Willamette Valley Hotels and Wineries?
Jason Gill
some wineries, etc on a mini-vacation.
Do any of you have recommendations on where to stay Fri-Sun that is near the
Willamette wine country? We want to keep it <$100/night. It doesn't have to
be luxurious as we won't be there much, but we don't want to stay in a
dumpy Motel 6 sort of place.
Any suggestions as to wineries to tour? So far we were thinking of doing
Amity, Autumn Wind, Beaux Freres, and Chehalem, all in the Newberg area.
TIA,
______________________________________________________
Jason Gill
"When you enter the water, you enter the food chain."
--First Law of Surf Karma
H2O
>My SO and I will be in the Willamette Valley area of Oregon next week, to
tour
>some wineries, etc on a mini-vacation.
>Any suggestions as to wineries to tour? So far we were thinking of doing
>Amity, Autumn Wind, Beaux Freres, and Chehalem, all in the Newberg area.
IMHO. We were there in June and I liked Chateau Bianca in the south near
Dallas. Their Reserve Pinot and Reserve Chardonay are very good. Also
Shafer and Laurel Ridge (both at the north end closer to Portland) had good
Pinots. Laurel Ridge had a nice Cab, (I believe made with Ca. grapes), and
a Meritage-type mix of Zin and Pinot. Sokol Blosser was good. Bethel
Heights, (there is a very nice B&B, Bethel Heights Farm, with a great view
directly across the road from the winery), and Stangeland were good but
nothing to get excited about with their current vintages. And Chateau
Benoit, (BEN-Wah), has a tremendous view without wines to match. I've had
Erath Pinot which I liked, but was unable to visit the winery. If you like
big wines, there very few in Oregon. If you like a variety of Pinots, it
has lots. Plus other varietals on the lighter side.
There are many B&B's which are on the web. If you are in Portland, The
Vintage Court in downtown Portland has complimentary Or. wines each weekday
evening and the selection is good. I think the rate was about $140. Enjoy.
It's a great place to visit and they have some very good wines. We plan on
going back to visit more sites.
Ka6l3279
>Do any of you have recommendations on where to stay Fri-Sun that is near the
>Willamette wine country?
If you plan to tour Newberg, you might want to consider staying in downtown
Portland. It's only 45 miles away, and it expands your options.
>So far we were thinking of doing
>Amity, Autumn Wind, Beaux Freres, and Chehalem
Forget Beaux Freres, it's not open to the public. Amity's wines are a waste of
time, so I suppose the winery is as well.
You may wish to visit the wineries near Dundee, McMinnville, and Salem as well.
Halfway between Salem and Dundee on Rte 221 are Cristom, Witness Tree, and
Bethel Heights, all on the same road within 1/2 mile of each other. They all
have tasting rooms open year-round. If you make an appointment, you can stop
at Evesham Wood (closer to Salem) as well.
In Dundee, Erath offers some good value wines (esp. in white), and has a large
tasting room with plenty of choices for free sampling. Argyle is down the road
from Erath, and is well-known for sparkling wines (you'll pay $1 to taste them,
however). I believe Sokol Blosser is in Dundee as well. Their wines are
average, but they open some of their vineyards to the public as part of a
"self-guided tour." Torii Mor, also in Dundee, is a very good choice for pinot
noir.
--
Kathryn P. O'Mara
Robert Wolfe
way above average. Just out, BTW, is their '96 Rion Reserve Pinot Noir
-- spectacular. Call ahead, though, as they don't have an official
tasting room.
Erath has modest wines. Go there for the view.
Beaux Freres will accept visitors with appointments. However, they are
in the middle of crush and it's not a good time now. Try mid-November.
Amity's winery is an interesting jumble of stuff -- certainly not
gleaming and squeaky clean. However, they have from time to time some
terrific wines. Current favorites are the '94 Winemaker's Reserve
Pinot, and the '97 Gamay, which won a gold at the State Fair wine
judging. They also make tasty dry gewurtz and the occasional excellent
riesling.
Torii Mor wines are wonderful, esp. their pinots. But, call ahead for
an appointment. Again, I'd wait a week or two. Also, they don't have
any pinot noir to sell, as their '96s are long gone.
Bob Wolfe
Oregon Pinot Noir Club
Robert Wolfe
wrote:
>. If you like
>big wines, there very few in Oregon. If you like a variety of Pinots, it
>has lots. Plus other varietals on the lighter side.
>
No big wines? I beg to differ. There are at least twenty five
different cabs, including some that are top-shelf. But even
restricting our search to pinot noir, Oregon has all of the biggest,
most extracted pinot noirs in America today. In fact, we generally get
criticized for having pinot that is TOO BIG -- critics say it is
Syrah-like, or pinot noir for Cab lovers. Beaux Freres, Panther Creek,
Autumn Wind, St. Innocent, etc. etc., etc. I do note that the winereis
you mention tasting do NOT have the big-style pinots (though their
wine is perfectly good). Try the above wines if you desire BIG!