Wine Wanderlust

Follow a little blue winery sign off the highway in Yamhill County and you never know quite what you’ll find. The road may be paved or rough gravel, bordered by orchards or dark stands of Douglas fir. The tasting room could be in a hilltop villa or a corrugated tin bottling shed. In this still-young wine country, the best wines are often found in unlikely places.

“Like the Napa Valley 20 years ago” is how some folks describe the Willamette Valley wine country, one of Oregon’s seven wine-growing regions and the appellation where most of Oregon’s 175-plus wineries are found. They’re not far off, given the pastoral views, small-town charms and developing restaurant scene. But this wine country is no secret to wine experts, who deem it the Pinot noir capital of North America. Take two or three days to discover it for yourself, for wine touring — like wine tasting — is best when it’s unrushed.

Willamette Valley wine country is just a half-hour’s drive from Portland. Head to Forest Grove and wind your way south on Highway 47, then detour for the stellar view at Elk Cove Vineyards. Better yet, leave the driving to one of the many companies that offer tours (see “Call or Click,” below). Approaching Carlton, look for Cuneo Cellars’ new tasting room just off the highway, and stop at The Tasting Room at the corner of Main and Pine to sample the best of the region’s boutique wineries. Alternatively, mosey down Highway 99W to Newberg, where a string of wineries begins: among them, Rex Hill, Duck Pond, Sokol Blosser, Argyle and—a bit farther from the highway—Erath. Or visit the Ponzi Wine Bar next to Dundee Bistro for one-stop sipping from dozens of wineries.

The day’s biggest challenge may be choosing where to dine. Newberg, Carlton and McMinnville each has at least one eatery to write home about, and tiny Dundee attracts national attention for its coterie of regionally inspired restaurants. Most wineries don’t open until noon, so grab a map and go exploring in the morning. (Please observe speed limits; the narrow lanes wind through working farmland.) Lafayette, a few miles northeast of McMinnville on Highway 99W, has several antiques shops including the Lafayette Schoolhouse, a sprawling antiques mall. Drop down to Highway 18 on McMinnville’s southern edge to see the new Evergreen Aviation Museum, home to Howard Hughes’ world-famous flying boat, the Spruce Goose. You might pack a lunch — most wineries have picnic tables — and drive the back roads between highways 99W and 221. Here you’ll find a half-dozen wineries including hilltop Bethel Heights and low-key Cristom. Then take the Wheatland Ferry across the Willamette River and head south on I-5, stopping for a sip at the state’s largest winery, Willamette Valley Vineyards, south of Salem.

West of Eugene, a collection of five wineries line Territorial Road, which dips and rolls among farmland and forest. Nestled into the trees, pastoral Chateau Lorane is southernmost of the group. Want a break from driving? Take a wine tour in downtown Eugene at LaVelle Vineyards Tasting Room or any of several wine shops that pour tastes of the region’s viticultural bounty.