I know there have been a lot of these type threads lately, but we had such a great time that I have to share my thoughts/experiences. There are some really fantastic wines being made right now in Oregon (a lot of which are coming from members of this board). Obviously the Pinot Noir is great, but I was really excited about tasting the various Chardonnay on the trip. Oregon winemakers are crafting a style that I really like which leans very Burgundian in most cases. A huge thank you to this board and the winemakers here for helping me setup this trip (Vincent Fritzsche, Michael Sterling, Marcus Goodfellow, and Jim Anderson)…it couldn’t have been better.
Here was our itinerary. I will post individually about each winery with details about the visit and tasting notes over the next couple days.
Day 1 - June 8
- -Land in Portland mid-morning
-Lunch at Zoiglhaus Brewing Company in Portland
-Appointment at Patricia Green Cellars
-Drop-in tasting at Eyrie Vineyards
-Quick tasting at Heater Allen Brewery
-Check-in at 3rd Street Flats
-Dinner at Pura Vida
Day 2 - June 9
- -Appointment tour & tasting at Evesham Wood
-Drop-in tasting and picnic lunch at Cristom Vineyards
-Appointment with Vincent Fritzsche - Vincent Wine Company
-Dinner at Thistle
Day 3 - June 10
- -morning at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum
-Lunch at Valley Commissary
-Appointment with Marcus Goodfellow - Goodfellow Family Cellars
-Appointment with Michael Sterling - Franny Beck
-Dinner at The Blue Goat
Day 4 - June 11
- -Appointment with Jim Maresh - Arterberry Maresh
-Lunch at Red Hills Market
-Drop-in tasting at Domaine Drouhin Oregon
-Appointment with Patrick Benad - Crowley Wines
-Back to Portland for flight home
Since the Willamette Valley is mostly focused on Pinot Noir, it was really cool getting to experience the differences that soil type, stem inclusion, vineyard location, oak usage, and fermentation method had on the wines. I also really appreciated how the wineries in Oregon pour you a real/substantial taste of wine in a nice stem. Much more details to follow, but here were my top wines of the trip (out of almost 80 wines tasted):
- -2015 Patricia Green Weber Vineyard Pinot Noir
-2017 Patricia Green Coury Clone Freedom Hill Pinot Noir (barrel sample)
-2015 Evesham Wood Le Puits Sec Pinot Noir
-2015 Goodfellow Richard’s Cuvee Whistling Ridge Chardonnay
-2015 Goodfellow Whistling Ridge Heritage No. 4 Pinot Noir
-2015 Franny Beck Armstrong Vineyard Pinot Noir
-2016 Vincent Zenith Vineyard Pinot Noir
-2016 Arterberry Maresh Maresh Vineyard Chardonnay
-2016 Arterberry Maresh Old Vines Dundee Pinot Noir