Oregon's Willamette Valley Trip

August Wine Trip

Willamette Valley, Oregon

After a wonderful wine trip last year through Washington and Oregon; where I visited the Yakima, Rattle Snake Hills, Walla Walla, and the Columbia River Valley AVA's. I was tempted to go back and explore some more of their wonderful wines, but the thought of world class Pinot Noir's just a little more South was too great to miss.

The Willamette Valley, which I used stammer out Will-a-met-tee or the Will-a-met Valley until I saw a T-shirt in the region that just said "It's Willamette Damn-it" , got it,  Willamette rhymes with Damn it. The valley runs north south roughly from Portland to Salem and West to just past Mcminnville which is about an hour from the Coast. Here the climate is just right for the finicky Pinot Noir and they are producing some of the best, and most expensive Pinots in the world. They tend to be a bit riper than those other great Pinots, you know the ones from Burgundy. All I know is we tried a a bunch and that bunch were good and the good were a bunch of money.

We started our trip in Portland and headed east on the 99W towards Newburg. I had done some research before we left as to which wineries we might be able to afford, and what ones would be open mid-week. We hit Newburg and trying to follow google to winery I wanted to hit we landed in the parking lot of Chehalam wines, and lucky for us they were open on our pre-noon arrival. They specialize as most do, in single vineyard Pinots Noirs. They had a good range open of their Pinots as well as several of their whites. I was quite fond of their Gruner Veltliner, a delicious Austrian variety. This is a white wine that is very aromatic and crisp with jasmine sage and lemon notes. Great for road tripping and camping out of the back of your truck. The other neat thing they were doing here was wine by the growler just like a craft brewery. You buy their 1 liter bottle for $5, and they charge you the 750ml bottle price to fill it. Supposedly other wineries in the area are doing it as well, and some are using the proper 2 liter size growlers.

The next place we hit was the combined tasting room of Purple Cow and Fox Farms located downtown. Purple Cow was the one I was originally trying to find because the have a large selection of different grapes. They have a Tempranillo, Petite Syrah, Teroldego, Muscat and of course some Pinots. Some of their wines are from Californian grapes, but who cares they were well worth the taste. The service was great and we tasted more then our 5 picks; having been poured multiple vintages for some of the wines, and as well as some not on the tasting sheet. We ended up buying their Tempranillo, a dry Muscat for that afternoon, and a red blend called "Soren - Thunder of God". This big bold wine is made up of Teroldego (50%), Durif (Petite Syrah)(31%), and Petit Verdot (19%). A beautiful blend that offers many levels of complexity and keeps your lips smacking for more.

We then turned around, walked 5 steps, and settled at the tasting bar for Fox Farms. We were lucky enough to have the co-owner, David Fish pouring for us. It was one of the most informative and complete tastings I had ever had. He asked for our level of geekiness we wanted to dive into, and we went full overboard; it was great. I was even tasting the different soil samples they had from each of their trio of single vineyard Pinots. He compares them to music styles, there's a Classical, Jazz, and Rock style. We ended up buying the 2012 "Jazz" Pinot from Ribbon Ridge, as well as their blended Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. David's passion for his wines and the attention to detail during the wine-making process shows across the full range, and I could of walked out of there with all of them. Fox Farms also have a wonderful Syrah, and a Pinot Gris to round out their line up.

The last stop of the day was at the Owen Roe winery; which was bustling with activity as they were rushing to get everything bottled. Harvest is coming early this year with all the nice hot weather we had all summer. Their wines were again really delicious but mostly out of our price range. We ended up picking up their Red Table wine, Abbot's Table, and their Riesling which had some nice petrol notes like a nice Clare Valley or German Riesling. Nice nuances of green apple, crisp lime, and dried apricot on the palate and it made for a wonderful sipper on that 100 degree day.

The next day we headed south to the Dundee Hills and McMinnville areas. Our first stop was Lange, and it was well worth the twisty dirt road that climbs up into the Dundee Hills. There is a great view from their patio over looking the whole AVA. Another Pinot Noir specialist, with some nice Chardonnay's to match. I bought their entry level Pinot; as most were out of my range but we were definitely glad to taste them. Next up was Eola Hills tasting room in McMinnville. Another great find with a impressive range of wines. Great knowledgeable staff with Devon friendly pours. We ended up buying their 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2009 Syrah; both from the Columbia Valley, and their newly released 2013 Malbec. I would of loved to been able to buy any of their wines buy the case!

With wine budgets more or less depleted we headed for the coast to cool off and slowly meander our way back up North. Oregon is beautiful wine country and the lack of sales tax is a plus. Do research before you go as tasting fees and minimum purchase levels can be high; that being said I would definitely go back again. Only the next time with a thicker wad of cash. I also wish we could bring more wine back across the border; two bottles a person is a joke. Especially when you are also finding great bargains shopping with your Safeway card!

Thanks for reading, and happy sippin'!