nelcarp

My wife and I are headed to Portland on October 10th for 4 days for our 25th Wedding Anniversary. I have been to Portland for business and love downtown. However, my wife has not been there and neither of us have been in the outlying areas.

Our primary focus initially was wine tasting. However, I don't think either of us will want to do this for 4 days straight. We want to mix winery visits, exploring/hiking the best areas, and checking out downtown Portland.

So, what would you recommend? What are the best parts of the Willamette Valley to visit for wine? Should we have our base in Portland, or stay in Portland on our last night and be out of town?

Could really use some ideas of how to use the time well and have a good selection of wine tasting and exploring the beauty of the area.

Thanks!

miamatusow

Congratulations on 25 years! You have a lot of options, since most of the good wine areas are within a reasonable drive of town.

Are you opposed to moving your "home base" - would you prefer to only unpack once? If not, I'd perhaps spend a night in Hood River, which is about an hour+ east. That would give you time to do some waterfall hikes in the Columbia River Gorge on your way out there and then taste wines in that area in the afternoon and the next day. (You could also consider spending the night across the river on the Washington side at a place like Skamania Lodge.)

As for the Willamette Valley wine areas, you could certainly do those from Portland, but my husband and I treated ourselves to a night or two at The Allison a few years back and had a wonderful time. It was nice to just meander, knowing that we didn't have to drive much to find a bed.

In any case, one of the great things about wine tasting in this area is that there are so many small wineries. Don't hesitate to call the places that say "by appointment only" and arrange a time to drop by. One of our fondest memories of time in the area was sitting and sharing tastes with the father of a particular winemaker. The guy was minding the store when we called, and we sat in the "tasting room" (a converted garage) and heard the guy's fascinating life story and drank some darn fine wine. I'd be happy to give some specific recommendations about wineries to try if you can give some parameters about what you like, the general price rages you're comfortable with, etc. My father, especially, is an Oregon wine guy and would love to help.

Happy planning!

nelcarp

Thanks for these suggestions. Very helpful! We get in on a Thursday at about 1:30pm. (Coming from central time). Do you have any suggestions on where to stay in Hood River? Are there wineries in that area or should we save that for the Wilamette Valley?

Based on our time of arrival, what are your thoughts about the following:

Some late afternoon exploration of Columbia River Gorge enroute to Hood River
Friday: hiking in the Columbia River Area
Saturday: head toward Wilmatte Valley (best route for site seeing and wine would be helpful) - wine tasting Saturday and Sunday ---Stay at the Allison those two nights.
Monday: return to Portland, stay downtown and explore a bit
Tuesday: Fly out at Noon

Wine interests: Pinot Noir for sure. Also, Chardonnay if it is found in the valley. Generally, $15-20 range. 1-2 stops with higher end options are fun to try as well.

jayne1973

Hood River is such a neat town. You will love it. Be sure and stop by the visitor center. They are very helpful and enthusiastic about their town.

You might be looking for something more upscale for lodging in Hood River, but we stayed at Vagabond Lodge, which is run by the grandchildren of people who bought it property in the 1950s. It is a fabulous location on the river -- we requested a river view room with a little porch. It is right next door to the beautiful and historic Columbia Gorge Hotel, a very upscale choice.

www.vagabondlodge.com
columbiagorgehotel.com

miamatusow

I think your plan sounds reasonable, although there is definitely some good wine tasting in the gorge - more variety there than in the Willamette Valley, with cabs, syrahs, nebbiolos, etc. (In the Willamette Valley, it's mostly very fine pinot noir, although you'll get some chardonnays, reislings, etc., too.) You might want to take a look at www.columbiagorgewine.com for maps and sense of what's there.

In terms of getting from the gorge to Newberg, I'd honestly just head back into Portland and then south on 99W, which is the most direct route. Anything else just really doesn't make much sense and wouldn't give you any sights that would really be worth the time, in my opinion. As you travel on 99W, you'll see lots of signage for the different wineries, so you'll start to get a sense of the area.

As for higher-end wineries in that area, we like:
Penner Ash: http://www.pennerash.com/
WillaKenzie: http://www.willakenzie.com/
Archery Summit: http://www.archerysummit.com/

The Carlton Winemakers' Studio (http://www.winemakersstudio.com/) is worth checking out - and there are lots of smaller wineries in nearby Carlton. A group of winemakers share equipment and know-how to create some lovely boutique wines, and you can taste them all there. You should also definitely pick the brains of the folks at The Allison because they'll be up-to-date on newer wineries. A lot of the winemakers seem to use the dining room/bar there as a meeting place, so you might find yourself in some enlightening wine-related conversations if you put yourself out there.

Hope that's a good start. Let me know what else you'd like to know!

nelcarp

This is all great information. Trying to book in the Hood River area, but these two places are booked already for October:
www.vagabondlodge.com
columbiagorgehotel.com

Any other recommendations?

sunbum1944

Check out the Edgefield in Troutdale- it is not really in the Gorge, but at the beginning. It is a fun place to stay. Used to be a poor farm, then a nursing home and finally a resort. There is a brew pub and a winery, frequently has live entertainment, a theatre and a couple of restaurants.

There is art work on every wall, room door - whimisal paintings of when it was the poor farm and nursing home.
Not all rooms have a private bath- did not bother me but I know would not appeal to some

http://www.mcmenamins.com/54-edgefield-home

It is also convenient to the Portland airport

A nice hike in the gorge area is Eagle Creek- a couple of beautiful waterfalls to view

nelcarp

My wife and I are preparing for our trip to Oregon in about a week. We'll be arriving at noon on a Thursday and leaving at 3pm on the following Tuesday.

Rough plan:

- two nights in Hood River (hiking and wine tasting)
- two nights at the Allison Inn and Spa- Newberg (wine tasting)
- last night in downtown Portland.

Many people have told us to get a day in on the Oregon coast. So, we're considering a run to the coast and back one of the days we're at the Allison. Any suggestions/thoughts? Where to visit? Bad idea?

Also, I'm looking for a site where I can read reviews on some of the wineries. We would like to have a list of a few that we would like to get to.

Thanks!

Fodorite018

I just saw this post, so am a bit late to the party

Coming from Portland, do NOT get onto hwy99w when you see the sign! That will take you through Tigard, also known as stop light h*ll and will add nearly 30 minutes to the drive. Go down to the north Wilsonville exit (exit #186) and cut over. That will take you right smack to the start of the wineries around here. I live in this area, and we hit the wineries a LOT and are friends will quite a few winemakers, vineyard owners, etc. Another tip, be very careful on hwy 99 for a couple of things. Speed, as it fluctuates a lot between 25 and 55 and the small towns will get you even for 2 mph over. Red light cameras are also common in Newberg and Sherwood and they are $260 a pop. Even right turn on red will snag you one of those if you do not make a full, long stop. Lastly, of course dui's. The police have a very heavy presence in this area.

Now for the fun stuff There are so many great wineries in this area and the hard part is narrowing it down. A great problem to have! A few personal favorites include Seufert (in Dayton), Arbor Brook and Brick House both in Newberg, and Zerba in Dundee for a change of pace (their wines are more of the cabs, etc). Argyle is the perfect spot for sparking wines, and they are right in Dundee as well. Definitely head to the smaller places as you get a more intimate experience and your chance of meeting the winemaker is high. Especially this time of year since crush is under way right now, and with the rains we have had this week, everyone is scrambling to get it done.

As far as the Allison goes, if you like spas then definitely make appts now! They book up and it is a wonderful spa. I was just there yesterday for a girls spa day I don't care for the location of the hotel itself, but once there it is nice.

For a few restaurant ideas, Red Hills Market in Dundee is a must. Fantastic woodfired pizzas, and wonderful sandwiches. Lots of wine and cheese to purchase as well. Indoor and outdoor seating, so if it is nice, sit outside as that cannot be beat. In Newberg, Bonadventura Italian Deli is wonderful. It is right on hwy99 northbound, at College St. Again, great sandwiches but they also make all their sausages on site and have some great cheese to go with. They will do meat/cheese platters to go for when you are out wine tasting too. These are the 2 best super casual places and are places that we go to often. There is also the Dundee Bistro in Dundee that is good.

For more fine dining, there are a lot of options. Painted Lady, Recipe, and Jory all in Newberg. In Dundee there is Red Hills Provincial Dining (one of my favorites), Tinas, and Paulee. In McMinnville there is Nick's (Italian) and Bistro Maison (French, and one of my favorites). In Dayton there is the Joel Palmer House, but it is heavy on mushrooms so if you like that, you are set, and if not you might check the menu.

Hope both of you have great trips here! We are getting dumped on with rain at the moment, but that is what makes this area so beautiful!

Fodorite018

Oh, and forgot to answer about a day trip to the coast. It is absolutely doable. That said, just check the road conditions since our storms right now are especially bad on the coast and you want to make sure that there are no washouts or anything. But, as of right now everything is clear, just a bad storm. We often do daytrips over to Cannon Beach, or Manzanita, or Newport. From Portland to Cannon Beach takes just 90 minutes and is an easy drive. If weather/roads are good, go south from CB to Tillamook and then cut over on hwy 6 back towards Portland. It is a nice loop for a day trip and hwy 6 is really pretty.

tomfuller

All great advice so far. If you want some great cheese (or ice cream) to go with your wine, stop at the Tillamook cheese factory just north of town.
If you wanted to see the "spruce goose" you could stop at the Evergreen Aviation museum while in the McMinnville area.
Make a stop in Cannon Beach to see Haystack Rock which is among the most photographed spots in Oregon.
About the best rainy day thing to do in Portland is to go to Powell's World of Books.
If you wanted to rent the car downtown, the Trimet light rail line starts right outside the baggage claim at PDX.