Just got back from a few days in the Willamette Valley. Stopped by Crowley, J Craw, Goodfellow, Denison, Brooks (lunch), Championship Bottle, Longplay (construction site tour), King’s North/Seven of Hearts. Had a great time. We stayed in the attic rooms at Grand Lodge in Forest Grove. We enjoy the McMenamins properties. Had a great time here finding all of the secret rooms and passage ways on the 3rd floor. Reminded me of staying at Hogwarts.
Crowley - Evan and Melanie showed us around and poured some wines for us. Several barrel samples. Enjoyed the wines.
J Craw - Simon and Vania were great hosts. Their house / vineyard is off Fairview Dr. in the Dundee Hills. They poured their 2017, 2018, and 2019 Pinots. They also had a Semillon. Great hosts and we liked their wines.
Goodfellow - Didn’t try any wines here just chatted with Marcus and Megan and picked up some Spring release wines.
Denison - Tim Wilson poured his wines. He hosted us at Bjornson where is making his wines since Todd Hamina closed down his place. Had a chard and several pinots. His wines were very good but needed some time to open. I really enjoyed the 2018 Johnson Ridge Pinot. He also poured me a few of Dave Ulbricht’s Schone Tal wines. He has some excellent juice from the Meredith Mitchell and Hirschey vineyards.
Brooks - Went there for lunch since there is few places to eat in the area with out driving for a half hour. The food here is excellent. Outstanding. We enjoyed the spring pea soup, scallops, and brussel sprouts. Wines were fine but nothing special.
Championship Bottle - Saul hosted us at Grochau’s tasting room that he shares with Vincent and some smaller producers. He makes only white wines and his inspiration is the Alto Adige region of Italy. He poured us 3 wines and several barrel samples. He was a great host. Full of energy and enthusiasm. If you are in the area I highly recommend reaching out and stopping by for a visit. We enjoyed the Silicone on Sapphire and the Hard Promises. These are great wines that need time. I usually think the red wines are the ones that need time but here the whites need time to open.
Longplay - I had ordered some wines from Todd Hansen and arranged to meet him at his new winery he is building off of 219 and Industrial Parkway in Newberg. It is just north of the new Newberg Dundee Bypass Freeway that opened a few years ago. Todd is hoping the construction will be complete and the winery/tasting room will open by June.
King’s North/Seven of Hearts - Since Byron’s tasting room in Carlton has closed he is hosting his events at Mac and Sid’s new winery in Newbery off of Bell Road. He poured 8 of his new Pinots. I really enjoyed the 2019 Joker’s Wild. Great stuff.
All in all a wonderful trip and great weather. Well into the 80s which is unusual for mid April in Oregon. Enjoyed stopping by and visiting many of the people who used to make wine at Biggio Hamina’s facility.