Help-Willamette Trip

WINE TALK
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In Lincoln city there’s Hearth and Stone, in Depoe Bay there’s Tidal Raves, in Newport there’s Local Ocean and Saffron.

The Bay House in Lincoln City has a deepish OR wine list.

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We had a decent meal and beer at the Pelican Bay brew pub in Cannon Beach. There is also the Delicate Palate in Pacific City.

If you have time for something different, try the Cannon Beach Distillery tasting room in the heart of Cannon Beach.

P Hickner

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North of Newport is Restaurant Beck. Breakfast or lunch at La Maison in Newport can be quite good. It’s tough for good restaurants on the Oregon coast sometimes. Blackbird in Manzanita was good, but just closed.

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Thanks to all for their help and suggestions on the upcoming trip! Just got all the appointments set and shaping up to be a great first trip to the area. Schedule is below and I will be sure and take some notes to post my general thoughts and any highlights.
Wednesday

Breakfast/lunch - Red Hills Market
Brick House 12pm
Patricia Green 1:30pm
Native Flora 3pm
Dinner at Barlow Room with Scott Flora

Thursday

Prive 10am
Lunch - Ruddick Wood
Big Table Farm 1pm
Elk Cove 2:30ish (walk-in)
Crowley 4pm
Dinner at Dundee Bistro
Friday

Biggio Hamina 10:30am
Lunch at Valley Commissary
Goodfellow 1pm
Brittan 2:30ish (walk-in)
Eyrie 3:30ish (walk-in)
White Rose 4:45ish (walk-in)
Dinner at The Barberry

Saturday

Walter Scott 10:30am
Cristom 12pm (picnic lunch there)
Vincent 2pm
KelleyFox/Arterberry Maresh (Still trying to pin down)
Dinner at Jory

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Woah. You sure you’re leaving enough time in the schedule to breathe? champagne.gif

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Why would I breathe when there is wine to drink? [cheers.gif]

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newhere

Hi Cody (and everyone else)! I’m just starting to plan a trip to Willamette for next year and am using your itinerary as a guideline (thank you!).

Question for you, Cody: which area did you decide to stay in? I’m on the fence if we should stay in a Portland hotel (we’re Starwood people) or if we should find a Home Away outside the city, closer to the wineries/vinyards. Any lodging recommendations would be appreciated!

Side note: my husband and I have been to Napa/Sonoma before and usually don’t have a problem with a 30-60 min drive from a hotel each day, but we try to plan out our itineraries so that we are in one general area each day.

Thanks,
Gwendolyn W

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If you don’t mind the 40-60 min drive before and after (you’ll be going the better way traffic-wise each way) then Portland’s a good option. The Nines is a nice, well-located Starwood hotel downtown. Up to you whether you want the Portland vibe or the wine country vibe, that’s the primary call.

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Unless you’re coming from Ponzi or someplace else in the Chehalem Mountains, it’s going to take longer than an hour. We usually figure an hour and a half to get to downtown Portland, and we’re late more often than we are early. One option would be to stay in McMinnville. We have a new hotel (the Atticus) opening downtown this late winter/early spring that is supposed to be very nice, along with Third St Flats. There are a bunch of dining options within easy walking distance (Nick’s, Thistle, Bistro Maison, 411, La Rambla, Pura Vida), and we’ll be adding Third and Tasty (sister restaurant to PDX’s Tasty and Alder) at the Atticus.

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We stayed at the Allison in Newberg and cannot recommend it highly enough! Great rooms, service, location and scenery. Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can help. I learned a great deal from the trip and am happy to share our experiences.

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I arrived PDX today for a week of tastings in Hillsboro. Yes, Hillsboro where I have something like 40 appointments beginning tomorrow at 9am. Report comes out in late December or early January. Here is the lineup. A rather intense lineup:

Saffron Fields
Craft Wine Co.
Lingua Franca
Brooks
Bjornson
De Lancelot
Solena
Domaine Roy & Fils
Retour
JL Kiff
Andrew Rich
Apolloni
Fullerton
Lachine
Vidon
Corey
Angela
A private tasting with a broker
Adam Cara
Grochau
Dion
Left Coast
Hyland Estates
Furioso
Van Duzer
Wildfire
Monks Gate
Seifert
Ruby Vineyard
R. Stuart
Longplay
Montinore
Brittan
Evening Land
Winter’s Hill
Domaine Divio
Methven
Elk CoveHelvetia
Elevee

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Gee Whiz, you missed all the good ones! [wow.gif]

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What do you mean by that?

74

That’s exactly what I thought after reading the list!

My current favorites (in no particular order) are Walter Scott, Ayoub, Guillen, Cameron, and Goodfellow

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With all deference to Doug, I was being a bit facetious. Giving some of the lesser known wineries some exposure is commendable. That’s how we find wines we want to try. That said, I definitely do not need to be tempted anymore. [cheers.gif]