noir. The tasting room is located in a small wooden window-less building. The gentlemen that was working in the tasting room on the day we visited was extremely friendly and welcoming towards us and very passionate about his work. All of their Pinot Noirs were excellent and the best of the entire trip.

White Rose Estate

The tasting room at White Rose Estate.

Red Ridge Farms:

A great stop for those looking for a reprieve from wine tasting, this lovely shop offers olive oil tasting, gourmet salts, speciality vinegars, home decorative items, and even nursery plants. However, for the die hard wine fans, they also have wine tasting available. Additionally, there is an on-site olive processing facility called the Oregon Olive Mill where they press a variety of olives from their 13,000 trees they have planted in the Dundee Hills. As with the wineries in the area, the views from the shop are beautiful and extremely serene.

The view from Red Ridge Farms.

A flower at Red Ridge Farms.

Red Ridge Farms

The Oregon Olive Mill at Red Ridge Farms.

Red Ridge Farms

Dobbes Family Estate:
As we were headed out of town, we decided to make one last winery stop at Dobbes Family Estate, as it was conveniently located directly off of Highway 99W. Although the appearance of the exterior of the building looked promising, I found the interior to be rather boring and plain. None of the wines we tasted that day stood out to us although I do remember enjoying the gewurztraminer. I should also mention that the pourer was extremely friendly and very informative. Considering how highly the winery is rated on Yelp, I can probably blame our lackluster experience on the fact that it was the eleventh winery we visited that weekend and the fact that it was quite late in the day and we were in a hurry to get home. I would definitely give this winery another try on a future visit.

Dobbes Family Estate

A beautiful flower at Dobbes Family Estate.

Dobbes Family Estate

3 comments:

AnonymousNovember 29, 2012 at 6:41 PM
The one picture of the green grapes at Sokol Blosser Winery is stunning! And congrats on your wedding, can't wait to see some Mexico travel photos :)
UnknownDecember 24, 2012 at 2:35 AM
The views are so amazing, I really like watching all over the world so much that is why I find travel agents that was having a amazing experience in way of life that will not invest some time on my vacation with my family associates members .

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Willamette Valley, Oregon (Wineries)

3 comments: