Tomsd--You mentioned Lincoln City and Depoe Bay...those are not scenic IMO. Yet now you mention further south, which I agree is scenic. As for CB, when is the last time you were there? On summer weekends it does get busy, but no more so than Lincoln City. During the week it is pretty nice, I think. As for what to do in Oregon, it all depends on ones interests. I love the outdoors and would rather backpack than go to a museum, but that isn't for everyone and we need to see what a poster is interested in doing.

Very good input.

Tomsd, we get in early afternoon on a Tuesday so we should have time to take a drive. I think I will take the drive out to the Gorge on that date to get the trip started.


newbe, I have the Red Hills Market on my list. It reminds, me, I believe, of some really good places in Napa and Sonoma to take a break and grab some lunch.

Sumbum, I have a list of 34 wineries from the various comments on this site. We obviously won't go to all of them, but I've added your recommendation to the list. Better to have too many than not enough.

mms, as for our budget, my philosophy, if not my wife's, is to save money on a day to day basis and then go on nice trips periodically with no budget. So, I really don't have one. Knowing my wife and the state of our wine refrigerator, i expect most of my money will go towards bottles of wine to bring or ship back. I like to eat at nice restaurants so that will be a significant part of it as well. As for hotels, I usually spend less on those just because we don't spend much time there. Location is more important than something really nice or a hotel with nice amenities. I'm not looking for the Motel 6 but I'd take a nice hotel in a convenient location over a more expensive hotel that is nicer. That being said, if there are some hotels that are great because of the views, proximity to wineries or waterfalls, great restaurant inside, etc., I'd consider that. Outside of Portland, I have the Allison Inn and the Chehalem Inn hotel on the list.

Thanks again.

We stayed at the Allison--it's great! And the Jory restaurant is wonderful. It has extensive spa facilities, too, although we did not make use of them.

On another note, do you know about starting a shipper to check at the airport? I assume most dedicated oenophiles do

Red Hills Market is very good.

For hotels in Portland, there are so many that are good. Even though we live so close, we stay overnight for special events and our go-to place is the Monaco. Nice hotel, perfect location, and the staff are friendly and helpful.

Around the wine country, the Allison is the newest, but I don't like the location. It sits in the industrial area and except for its own vineyard, there are no views. The spa is terrific though and I am a regular there Chehalem Ridge B&B has the best views!!! Not as luxurious of a place as the Allison, but after a day of tasting, sitting on those chairs on the deck just cannot be beat. Another option would be in Dundee at the Inn at Red Hills. We have stayed there and the rooms are very nice, and the new restaurant just opened. There is a beautiful patio area for nice days. The only drawback is that it is located right on hwy99 so you would hear traffic around 4pm when the road is the busiest. It is not busy at night though so that wouldn't be an issue.

newbe, we know how to drink it, but we're not as good at shipping it. We haven't been on a wine trip since 2003 in Italy and then we just loaded up our suitcases like rookies.

Ptsk--The wineries will ship for you if you need. There is also a UPS store in Newberg that will do it. That store is next to the big Fred Meyer on the north end, so if you don't have the wineries ship, you can do it here.

mms, those hotel recommendations are helpful.

Ptsk--I was thinking more about the hotels. Chehalem Ridge would be my first choice. The place is very nice, but the location is just amazing. We watched as it was being built (our dog kennel was just up the road) and they did such a great job with it. They are well known here that they want to make their guests trip the best it can be. Personal touches, etc.

mms, I was leaning towards the Allison Inn based on other comments, but we're going to try the Chehalem Inn instead. Maybe two nights in Portland doing other stuff and two nights at the Chehalem Inn as home base for the wine tasting days.

Ptsk--I think that is a perfect plan

I was in Cannon Beach about 3 years ago - to look at possibly buying/brokering a hotel deal - and it was mobbed. In the summer - and mobbed. People waiting over an hour for breakfast.

Lincoln City can get busy too - but I am talking about staying a little south of Lincoln City at Depoe Bay.

And no idea how your vision is these days - but Depoe Bay is one of the most scenic places I have ever seen. Again - see this page for the Surfrider, and also see Salisan for a more upscle place but not right on the Ocean. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...ay_Oregon.html

Here is the Salisan - South of Lincoln City - which used to be the most upscale place on the Coast. http://www.salishan.com/

Are you going to spend all your time around Portland? A huge mistake IMO.

And what to do in the area around Salishan/Depoe Bay: http://www.salishan.com/what-to-do/attractions/

Yes, several decades ago Salishan was the place to go. Went there a lot in the 80's. Now I wouldn't bother as there are so many other places that are much better, IMO. Especially since its across the highway from the beach.

Depoe Bay just doesn't do it for me.

Ahhh - mon dieu: Several decades ago is a bit out of sync don't you think?. A friend of mine who owned a gourmet restaurant down here in SoCal/with a french chef/minority partner from Lyon - told me he was at Salisan - what - 5 years ago - and it was manifique.

True - reports are that it may not reign supreme anymore - but it's still a marvelous place to chill for a couple of days - especially as a base to explore the Oregon Coast. If one golfs - that's a huge bonus.

In any event - my main point is for a first time visitor to spend all one's time around the Portland/burbs area is a major, major dis-service to seeing what incredible great beauty Oregon has to offer - and also - for us jaundiced ones alike.

Tomsd--Yes, I meant several decades. They have had lots of offers on Groupon and even at those rates I wouldn't bother with it. That's just me though.

Well, you B Da current native - but just giving you what my friend said - and he is a world traveler/gourmand.

I drove in there about 5? years ago and checked out the rooms, etc, and thought it was still a pretty fine resort. We heard it might be for sale - and I talked to the owners - but didn't get any further than that.

But uno mas: No importanto - if the visitors just hang out in the greater Portland area. I don't really care if they go to Cannon Beach or Timerline - or Eugene, or wherever - but get the frick out of Portland for a couple days.

Ptsk, mms is right, the wineries will ship wine for you, and you can take cases to the UPS store, too. The trick, though, at least IMO, is to get a shipper from the first winery you visit: some charge a few bucks, most will give it to you with purchase. That way, you can put onesies and twosies that you buy along the way into the shipper as you go. By the end of your trip, it will be full (or, if you're us, more than full and you will require a second shipper), and then you tape it up and check it with your luggage at the airport. Depending on where you live, that may well be cheaper than UPS--it is for us. Or, if you prefer, you can take your shipper to UPS, but that's an extra stop that might eat into your tasting time. (Also, here in FL, it's actually illegal to send wine via the mails if you are not an alcohol distributor, so I honestly didn't realize you could do that in OR.)

I guess I think this idea is genius because we don't always want a case or even a half-case of something, and getting a half-dozen wineries to ship a couple bottles each is a waste of money--which, of course, could be better spent on wine. I know you are sensing a theme here!

NewbE--Your post reminded me of a group we ran into at a winery. They were on a tour with A Nose For Wine and loved the place we were at all. So much so that they bought 17 CASES of wine at that winery alone and had them ship it back home to Texas.

17?? Wow! We thought the wheels had come off when we shipped a total of 6 from Sonoma. On the other hand, I can relate to living in a wineless region--don't let anyone talk to you about Florida wine--and becoming irrationally exuberant, therefore, when visiting the land(s) of plenty