Help with Oregon Wine Trip
Mar 12th, 2012, 07:36 AM
#21
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...but do not agree an hour south of there is "the heart of Willamette Valley wine country".
Of course, being one who grew up in Southern Oregon, Klamath Falls to be specific - I can understand the Portland bias.
No Portland bias here, Tom. Have you looked at a map of Oregon wineries? You might argue definition of "heart", but it's pretty clear where the highest concentration of wineries is.
Of course, being one who grew up in Southern Oregon, Klamath Falls to be specific - I can understand the Portland bias.
No Portland bias here, Tom. Have you looked at a map of Oregon wineries? You might argue definition of "heart", but it's pretty clear where the highest concentration of wineries is.
Mar 12th, 2012, 07:53 AM
#23
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Yo Island: I was having a little fun reliving some Portland "bias" on my part - no doubt caused in part by our getting beat in the State Little League finals in the summer of '58 by a Rose City All-Star team - and that same team (Madison) beat us (Klamath Falls) again in May '64 for the State high school championship. Hey - we killed them a month later in American Legion summer ball - when they had to come way down to Klamath - and then we took State in American Legion 
I'm know there are some fine Wineries up your way, but there are also a lot of "Mom and Pop" wineries too. Hey - we even looked at possibly buying one - East of 5 - on a meandering road going the "back way" up toward Mt. Hood - a small one but with a few of it's own vineyards. "Unfortunately" - it's now so hard to move San Diego. but I try to get up to my home state every year.
We have driven through the Wineries South of Portland - and stopped at several - and they are nice - but I just like the area around Eugene more, than say an hour south of Portland.
A bonus with touring outside of Eugene - is you can zip over to the Coast in less than an hour - and grab some fresh fish/crab - and maybe some sourdough bread - and take your beverages of choice to watch the Ocean do it's magic.
During grad school at U of O - in '69-70 - and not having much pocket money during that time - for an inexpensive Saturday night treat - we would drive over to Florence (gas was cheap), and for around $1 each - grab a six pack, some crab and sourdough bread - and go build a fire on the beach and have a grand old time.
Heck - I would even pay substantially more to do that now -
but not sure if they let you have fires at the beach anymore?
Actually - come to think of it: What is the one where you have to catch a ferry across a river or some such? One of our Portland friends just loves that trip/winery.
I'm know there are some fine Wineries up your way, but there are also a lot of "Mom and Pop" wineries too. Hey - we even looked at possibly buying one - East of 5 - on a meandering road going the "back way" up toward Mt. Hood - a small one but with a few of it's own vineyards. "Unfortunately" - it's now so hard to move San Diego.
but I try to get up to my home state every year.We have driven through the Wineries South of Portland - and stopped at several - and they are nice - but I just like the area around Eugene more, than say an hour south of Portland.
A bonus with touring outside of Eugene - is you can zip over to the Coast in less than an hour - and grab some fresh fish/crab - and maybe some sourdough bread - and take your beverages of choice to watch the Ocean do it's magic.
During grad school at U of O - in '69-70 - and not having much pocket money during that time - for an inexpensive Saturday night treat - we would drive over to Florence (gas was cheap), and for around $1 each - grab a six pack, some crab and sourdough bread - and go build a fire on the beach and have a grand old time.
Heck - I would even pay substantially more to do that now -
but not sure if they let you have fires at the beach anymore?
Actually - come to think of it: What is the one where you have to catch a ferry across a river or some such? One of our Portland friends just loves that trip/winery.
Mar 12th, 2012, 08:14 AM
#24
Before he retired from the NFL, QB Drew Bledsoe bought a vineyard near Walla Walla WA. He then built a beautiful home in Bend Oregon. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/theli...ory?id=6243939
Has anyone tried his Doubleback label wine?
Has anyone tried his Doubleback label wine?
Mar 12th, 2012, 09:48 AM
#25
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O-
I was on an Oregon trip last May that finished with the Memorial Day weekend wine tasting in Willamette Valley. I spent 2 full days, but didn't make reservations until about 6 weeks out, so had little choice of where to stay.
It was very busy, but nice weather, pretty and green. I especially enjoyed Brick House and Ayers.
I have never been a huge Pino Noir fan due to the huge differences in the wine. Sometimes you get one you love, most of the time don't care at all for it! It was very interesting to taste so extensively just one wine and to see the remarkable differences between slopes even from the same vineyard. I found about 4 I loved and the rest I could skip.
It was a nice finish to my trip - I also spent a week in two different vacation beach homes on the coast.
Have fun!
I was on an Oregon trip last May that finished with the Memorial Day weekend wine tasting in Willamette Valley. I spent 2 full days, but didn't make reservations until about 6 weeks out, so had little choice of where to stay.
It was very busy, but nice weather, pretty and green. I especially enjoyed Brick House and Ayers.
I have never been a huge Pino Noir fan due to the huge differences in the wine. Sometimes you get one you love, most of the time don't care at all for it! It was very interesting to taste so extensively just one wine and to see the remarkable differences between slopes even from the same vineyard. I found about 4 I loved and the rest I could skip.
It was a nice finish to my trip - I also spent a week in two different vacation beach homes on the coast.
Have fun!
Mar 13th, 2012, 04:07 PM
#26
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All I can say is WOW (and thank you)! I threw Oregon out to my husband as an option without knowing too much about the area, except that there are a lot of vineyards there, and he was game. Now I am very excited about planning it and getting to know more about the area.
Mar 13th, 2012, 04:41 PM
#27
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Heard Drew Bledsoe on our local AM/1090 sports radio show - modestly noting his wines had won some awards?
He had a good sense of humor and has moved on from the days Tom Brady supplanted him as the Patriots QB.
And think in Bend - he bought the house from xxxx? Another pro athlete I believe it was.
He had a good sense of humor and has moved on from the days Tom Brady supplanted him as the Patriots QB.
And think in Bend - he bought the house from xxxx? Another pro athlete I believe it was.
Mar 13th, 2012, 07:24 PM
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Mar 20th, 2012, 08:10 AM
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Joining the fray a little late but have a few disparate thoughts:
I'm assuming this is your first trip but may have missed something.
1. To my way of thinking, with only six days in Oregon, it makes the most sense to fly into PDX and focus on the wineries around Dundee and McMinnville. You certainly will have a plethora of possibilities but also some great dining options (and will avoid extra travel time).
2. I agree that two full days of wine tasting will be enough and allow you time to experience Portland itself, perhaps Mt. Hood and compare the Oregon Coast to the Atlantic.
3. If this is indeed your first time, I personally would avoid Memorial Day like the plague. Traffic is a nightmare, wineries are crowded and there are a lot of drinking drivers.
For another set of recommendations, you might try yelp (as well as Trip Advisor).
Since I'm a regular viewer of yelp I know for sure there are a ton of winery "reviews" plus recommendations for lodging/B & Bs and eateries.
Hopefully this link will get you started to see what the info is like: http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc...show_filters=1
You can then submit searches for McMinnville, Dayton, Carlton and come up with additional info not only for wineries but restaurants and lodging.
You'll have w-a-y too many choices so just dive in and pick a few. Sounds like we have a lot of Oregonians on this forum who I'm sure would be happy to help further.
Three other comments...
~There are companies that set up winery visits and do the driving.
~The Oregon Wine Industry also has sites with descriptions that might help you refine possibilities out of the multitude.
~Summer is high tourist time in the wine country so I'd recommend booking a place to stay as soon as you can.
Have fun!
Diane
I'm assuming this is your first trip but may have missed something.
1. To my way of thinking, with only six days in Oregon, it makes the most sense to fly into PDX and focus on the wineries around Dundee and McMinnville. You certainly will have a plethora of possibilities but also some great dining options (and will avoid extra travel time).
2. I agree that two full days of wine tasting will be enough and allow you time to experience Portland itself, perhaps Mt. Hood and compare the Oregon Coast to the Atlantic.
3. If this is indeed your first time, I personally would avoid Memorial Day like the plague. Traffic is a nightmare, wineries are crowded and there are a lot of drinking drivers.
For another set of recommendations, you might try yelp (as well as Trip Advisor).
Since I'm a regular viewer of yelp I know for sure there are a ton of winery "reviews" plus recommendations for lodging/B & Bs and eateries.
Hopefully this link will get you started to see what the info is like: http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc...show_filters=1
You can then submit searches for McMinnville, Dayton, Carlton and come up with additional info not only for wineries but restaurants and lodging.
You'll have w-a-y too many choices so just dive in and pick a few. Sounds like we have a lot of Oregonians on this forum who I'm sure would be happy to help further.
Three other comments...
~There are companies that set up winery visits and do the driving.
~The Oregon Wine Industry also has sites with descriptions that might help you refine possibilities out of the multitude.
~Summer is high tourist time in the wine country so I'd recommend booking a place to stay as soon as you can.
Have fun!
Diane
