Holy going crazy for wine: Here - you can buy just about what you want at your local grocery store - fairly reasonably - and if you want something extra special - go to Beverages and More or a similiar place. http://www.bevmo.com/Shop/ProductDet...roductID=33715

Guess WE B Lucky.

NewbE--Yes, these people were serious, lol! They bought a few cases at other wineries earlier in the day, but loved this one (Seufert), which is one of our all time favorites as well.

Tomsd--Many wineries here do not distrubute, or it is very limited, so you won't find many of them at BevMo.

Newbe, I'm in Florida as well. My dad bought that St. Augustine wine once. it was brutal. I'm going to pick up a shipper or two and load up. Thanks for the shipping suggestions.

Tomsd, the plan, which is still evolving, is to stay two nights in Portland but spend most of those days outside of Portland and just come bacjk at the end of the day or night. The other two days will be spent in the Willamette Valley where we'll be spending the night at the Chehalem Ridge or Red Hills Inn.

mms, thanks.

Anyone familiar with the Lobenhaus bed and Breakfast in Carlton?

Also, apparently there is something called the International Pinot Noir Celebration the weekend in July we are going. Does this have any effect on the wineries being open for regular tastings? Thanks.

Oregon does have very good Pinots - especially the Noir - but you can pretty much get everything else here in Cal.

Golly Miss Molly: To think back in 1970 - for our MBA thesis -at U of O - one of the subjects was the emerging Oregon Wine Industry, which I sadly didn't get. Wound up doing a study for purchasing uew equipment for a sawdust factory by Corvallis - but the owner was a very nice gentleman and seeped to appreciate our recommendation - which was the new equipment cost did not justify/pay for the projected increase in productivity.

And Ptsk: Both of those resorts are in/by Newburg/Dundee -which I basically consider a suburb of Portland. Hope you get further down/into the Williamette Valley - or zip over to the Coast while you are there.

I think the Pinot Noir Celebration just means bigger crowds but wineries will be open for tasting.
Domaine Chandon is a favorite of mine

Ptsk--I am not familiar with that inn, but Carlton is a great little town. The downtown is about 2 blocks long, but chuck full of great little tasting rooms/restaurants/etc. It is also very close to McMinnville and Newberg, so easy to get around to the various wineries for tasting. The IPNC does draw some big crowds, so I would book lodging asap, but as for visiting wineries that will not be an issue. Traffic will be heavier, so just keep that in mind.

oops- Domaine Chandon is not in Oregon- had a senior moment - and now I can't even think of the name of the winery I wanted to suggest-

I will have to think on it for a bit.

Doaine Drouhin is the winery I meant to suggest in previous post- at least I had the Domaine part right.

Sunbum--That is a good one, I agree.

Great, things are shaping up pretty well. I'll report back after the trip.

I just came back from McMinnville and Cannon beach and would highly recommend both places for a relaxing winetasting trip. I haven't read all the responses here, but day trips from Portland would be too inconvenient, IMHO.

Tentek--Why? It is less than an hour between Portland and McMinnville, and 90 minutes between Portland and Cannon Beach.

Traffic on 99W is so bad. I also think if you are going to Portland for Portland only, then it makes sense to stay there. Cannon Beach is charming in the morning and late at night when day visitors are gone.

LOL. Another one who notes how crowded Cannon Beach can be. That's why I like just south of Lincoln City - Depoe Bay, etc.

Tentek--I live in this area and drive on 99 almost every single day, and it CAN get bad, but its like the other roads around here and pretty much only at rush hour.

It's funny, mms, when you posted that the drive from Portland to Mac is 45 minutes, I thought "No way!', because it felt longer to me. I don't know if traffic was the issue or not, so this is certainly not a scientific observation. But I also think that it's best to stay in the Valley for wine tasting if at all possible. There can be a lot of driving between wineries, depending on the ones you choose, and, for me, a drive back to Portland at the end of the day would be tedious.

However, the Willamette Valley is so wonderful that if the only way a visitor can swing it is to stay in Portland and "commute", so be it--it should not be missed!

NewbE--You are right, it feels longer which I think is because of the speed variations, but it rarely takes us more than 45 to go between Portland and Newberg/Dundee. Mac adds on another 15. I agree too that if one can stay down here, it is more relaxing and enjoyable. We live down here and make all these drives daily, so know it all to a "T"