Too much wine? I think not…

The lush Willamette Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area) is Oregon’s largest wine region, stretching more than 100 miles from Portland in northern Oregon to Eugene, and boasting over 21,000 acres of vineyards and over 500 wineries. The Willamette Valley is know for it’s pinot noir and pinot gris, but also chardonnay, riesling, pinot blanc, and a handful of other grapes.

Less than an hour drive from Portland, a visit to the tasting rooms and scenic vineyards is easily accessible.  Staying downtown Portland, we decided to rely on other responsible drivers to chauffeur, so we arranged four different tours for this getaway: two wine, one scenic nature, and one half day city tour/half day of wineries. It was a good mix of activities albeit a little wine-heavy. We might have gotten carried away…but hey it was birthday week!

We used three different companies and had four different drivers over the four days to mix it up. We met some friendly people, learned about Portland and Oregon, the mountains and falls, and tasted some very nice vino.

An early morning pickup resulted in a little sightseeing along the way. On our first stop was about 10-15 minutes out of downtown Portland, the historic Pittock Mansion which is now a museum.Pittock was once owned by Henry Pittock, best known for for being the successful newspaper publisher and owner of The Oregonian. newspaper which is still the Portland daily newspaper. He built a financial empire by investing in real estate, banking, railroads, steamboats, sheep ranching, silver mining, and the paper industry. Henry was an avid outdoorsman, bicycle enthusiast, and was among the first group to climb Mount Hood, a Renaissance man.

The mansion is a 16,000 square foot French Renaissance style home designed to capture the view of downtown Portland and the Cascade Mountains. Panoramic views and modern conveniences were the distinctive features of this luxurious home completed in 1914.  

We enjoyed touring the home, lodge, and grounds. The tour is a great way to get a feel for the history of Portland, see some fantastic panoramic views of the city and river, and there is a unique little gift shop.

There is also a scenic 5 mile hike from Lower MacLeay Park Trailhead to the Pittock Mansion. For information on the moderate level hike, click here.

From Pittock Mansion, it’s just another half hour west to wine country.  Along the way you will see many filbert orchards which are the same as hazelnuts – think Nutella. Oregon boasts an ideal climate for growing the most hazelnuts in the United States due to the temperate ocean, mountain and river climates, and rich volcanic soil. Who knew? But we do like hazelnuts, so we picked up a few bags….spicy, salty, plain or chocolate covered. It’s all good.

Hazelnut/Filbert shells

Oregon also produces the hybrid Marion Blackberry, referred to as the Marionberry which we enjoyed frequently over our visit. It is the Cabernet of Blackberries, larger, sweeter and juicer. Unfortunately, a well kept Oregon secret, we do not see them in the Midwest. Rhubarb was also on the menu literally everywhere. Really people, why is rhubarb even a thing?

Alpacas seem to be indigenous to the valley, being raised for their fibers, petting, and photo opportunities.

So now, on to the good stuff. Wine tasting in the Willamette Valley.  

Over the three wine centric tours and many wineries we visited, our number one favorite is Domain Drouhin in Dundee, where the motto is French Soul, Oregon Soil. We love the Drouhin Family wines from Burgundy and have visited Maison Joseph Drouhin in Beaune, France, which has been in the family for 130 years. We met the winemaker’s daughter Laurene working in the Oregon winery on an internship, so we bought a bottle of the 2014 Laurene Pinot Noir which she very graciously autographed.

Laurene Drouhin signs Laurene 2014 Pinot Noir

Kathy, Laurene Drouhin, & John

Another new favorite is Blizzard Wines in Hillsboro. The Blizzard tasting room is fairly new and gorgeous. Mary, our wine hostess prepared delectable snacks for us to enjoy while she regaled us with tales of the winemaker Dana Blizzard. A little wine, cheese and chocolate inspired us to ship home a half case of the 2016 Blizzard Pinot Gris and 2015 Blizzard Cabernet Sauvignon.

Blizzard Wines upper tasting party room

Hazelnuts for two

Ruby Vineyard in Hillsboro produces pinot noir, pinot gris, chardonnay, and rosé from 7.25 acres of Old Vines on Laurelwood soil. Ruby had a great relaxing vibe and easy chatty staff who kept our glasses full. Our first stop, it was peaceful and bucolic.

Ruby Vineyard, Hillsboro

View from Ruby VineyardChehalem

Chehalem Wines has a comfortable tasting room in Newberg. We had their wines with dinner in a few different restaurants in Portland. It was no contest to stop in here, enjoy a flight and bring home a bottle of their 2015 Corral Creek Pinot Noir for the Chehalem Mountains AVA. They also produce pinot blanc, chardonnay, and grüner veltliner, which I really enjoyed.

Árdíri Winery in Cornelius is where the locals go. They’re open late, have an amazing outdoor space to drink wine, picnic, enjoy the fire pits, play games and watch the sunset over Mount Hood. Their vines originate from Burgundy and produce remarkable red, white and rosé wines.

View of Mount Hood from Árdíri’

A suitable birthday present at Árdíri Winery, as John lives to ride his bicycle

We spent some time chatting with Steve at Styring Vineyards in Newberg. It is a boutique winery and extremely casual, but very comfortable and great wines. We bought their artisan 2013 Styring Estate Pinot Noir.

Styring casual tasting room

Soléna Estate winery is gorgeous and their host Jason Werner very welcoming. We had a lovely elegant picnic lunch on their patio while Jason poured scrumptious tastes for us. Our favorite is the 2015 Domaine Danielle Laurent Chardonnay.  They have events here sometimes more than once a week and their entertaining space is extraordinary.  Jason was traveling to Chicago the following week to pour their wines at Beacon Tavern during Pinot in the City Days, so I guess their pinots have already been discovered.

View from Soléna

Dominio IV Winery distinctive barn

Dominio IV  biodynamic wines in Carlton, Oregon are very memorable. Our wine host Todd sat down with us over every pour in their farmhouse tasting room to discuss the wines and to talk about the winemakers and the vineyards.

Taste diagram for 2008 Dominio IV Syrah (please excuse flash photography)

Dominio IV is very creative. They have an Imagination series of wine with labels painted to describe how the wines taste.  Imagine if Georgia O’Keeffe painted each label to visually represent a wine’s taste, the tannins, the texture, the acidity? A water color of flowing lines and shapes to guide you through the flavors and how they hit your palate.

We love this winery, the 2012 Tango Tempranillo, and especially their 2013 The Black and the Red Pinot Noir.  Tasting Notes:  It is she of the volcanic soils who glides in rhythm, in her own time. She dances in flowing gowns of red raspberry and bright strawberry. The wind is not to be discounted, for he brings the dance of power, black as night. Jos ,press are made of flint, but he holds her soft hand as if he held the razor’s edge. The dance of 50% Bella Vida and 50% Menefee Vineyard.   Perfection!

There was so much more wine and food involved in this getaway and most of it was pretty darn tasty. Most of all we made delicious memories in the Willamette Valley. I hope this has inspired you to visit the Willamette Valley, taste, and make your own memories. C’est Tout!

Mount Hood, Oregon

Why do wines grown in volcanic soil just taste so good? Terroir brings together the nature of the ground and soil, elevation, slope, rain, wind, climate and local microclimate. There are so many variables for grape farmers to develop, and winemakers to capitalize on.

The Columbia River Valley has five volcanoes: Mount Hood, Mount Jefferson, Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, and Mount Rainier.