Pinot Noir tastings in WIlliamette Valley, Oregon
Pinot, Pinot, Pinot - how popular you have become since the movie Sideways. I am still trying to understand how a movie can collapse an entire grape varietal - Merlot - and wipe it off the tasting menus of so many wineries in California.
Well, back to Pinot and the region that reigns as king in the Pinot world - the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Having been there two consecutive years over Memorial Day weekend, below is the list of wineries visited and my recollection (some of them pretty vague). After tasting so many Pinots in a weekend, you kinda get Pinot-ed out after a while. Tasting fee ranges from $15-$20 per head, very often with cheese (and sometimes salumi).
Antica Terra - Their Syrah, not the Pinots, was a standout for me.
Archery Summit - Highly recommended. Fabulous, fabulous Pinot, one of the best I might add, and served in their wine cave among the wooden barrels. But not cheap, a single vineyard Pinot is about $85. My personal favorite is the Looney Vineyard. They also make a wonderful Rose (from Pinot grape of course) that is reasonably priced at $24.
Beaux Freres - one of the old guards in the valley apparently. Was recommended to go there but didn't feel a friendly atmosphere during tasting and was perhaps turned off by that. Reading their website later, I found out that Robert Parker Jr. (Wine Advocate) is one of the partners there. I wonder how Robert would rate Beaux Freres' wines. Hmm...
Bergstrom - Very good Pinot as well. Realized that one of the Bergstrom daughters is a local Tiburon resident, what a small world.
Brick House - Winery feels homely. Their chardonnay is pretty good.
De Ponte Cellars - kinda forgettable in the grand scheme of the valley.
Domaine Drouhin - some of the wines in the tasting menu are from their winery in France. The Chablis (French) was good, the rest so-so.
Le Cadeau - the very first winery we visited. Last year, it was in a temporary tasting room rented for the Memorial Day weekend. This year, they have shifted to a new (and permanent) tasting room location in Dundee. Friendly service, we tasted about 10 different pinots at one sitting.
Lemelson - the Riesling was quite good.
Penner-Ash - expensive tasting fee but the rose is quite delicious.
Shea Wine Cellars - Highly recommended. One of my favorites. The Memorial Day tastings are for wine futures - the wine is still in the barrel and is served from carafes, not bottles. They often sell out of their single vineyards through futures even before they bottle. The wines served in the May futures tastings are available in November that year. Shea also sells grapes to many other vineyards and you often see Shea listed in other vineyards wines.
Soter - A very nice winery, very friendly people, including the owners. The owner has some ties back to Napa and the Cab from his previous stint at Napa was delicious. Their wines are generally good, decently priced. Over the special Memorial weekend, they have a very nice tasting event on the Saturday, with local produce elegantly presented (with written explanations) at different tasting stations.
Trisaetum - Showcasing a good number of Rieslings, this is a beautiful cave winery with a very nice gallery. I unfortunately prefer drier Rieslings.
Winderlea - Beautiful, modern architecture, with spanning views, but I don't recall much of their wines. As you might guess, I was getting Pinot-ed out ;-)
The Pinots in the Willamette Valley are excellent; I would almost say, the Pinots here are delicious.
Well, back to Pinot and the region that reigns as king in the Pinot world - the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Having been there two consecutive years over Memorial Day weekend, below is the list of wineries visited and my recollection (some of them pretty vague). After tasting so many Pinots in a weekend, you kinda get Pinot-ed out after a while. Tasting fee ranges from $15-$20 per head, very often with cheese (and sometimes salumi).
Antica Terra - Their Syrah, not the Pinots, was a standout for me.
Archery Summit - Highly recommended. Fabulous, fabulous Pinot, one of the best I might add, and served in their wine cave among the wooden barrels. But not cheap, a single vineyard Pinot is about $85. My personal favorite is the Looney Vineyard. They also make a wonderful Rose (from Pinot grape of course) that is reasonably priced at $24.
Beaux Freres - one of the old guards in the valley apparently. Was recommended to go there but didn't feel a friendly atmosphere during tasting and was perhaps turned off by that. Reading their website later, I found out that Robert Parker Jr. (Wine Advocate) is one of the partners there. I wonder how Robert would rate Beaux Freres' wines. Hmm...
Bergstrom - Very good Pinot as well. Realized that one of the Bergstrom daughters is a local Tiburon resident, what a small world.
Brick House - Winery feels homely. Their chardonnay is pretty good.
De Ponte Cellars - kinda forgettable in the grand scheme of the valley.
Domaine Drouhin - some of the wines in the tasting menu are from their winery in France. The Chablis (French) was good, the rest so-so.
Le Cadeau - the very first winery we visited. Last year, it was in a temporary tasting room rented for the Memorial Day weekend. This year, they have shifted to a new (and permanent) tasting room location in Dundee. Friendly service, we tasted about 10 different pinots at one sitting.
Lemelson - the Riesling was quite good.
Penner-Ash - expensive tasting fee but the rose is quite delicious.
Shea Wine Cellars - Highly recommended. One of my favorites. The Memorial Day tastings are for wine futures - the wine is still in the barrel and is served from carafes, not bottles. They often sell out of their single vineyards through futures even before they bottle. The wines served in the May futures tastings are available in November that year. Shea also sells grapes to many other vineyards and you often see Shea listed in other vineyards wines.
Soter - A very nice winery, very friendly people, including the owners. The owner has some ties back to Napa and the Cab from his previous stint at Napa was delicious. Their wines are generally good, decently priced. Over the special Memorial weekend, they have a very nice tasting event on the Saturday, with local produce elegantly presented (with written explanations) at different tasting stations.
Trisaetum - Showcasing a good number of Rieslings, this is a beautiful cave winery with a very nice gallery. I unfortunately prefer drier Rieslings.
Winderlea - Beautiful, modern architecture, with spanning views, but I don't recall much of their wines. As you might guess, I was getting Pinot-ed out ;-)
The Pinots in the Willamette Valley are excellent; I would almost say, the Pinots here are delicious.
