Returning to the Willamette Valley in October

Old Aug 7th, 2012, 07:38 AM
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Returning to the Willamette Valley in October

Hi, all! We are returning to the Willamette Valley for our second visit this October, having been completely blown away by the food and wine last year, and charmed by the people and natural beauty. We have reservations at the Inn at Red Hills; we stayed at the Jory last time and it was wonderful, but we wanted to spend less on lodging this time and stay somewhere more centrally located. (We're also not spa people, so that part is wasted on us.)

We were also thinking about the Ken Wright lofts--does anyone have any experience with these, thoughts?

And, as always, I am happy to have ideas for food and wine We have some must-return-to wineries on our list: Elk Cove, Cristom, Vidon, Grochau if we can figure out where they are. And I will pore over the existing Oregon threads to add to it, so if you don't want to repeat yourself, don't feel you must.

We had great meals at the Painted Lady and the Jory, also Farm to Fork, but that's closed now. I have read about Daniel Mondok's Paulee now in the same spot in Dundee. Has anyone been yet? We're considering returning to the Painted Lady, but welcome other recommendations.

Thank you for any help you can provide!
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Old Aug 7th, 2012, 10:12 AM
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Stop by the Evergreen Aviation Museum near McMinville to see the "Spruce Goose" and a few other planes.
If you make it over to the coast, stop at the Tillamook Cheese factory for great ice cream and cheese.
Any interest in going to see Mt. Hood and the waterfalls in the Columbia Gorge?
http://willamettewines.com/where-to-eat/
I assume you have seen this website.
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Old Aug 7th, 2012, 10:23 AM
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http://www.clemenzacafe.com/

If you happen to be in Albany and in the mood for Italian this place is great.
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Old Aug 7th, 2012, 01:38 PM
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Hi NewbE,

Happy to hear you're returning to the WV! All the locations you noted are great, and just wanted to offer a few other suggestions...

For lodging, there are a couple great little places tucked away in the hills, specifically http://brooksideinn-oregon.com and http://lepuy-inn.com... both are run by super friendly owners and have beautiful views and up-to-date rooms.

For food, I'm a bit biased, but highly recommend The Joel Palmer House (www.joelpalmerhouse.com) for a unique take on fine dining. Although the centerpiece of the cuisine is still seasonal mushrooms, Chef Christopher has been adding some fun new dishes to the menu to tempt and satisfy his non-fungi-loving friends and gluten-free followers.

For wine, you've got a great list there, but if you're going to Cristom, stop nearby at Witness Tree or St. Innocent - also great selections there!

Have a great trip!

Mary
@MKCzar
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Old Aug 7th, 2012, 02:00 PM
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In case you did not realize it, the Willamette Valley extends south of Eugene. Here is a map I just found.
http://www.winesnw.com/swillmap.html
When you tire of the Willamette Valley we have some vinyards in the Umpqua and Rogue Valleys.
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Old Aug 7th, 2012, 02:08 PM
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NewbE--If you tell us where you went last year, we can make more suggestions so you don't duplicate that trip. Inn at Red Hills is a great place. We live about 10 minutes from there, but have stayed there for an event nearby. The rooms are very nice. They have a really nice patio area down off of the restaurant, but in October weather will be hit or miss. Early Oct is usually nice here, but by the middle of the months the rains have usually settled in. Yes, Farm to Fork is closed and Paulee is in that space now. I haven't made it there yet, but a good friend has, who had excellent taste, and he highly recommended it. I know where the lofts are, in Carlton, but have never heard anything first hand about them. Carlton is a great little town though and there are loads of tasting rooms in the small two block long heart of downtown. You can't go wrong with either Inn at Red Hills or the location in Carlton. I seemed to have deleted my newsletter from Grochau with his details about their move, so just email him and ask. He is very nice and will make sure to keep you posted about where they will be. My three favorites around here are Seufert, Arbor Brook and Brick House. There are so many other good wineries, but these three are ones that we always have on hand and give as gifts (personal and business). In Newberg, check out Subterra and Recipe for good places to dine.
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Old Aug 7th, 2012, 02:46 PM
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Tomfuller and suze, thanks for the ideas! I;m ashamed to say I still need to study a map and figure out how much ground we can cover in our short time out there. I would love to stay longer and really tour the state; maybe next year.

We've had wine from the Rogue and Umpqua valleys, and cheese, of course, from Rogue, so those are strong possibilities for a look-see.

MKCzar, Joel Palmer is on the list for sure! Friends of ours highly recommend it, plus we love the 'shrooms Will look into the inns you list as well.

mms, last year we visited: Grochau, Ponzi (the winery tasting room), Willa Kenzie, Bergstrom, Torii Mor, Adelsheim, Bethel Heights, Argyle, Domaine Drouhin, Penner-Ash, plus Elk Cove, Cristom and Vidon as previously mentioned. There wasn't a bummer in the bunch, so we may revisit some of these if they're on the way, but don't intend to retrace our steps in general. Will add Seufert, Arbor Brook and Brick House to the list; and also St. Innocent and Witness Tree.
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Old Aug 7th, 2012, 03:05 PM
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Eugene (the best University town in Oregon) - is only about two and a half hours or so south of Portland, and even less if you are already south of Portland at some wineries, etc.

Just west of Eugene - we love the King Estate and the Hinman/Sylvan Ridge - and also - who can resist a winery named Sweet Cheeks? http://www.planeteugene.com/wineries.htm

And as a bonus - from those wineries - drive over to Florence on the Coast (an hour or so) - and head north from there to say Depoe Bay if you have an extra night - (I love the Surfrider Resort http://surfriderresort.com/ - where you can also see whale from there some months. This page can give more info on that: http://www.oregon.gov/OPRD/PARKS/Wha...er/index.shtml ) .

That is perhaps the prettiest drive/segment of Oregon Coast - and from Lincoln City (just a bit north of Depoe Bay) - you can zip back to Portland under two hours.
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Old Aug 7th, 2012, 03:14 PM
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You're welcome. My family lives in Corvallis area. Clemenza's is where we went for a b-day celebration not too long ago. It's not a fancy place, just one of those restaurants that truly gets it *right*. I was impressed with the food, atmosphere, service, all.
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Old Aug 7th, 2012, 03:30 PM
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NewbE--Thanks, I couldn't remember which places you hit. Seufert is super close to Joel Palmer House, so that is a nobrainer to do those two together. Brick House and Arbor Brook are near each other, and another good one right nearby as well is Tristaeum.
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