Hi, We will be in the Mc Minnville/Dundee/Forest Grove area in 2 weeks! Although we enjoy wine, we are not "into" it. We'd love to visit 2 or 3 wineries with ambience. We want to enjoy the wine country as well as the wine. We are looking at Montinoire, Domaine Drouhin, Archery Summit, Domaine Serene and David Hill. Any comments or suggestions?

Archery Summit is tghe only one I've visited and I thought it had nice ambience and nice wine.

Archery Summit, Domaine Drouhin, and Domaine Serene are close by to eachother, and considered by many as three of the best larger producing Oregon wineries. Which also means they have snob appeal, which might be a little off-putting. But the winery facilities are unquestionably some of the nicest, and are situated on a hill above beautiful valley and vineyard views. Expect high tasting fees ($15) and if you're thinking about buying, up the limit on your credit card.

For a contrast, you might also stop at DePonte Cellars, 1/2 mile up the hill from Archery Summit. More modern styled winery facilities, similarly situated, and nice wines at a fraction of the prices.

I would not miss Domaine Drouhin or Domaine Serene, both places have very nice ambiance, DD has a very nice outdoor patio overlooking the valley and vineyards. The produce an excellent Chardonnay as well as some of the nicest Pinot Noir in the Dundee area. Have fun! ***kim**

Thanks! That narrows it down a bit. I appreciate the heads up on De Ponte Cellars. Has anyone ever visited Montinore Vineyard in Forest Grove?

Are you just looking for a pretty winery or do you want to find the best wines? There are many wineries right off of HWY99w with blue tourist signs to point you in the direction. But IMO, the best wineries are the smaller ones on the back roads between Carlton/Dundee/Newberg.

A few of my favorites include Grochau Cellars, Aramenta, Brick House, Arbor Brook, Adelsheim, (all of these are about 5 minutes apart), Amity(further south though than the rest), and Chehalem. Argyle makes a nice sparkling wine, and is right in the heart of Dundee so makes for a really easy stop. Rex Hill and Anne Amie have some very nice views, and while their wines are not the usual top notch, they each have some good ones.

Yes, I've been to both Montinore and David Hill, but wouldn't recommend either over the others you named. On the other hand, some of those mms mentioned.... great wines!! But those are generally smaller wineries, and some require an appointment to taste.

I feel you almost can't go wrong for ambience anywhere in the Yamhill wine area, especially when you get up in the hills! I'm into wine, my DH not so much but he loved the views/picnicking aspects of the wineries and he loves food at Nick's Italian Cafe in downtown McMinnville and seeing giant "Spruce Goose' in Evergreen Aviation Museum.

We haven't visited any on your list yet although Domaine Drouhin is next (was closed )We went to Mission style Rex Hill with its lovely gardens, picnicked at Erath, one of the first in area to make good Oregon pinot gris. It has a casual ambience with setting a la Sunset Mag. Sokol Blosser, so so, but informative walk re grape varieties and in Gaston near Forest Grove, loved the friendly Elk Cove family winery. Went because I like their pinots gris and noir. So many good wineries & friendly casual places (Amity too) one could follow the signs and just explore. Have fun.

We went wine tasting yesterday - gorgeous day for it. We started with Rex Hill - beautiful winery and grounds. Their tasting fee has gone up to $10.00 per person for a taste (very small!) of six different wines. I opted out of the tasting for myself as I didn't care for two of the wines and thought the fee a little steep. My family thought most of the wines were pretty good. From there we moved on to a new one - Winderlea -they are on the same road as Erath and Bella Vida. The views from Winderlea are stunning, and the wines - pinot noirs - delicious. I highly recommend visiting this one. From there we moved on to Bella Vida - once again a great view, but the winery itself is pretty plain. The wine here is also fabulous - another one I'd really recommend trying. We finished up at Erath where we had our picnic lunch. Erath has a variety of wines - some better than others, but I do enjoy their pinot noirs.

No matter where you go, or which wineries you try - the scenery is always beautiful. Enjoy!

balitrav--I agree, the scenery around here is great! I like Erath as well. I ran into a college friend there a couple years ago, she was working and we were tasting, lol!

mms, we've had similar experinces while wine tasting - discovering old friends who are now pouring wine in the tasting rooms. What fun! It also seems that no matter when we go, we run into at least one person that someone in our group will know. Always a great way to catch up with long lost friends.

Thanks again. We have many options. Now, we just have to hope for great weather! Thanks for your input.

Sounds like you had a nice time in the wine country, the weather here on the coast in Seaside has been absolutely beautiful! ***kim***

bookmarking - going in early October as well, so thanks for all the great ideas