Today, I’ll be telling you about my trip with two of my cousins to the Willamette Valley in Oregon back in August of 2016.  My cousin Irene and I have been studying wine for several years, and Oregon Pinots are at the top of our list of faves, so we just had to go there to visit and taste some amazing wines from the source.  We brought our cousin Vicki, who is not as much into wine as we are, but always willing to come along to beautiful places and taste some deliciousness.  

Before we drove down into the valley, we spent a few hours bumming around Portland, our point of entry to Oregon wine country.  We started with some ice cream at Salt & Straw, and then followed that up with our first wine tasting which was at Teutonic Winery in Portland proper.  I scheduled a tasting with the winemaker, Barnaby Tuttle, because if you ever have the opportunity to drink wines with the winemaker and owner of a winery, YOU DO IT!  We absolutely loved Barnaby for his hospitality, easy going nature, and the Led Zeppelin and Metallica playing on the record player while we tasted his wines.  I think the tasting was only supposed to be about 6 wines, but Barnaby brought us many, many more wines, including a vertical of some of the riesling he grows in the Mosel Valley in Germany.  Finally, after a lot of vino, he took us on a tour of the tiny winery giving each of us (and one for himself) a can of Rainier beer.  It sounds weird, and possibly gross, but it was the best palate cleanser!  After a few hours, we waved goodbye and made our way to the Willamette Valley.

For this trip, we stayed at a proper B&B (not of the Air variety) called A’Tuscan Estate near downtown McMinnville, Oregon.  We split two rooms, each with their own bathroom.  This old American Colonial-style home was appointed classically, but cozily.  The bathrooms were modern with marble everywhere.  There were sweet little nooks outside and inside to just hang out and get ready for your day of wine tourism, or to chill out after a long day of tasting.  The best part is that this place was only a 5 minute walk, if that, to downtown McMinnville with all of its shops and restaurants.  No discussion about this B&B would be complete without talking about the incredible breakfasts that we ate here.  When you are starting wine tasting at 10am every day, you need to have a solid breakfast in your belly before you get going.  There were different preparations of ostrich eggs every day we were there, and so many truffles!  I believe the owners have changed since 2016, though, and so the chef is not the same, but from my scan of recent reviews, it seems like the new owners have kept up the tradition of some of the best breakfast McMinnville has to offer.  I highly recommend A’Tuscan Estate if you are planning on a getaway in the Willamette Valley.

We spent two full days driving around to different vineyards and tasting the incredible wines on offer in this gorgeous part of the world.  One of our best experiences was tasting at Maysara Winery, which truly deserves its own post.  (Note to self!) The place is family owned, biodynamically farmed, and the grounds are incredibly beautiful.  There is a large barn-like building where they store barrels, throw parties, and do tastings.  From the first bubbly rose, to the last fruity pinot, Irene and I had tears in our eyes due to how incredibly beautifully these wines were smelling and tasting.  When we left, Maysara had two more club members, and I’m lucky enough to get two shipments a year of these wines.  Other winery highlights included Hyland Estates Winery, which had the best tour, Colene Clemens Vineyards with amazing views from their tasting patio, and Cristom Vineyards serving up some amazing single vineyard samplings.  

On our final day in the Pacific Northwest, we visited the Portland International Rose Test Garden.  After a few days of smelling wines, it was lovely to get into this massive space and just, well, smell the roses. If you like gardening or flowers, or just a pretty park, do not miss this place! This trip was a lovely getaway with two of my favorite people on this planet, and I can’t wait to get back to the Willamette Valley to see how it has changed, and definitely drink some more delicious wine!