Oregon wine country, one sip at a time
Savor the tastes of the Willamette River Valley
McMINNVILLE, Ore. — Portland? Been there, done that. The Oregon coast? Storm-watching only lasts so long.
Consider instead a fall getaway to a place in between.
Nestled in the foothills of the Coast Range mountains between Portland and the ocean beaches, the northern Willamette River Valley is the gateway to Oregon wine country.
Treat yourself to a slice of peach pie at an old-time general store. Stop at a farm stand for a bag of homegrown hazelnuts. Check into a B&B or book a room in a turn-of-the-19th- century hotel.
Definitely sip some wine.
One-third of Oregon's more than 300 wineries are here in the most fertile stretch of a 100-mile-long wine region that extends through Salem and into Eugene. Just 30 miles southwest of Portland, the area enjoys a climate similar to Seattle's — cool and wet — yet often sunnier, ideal for growing pinot-noir grapes and much more.
"This is what the Sonoma-Napa Valley was 20 or 30 years ago," says Michael McKenney, who moved here from San Francisco with his partner, Danny Wilser. They settled on a 131-acre dairy farm and opened the 10-table Crescent Cafe in downtown McMinnville, where lines form on weekend mornings for the pistachio coffeecake and banana pancakes. No reservations required.
The college town of McMinnville makes a central base for exploring the tasting rooms and vineyards near the towns of Newberg, Dundee, Lafayette, Dayton, Carlton and Amity.
Don't be fooled by the traffic along Oregon 99W, a busy artery lined with fast-food restaurants and chain stores. Turn left or right, drive a few miles along winding two-lane roads, and you're in rural Oregon.
It was late afternoon by the time my husband, Tom, and I made the drive from Seattle a few weeks ago. We had time for just one tasting (most wineries are open from 11 a.m. or noon to 5 p.m.), so we veered off the highway at Dundee and followed the signs to Torii Mor Winery. Convinced we'd gone too far, we almost turned around when we reached a patch of gravel road. We continued up a hill and saw what looked like a Japanese tea garden.
Experts decide which tasting rooms to visit based on the reputation of the wines. Novices tend to seek out the so-called "destination" wineries — vineyards and tasting rooms with views, picnic areas or interesting locales such as the tasting room for Tyrus Evan winery inside an old train depot in Carlton.
Donald and Margie Olson's 15-year-old Torii Mor would please both types. Borrowing from the Japanese, the word "Torii" refers to ornate gates at garden entrances. "Mor" is Scandinavian for "earth." Pinot noir, the owners believe, is a beautiful gateway to the earth.
We shared a $10 tasting and strolled around the grounds between sips of seven wines, starting with a $16 Pinot Gris and ending with a $40 port. Most of the wineries charge anywhere from $5 to $10 for a tasting, but sharing is fine, and most will deduct the price from the purchase of a bottle or case.
Unlike the wineries in Sonoma or Napa, "here you have to work to find them," says Joani Gohn from San Antonio. She and her husband, Rick, spent several days touring the area, with a goal of doing a half-dozen tastings a day. The Texas couple's advice: Gather recommendations from friends and locals, and call ahead to make appointments at some of the smaller wineries that don't keep regular hours.
One of the biggest surprises was Maysara Winery, where 26 years after escaping Iran on a motorcycle, Flora and Moe Momtazi have built a successful business making wine and growing grapes on an abandoned wheat farm in McMinnville.
"Maysara" is the Persian word for a place to drink wine and seek wisdom. Framed poems written in Farsi decorate the walls inside the barrel room. The upstairs tasting room overlooks the vineyards.
Scattered among the vineyards and backroads are more than 25 B&Bs. But this isn't a poor man's Napa, and rates at many first-class inns with fireplaces and Jacuzzi tubs top more than $200 a night.