Oregon tour...

http://www.sip47.com/Sip47.html

Some of these places are indeed well worth a stop. Others on the list - well, I guess they are there.

[David M. Bueker]

Few of these names are familiar to me. I know and like the wines from Scott Paul, and I am aware of Elk Cove and Willakenzie. Any recommendations? The wife and I are actually considering a trip to Oregon next fall.

Few of these names are familiar to me. I know and like the wines from Scott Paul, and I am aware of Elk Cove and Willakenzie. Any recommendations? The wife and I are actually considering a trip to Oregon next fall.

All three you mention are excellent.

So are Cana's Feast and Tyrus Evan (Ken Wright joint - mostly syrahs).

Troon - most grapes from Southern Oregon - makes a good zinfandel.

Had a couple of decently priced wines from Cliff Creek - again Southern Oregon.

Kramer is a huge farmer. Grows just about every kind of crop one can grow in Oregon. Several very good winemakers source grapes from there.

Horse Radish is a nifty little joint right in downtown Carlton. They frequently have tastings going on. I bought my first Cottonwood (excellent!) wines there. I'll be going to an Owen Roe tasting there on Thanksgiving. I'll go to any Owen Roe tasting anytime.

Nothing I know of to eat or drink at RD Steeves, but they do have European antiques at great prices.

Avoid Anne Amie.

Ditto the remarks on the Horse Radish. Plus, Sabra(?) is fun to chat with and a good selection of wines to taste at reasonable prices and generous pours.

FWIW, I'm the only person in the world who seems to have had a less than wonderful experience at Scott Paul. The tasting room staff made us feel as if we were intruding ( We were the only people in the tasting room). Perhaps we just caught them on a bad day. To the good, they are only a block away from Horse Radish.

Went to Anne Amie, but see no reason to ever go back.

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks guys. Very useful info.

I have never been to Scott Paul, but I do like the wines. Perhaps that's a stop where I will (if I go) try to make an advance appt through their distributor. Maybe it will help. But sometimes it is just a bad day.

[quote="Redwinger"]Ditto the remarks on the Horse Radish. Plus, Sabra(?) is fun to chat with and a good selection of wines to taste at reasonable prices and generous pours.

FWIW, I'm the only person in the world who seems to have had a less than wonderful experience at Scott Paul. The tasting room staff made us feel as if we were intruding ( We were the only people in the tasting room). Perhaps we just caught them on a bad day. To the good, they are only a block away from Horse Radish.

/quote]

Scott's been pretty good to me. I took Buck there when he was out here. He bought some wine. Call me next time.

[Jenise]

Of those not already mentioned, I highly reccommend Appoloni and David Hill. Also, I equally highly would discourage anyone from going to Plum Hill.

Oh yeah, Scott Paul wine rocks! And so does the Horse Radish. Who'd a thunk that blue cheese with honey drizzled over would taste so good?!

I should also have recommended the Tasting Room in Carlton - right across the street from Tyrus Evan (btw, those are the names of Ken Wright's children). One can always taste several different excellent local wines there.

Hello! I did send a PM to Bill Paumen, but also wanted to publicly say that we only want to deliver the experience that you deserve and that we are proud of, so it seems that we missed those marks by a mile during your July visit. I apologize! We pride ourselves on being welcoming to all, and offering a relaxed, fun and educational visit. We hope to get the chance to make it up to you! I feel confident in saying that yours was not a typical experience, so that I'm not accustomed to writing a note like this. Still, we truly appreciate the feedback. Thank you, on behalf of myself, my husband Scott, Kelley Fox (winemaker) and Kelly Karr (dir sales & marketing). Cheers, Martha

[David M. Bueker]

Welcome to the WLDG Martha! Don't be a stranger!

Nice response, Martha!

Hope to make it up there one of these days soon -we'll definitely stop by your place when we do.

Welcome to the forum, Martha! I enjoyed my visit to your tasting room in August. Joseph steered us to some good Oregon PN that trip.

Martha-
Welcome. Very nice response and excellent PM. Very gracious.
'Winger

Winger, you know what this means don't you ? Ha ! Means you and NJ have to come back for a visit, meet Martha and hang out with the Willamette Valley Wino's again.
Thanks Martha for giving them an excuse to come back and play with us.
Cheers !
L

Winger, you know what this means don't you ? Ha ! Means you and NJ have to come back for a visit, meet Martha and hang out with the Willamette Valley Wino's again.
Thanks Martha for giving them an excuse to come back and play with us.
Cheers !
L

Maybe we can do some New Orleans food, too.

Hi,
In 2004 after visiting Bill Spohn and then the Walla-Walla area Jacquie & I did a tour, not of Oregon, but of the Willamette Valley, (I'm a PN nut) spending a week in Newberg - in a cheapo motel there.

We asked around widely before going and following recommendations went to quite a number of wineries while we were there. However, before we went, we contacted each winery, told them who we were and why we wanted to visit, and made provisional dates. Then when we arrived in Newberg, we phoned them all to confirm and fix times. Although it was a fiddle, I do recommend doing this, because we were often shown round by the owner or the winemaker so we could really get stuck into who they were, what they did and why. A very fulfilling trip.

Archery summit
http://www.archerysummit.com/
Good visit, friendly people. Wines good, but not as exciting as some of the others IMO.

Chehalem
http://www.chehalemwines.com/
Liked all their wines very much and found Harry Petersen-Nedry delightful. Some of the wines we tasted there were amongst the best I've ever had from the USA (only my opinion of course)

Cristom wines
http://www.cristomwines.com/
(no notes I'm afraid)

Domaine Drouhin
http://www.domainedrouhin.com
We arrived 5 mins late and our visit was a bit truncated, which was a shame, however we loved the wines, especially the 2001 Laurene which the guy who showed us round gave us to finish off at the Joel Palmer house the evening (this restaurant is a "must visit" for mycophages),

Domaine Serene
http://www.domaineserene.com/
We wrote to make arrangements to meet the winemaker, but got the standard $15 tour (free though).

J.K.Carriere
http://www.jkcarriere.com/
Okay, though didn't excite me as much as some others, we tasted very young wines designed for long aging, so perhaps we weren't judging them fairly.

Lange wnery
http://www.langewinery.com/
(No notes I'm afraid)

Rex Hill
http://www.rexhill.com/
Nice visit, nice wines.

Panther Creek
http://www.panthercreekcellars.com/
(no notes, I'm afraid)

Torii Mor winery
http://www.toriimorwinery.com/
(no notes, I'm afraid)

and
Willakenzie
http://www.willakenzie.com/
Very long visit, learnt a huge amount about their use of different clones. Fascinating and highly recommended. Liked their wines a lot too of which we tastes 8 in barrel and on top of that 3 in bottle as well.

Chehalem does make lovely wines. They're what you might call quietly powerful, very elegant and ageworthy. I've found the Carriere somewhat the opposite--at least, lacking the elegance. I love Domaine Serene's wines too, but have to say that no winery in Willamette has more attitude than they, and I know many who arrived there liking the wines but were so turned off after visiting the winery such that I never reccomend them to visitors. Archery Summit can make a similar impression, I'm glad that wasn't the case for you. Rex Hill's wines tend to be somewhat industrial--reliably good but almost never 'special'. Willakenzie and Drouhin--yes, good people, very good wines. Interesting that you took no notes at Torii Mor, makes me wonder if the wines failed to excel in the same way I'm sure I've had their wines from time to time but can't recall a one.

Winger, you know what this means don't you ? Ha ! Means you and NJ have to come back for a visit, meet Martha and hang out with the Willamette Valley Wino's again.
Thanks Martha for giving them an excuse to come back and play with us.
Cheers !
L

Maybe we can do some New Orleans food, too.

Guys,
Sounds good to me. WillametteCool?
BP

We have enjoyed several private dinners at Cana's Feast; they have a wonderful chef and a wide variety of wines. They may be offering dinners on a regular basis now, unless they are already booked for an event. I recommend checking them out ... it's not just another Pinot stop. Right behind Cana's Feast is the Carlton Winemakers Studio, where 6-8 wineries share a common facility. It is worth the stop.

I've been meaning to stop at Willakenzie (just north of Carlton) for many years, but it never fit into the schedule. We used to love their Pinot Gris.

Just FYI, if you find yourself at the south end of 47 near McMinnville and you like vintage airplanes, be sure to visit the Evergreen Aviation Museum. They have lots of cool airplanes, including the humongous Spruce Goose. They opened an additional building and an IMAX theater since my last visit.

If you are at the north end of 47 near Forest Grove, be sure to stop at Sake One. Their G sake is quite nice, and be sure to take a tour; it's informative and free.

About 15-20 minutes east of 47, we enjoyed a stop at DePonte Cellars in Dayton. It is off 99W near Archery Summit, which I've never visited. It is also near Domaine Serene, which is beautifully situated with lovely grounds and a grand looking facility; the wines there are quite pricey. Hey ... they have to pay for the fancy chateau.

Considering how frequently we visit Oregon, I find that I lack firsthand knowledge of too many of their wineries. Of course, they have seen significant growth in the past 10 years. So many wineries, so little time.

-- Clark

Who'd a thunk that blue cheese with honey drizzled over would taste so good?!

I've had that (at a dinner event at Cana's Feast winery), and I agree it is strikingly good. -- Clark