Pacific Northwest Food and Wine
 

Okay...

I'm a Fodor's regular, but an Oregon/Washington novice, so please bear with me.

We love wine, and have visited many. many, many, many, many wineries in NZ and Australia and I have been to Napa/ Sonoma once (spouse has not). The Napa/Sonoma experience was so unlike what I'd come to love about NZ and Australia wineries that frankly, it put me off.

But, Oregon and Washington seem more up our alley. By that I mean, quiet (?), laid back, personal (?). And of course, Pinot Noir! Not to mention the abundance of parks and hiking tracks.

We're considering taking a trip from Colorado to Oregon/Washington in October, which hopefully is a quiet time of year to visit the area (?). I've just now begun research and am a bit overwhelmed. This is a part of the country that I'm completely unfamiliar with.

So, my question (s)...

Can anyone suggest a driving circuit that encompasses both Oregon (Williamette Valley) and Washington? Specific winery suggestions? Specific hiking tracks? Places to say and eat? We have no set budget, but prefer to stay and eat moderately, with the occasional splash out. Vague, I know.

In short, we love good food and wine, and the great outdoors. We have no time limit - is 7-12 days sufficient to get a feel for the area without spending all day in the car?

Any suggestions welcome.

this site is only a little piece of your quest.
www.chinookscenicbyway.com/planyourtrip.html
Naches is only 8-9 miles from Yakima, which is becoming involved in the wine
industry..Local Vineyard--Gilbert Family..has tasting room downtown adjacent to Old fashioned Train Depot.."North town"
Only great restaurant (IMO) is Cowiche Canyon--East Yakima Ave..Beautiful building and gourmet type menu.
From Yakima you can go south to Walla Walla which has developed into quite a "wine" area. This is adjacent to the Columbia River...which is a beautiful drive.
Logically, the wine grown in Yakima area must be quite different than Napa Valley varieties..as Yakima has COLD winters..snow., while Napa area seldom falls below freezing..
Note of interest--Yakima is noted for production of hops,,which are used in brewing of beer...First week of OCT. big hop festival --
I am sure you will enjoy the area.

Thank you traveler24, I'll take a look at that site.

There are wine producing regions all over the place in the Pacific NW, and the list is growing constantly.

These include the Yakima Valley in Washington but also the up-and coming "Columbia Valley" and southern Palouse area around Walla Walla. There are more (and more arriving all the time) vineyards and wineries in the eastern Columbia Gorge, around Maryhill.

Then farther west there's a large concentration of vineyards around the Hood River Valley and western Gorge, extending to the boutique vineyard at McMenamin's Edgefield right in Troutdale in suburban Portland.

Then of course there's the Willamette Valley complex situated in Yamhill County, around McMinnville and extending farther south and west toward the Coast Range hills.

Not the world's most attractive website, but pretty thorough, Wines Northwest - http://www.winesnw.com/index.html - does a decent job of showing the location of the various regions and wineries. As you can see, TMI - you'd need new livers and new car insurance if you visited even a fraction of their listings.

I'd mention a couple of things. First the Walla Walla area will have a couple of distinct advantages in October. First is that being east of the Cascades, it will have dryer and probably warmer/sunnier conditions in October than the Willamette Valley. But its real advantage is that there several really attractive towns in the area - Walla Walla itself is a lovely little college town, Dayton (not far) is a picturesque little town in the middle of the gorgeous Palouse hills, and if you're energetic and don't mind something of an expedition, a day's visit to Joseph, Oregon, will introduce you to the (relatively) little known Wallowa mountains, stunning in the autumn.

Next, while it doesn't (yet) have the wine chops of the Walla Walla, Yakima or Willamette valleys, the Hood River Valley more than compensates in other ways. The Hood River "fruit loop" passes orchards, wineries, fruit stands and other attractions, all the while giving drop-dead views of Mount Hood (or look the other way, Mount Adams across in Washington.) The town of Hood River is a food/beer/wine center of growing importance, and it's very pretty as well. And needless to say, it's on the edge of the Columbia Gorge, with its many waterfalls and incredible vistas.

Then of course the Willamette Valley scene needs little introduction. The only advice I'd give would be to look at McMenamin's, a local group of very fun and funky hotels, resorts, bars and restaurants - http://www.mcmenamins.com/ - for accommodation around the region. You might even find that basing at, say, the Edgefield - http://www.mcmenamins.com/Edgefield - might be a way of conducting day trips throughout the region without having to break camp all the time. Just a thought.

Here's a map showing the different locations. I assume you're driving, but if flying I'd use Portland as the to/from location.

And then I didn't include the map - doh! https://goo.gl/maps/VbhVc82LB8u

There are several wine regions in both OR and WA, but the two the produce the best wines are the north Willamette Valley and the Walla Walla, WA area.

The heart of Willamette Valley wine country is centered around the towns of Newberg, Dundee, McMinnville, and Carlton, which are all within 40 miles of Portland, so day-trips are a possibility. Otherwise, there are a number of nice lodgings in wine country, with Black Walnut Inn - http://www.blackwalnut-inn.com/ - and Allison Inn & Spa - http://www.theallison.com/ - at the top of the pack. 400 +/- wineries, and several very good restaurants to choose from in the area.

For Walla Walla, I'd suggest the Historic Columbia River Highway east from Portland, passing by beautiful waterfalls and numerous hiking options along the way. You could continue east on I-84 to Walla Walla or head north on US 97 towards Yakima Valley, which also produces some nices wines (though not in the same class as Walla Walla's IMO).

There's lots of good hiking in the Columbia River gorge/Mt Hood area, both easily accessible from Hood River. But it would be a shame as first time visitors if you didn't some time enjoying the coast, Oregon's best natural attraction. Suggest you schedule early in October to give yourselves better odds of good weather. As for how much time, you could easily spend 7 - 12 days in either state and still barely scratch the surface. But if you're planning a wine centered visit, 2 - 3 days per region would give you a good "feel".

Note that if you are looking specifically for Pinot Noir, you'll want Oregon. The Washington wine areas are better known for their Cabernets and Merlots.

Wow, thank you so much for all the wonderful information. I'll be spending the afternoon looking at maps and those links.

I hadn't even sorted out which city to fly into, but it seems Denver-Portland makes the most sense.

I do like the idea of not having to 'break camp' any more than necessary, but seems there's so much to see that it might be difficult not to.

Or does Seattle make more sense?

<i>I hadn't even sorted out which city to fly into, but it seems Denver-Portland makes the most sense...Or does Seattle make more sense?</i>

Definitely Portland. You can really focus on a "two river" scenario - Columbia and Willamette - and have a marvelous time, with plenty of variety and varietals.

I agree about visiting Walla Walla in October:) It's my favorite time to be there! But I also agree that it's more about Merlot or Cabernet- I have several recs for those if you're interested.

If either of you are beer drinkers add Bend, OR or Bellingham, WA to your list. Wonderful breweries, fantastic outdoors recreation opportunities. And if you didn't want to move around, I'd make Portland your base- it has an excellent booze culture in general, whether you're into wine, beer or cocktails. And it has a lot of great outdoors stuff in driving distance.

Portland is drier in October and easier to get in and out of traffic wise. Seatac is a pain. Unless you are specifically interested in Seattle sights, I'd pick Portland.

Answered my own question, looks like they're almost equidistant from Walla Walla.

Portland makes the most sense for Willamette Valley.

If you fly into Seattle, you need to get over to the "other side" of the mountains for the wineries.

Thanks, seems we were all posting simultaneously.

Bend, OR was recommended to us when we were looking for a place to retire - it'd be interesting to see it based on that alone (person recommending it said she thought it was our kind of place).

We're equal opportunity wine drinkers, so definitely not put off by Cabernet and Merlot. We do love a nice Pinot Noir though. Understandably, it was hard to come by when we lived in Australia, so now that we're back in the northern hemisphere, we're anxious to find some nice cool climate wine.

Oh, if you are asking Portland vs Seattle for WW, Portland to WW is definitely the better drive scenery wise. The drive from Ellensburg to Walla Walla probably has more wine opportunities, but I find it pretty ugly and dull that time of year. The distance is the same, but Seattle to Walla Walla can take much longer if you get caught in slow downs on the west side or going over the pass.

Your trip sounds marvelous. Can I come? I don't know about wineries, but if you are driving from Portland to WW, there is a gorgeous hotel on the way, near the Bridge of the Gods: Skamania Lodge, https://www.destinationhotels.com/skamania.

That does look lovely, thanks 2013adventurer.

I see that Joseph, Oregon is referred to as the 'little Switzerland of America'. We a have one of those right here in CO too - Ouray!

Joseph looks beautiful!

Logistically speaking, does this make sense?

Portland to Walla Walla (four hour drive?) This is assuming we arrive relatively early in the day.

Walla Walla to Hood River - (3.5 hour drive?)

Hood River to somewhere along the coast (suggestions?)

Somewhere along the coast to Willamette Valley

Willamette Valley to Portland for departure (hour drive?)

Is this a good mix of wine regions, coast and mountains?

Does one area warrant a longer stay than another?

It is the Wallowa's that are known as the Alp's of Oregon. Joseph is right near the lake there. It is beautiful country, more so if you hike or backpack though.

Overall your trips looks good. As mentioned, the best wines are in the Willamette Valley, not the gorge, so good thing you are allowing time for that:)

I would go from Hood River over to around Cannon Beach, which is about 2 hours. Then drive down the coast to around Lincoln City and cut back over on 18 into McMinnville, which puts you in the heart of Pinot Noir country. Yes, from around Dundee it is about an hour back into Portland. Absolutely do NOT take highway 99 all the way up though! It is a nightmare and time waster. Cut over at either Wilsonville or Sherwood, and get on I-5 from either of those locations.