Wine?

I%26#39;m a self-described ';wine geek'; who is heading up with my wife for a little vacation. We%26#39;re in NorCal and know the Napa/Sonoma wine scene quite well now but are wanting to explore (and excited about) what Oregon has to offer. Here%26#39;s the itinerary:

Astoria - 2 nights

Portland - 2 nights

Jacksonville - 2 nights

Ideally we prefer boutique style wineries with low production, but would be happy for any recommendations.

Thanks!

Wine?

For your time in J%26#39;ville...I enjoy the Roxy Ann Winery in East Medford, or Troon out in Applegate. There are many wineries out in the Applegate, and you can easily visit several in one day. I think they all are going to be the ';boutique style'; you are looking for. Enjoy your time there! We moved from the area last year, and are missing the local wineries!

Wine?

Wondering why you chose Astoria, as it%26#39;s a couple hours from any wine country. Shallon is there, but it%26#39;s mostly fruit and berry wines. There%26#39;s also the Flying Dutchman Winery%26#39;s tasting room, but their market is the coastal tourist, and they don%26#39;t really do anything very well. And, if you chose Astoria just to see the Oregon coast... well, it%26#39;s not really even on the coast.

The heart of Willamette Valley%26#39;s wine country is about 45 minutes southwest of Portland, so an easy day trip. With two days, I%26#39;d suggest one be spent between Newberg and Carlton, with stops along North Valley Road, and the other between Newberg and McMinnville. Are you looking for wineries with regular tasting hours, or those that typically taste only by appointment?

Put Abacela on your list for southern Oregon. It%26#39;s outside of Roseburg, so maybe stop by on the drive south. They%26#39;re producing a consistently nice tempranillo and an alberino that%26#39;s become one of my wife%26#39;s faves.

Hi there, I would go out to the Dundee area, we love the Pinots at Archery Summit and Domaine Drouhin there. Drouhin also makes a really nice Chardonnay.

While you are in Astoria, check out the Shallon winery, they do some nice fruit wines and we love the Cran du Lait there. The Cellar on 10th and the Flying Dutchman adjacent to the Bridgewater Bistro are nice places to wine taste in Astoria. We had dinner last night at the Ship Inn in Astoria, don%26#39;t miss it if you love fish and chips. There is also a tasting room at the Silver Salmon Grille in Astoria where you can sample some nice local wines.

We are having some gorgeous weather now, I hope it holds up for you, when are you coming to Astoria and where are you staying there? :)

%26gt;%26gt;The Cellar on 10th and the Flying Dutchman adjacent to the Bridgewater Bistro are nice places to wine taste in Astoria.%26lt;%26lt;

As I said, the Flying Dutchman%26#39;s market is the coastal tourist. ;-) So, I%26#39;m glad you like it, but you%26#39;ve never mentioned tasting there before, syrahgirl. Have you? What makes it ';nice';? My wife and I stopped by this past Saturday, just because we had some time to kill before our dinner reservation. Nice enough tasting room (but nothing special), and the guy behind the counter was obviously glad to see us (said he%26#39;d only had 5-6 ';customers'; all day). But, I don%26#39;t think their wines deserve mention in the same post that includes a recommendation for Archery Summit and Domaine Drouhin.

I second RoxyAnn. Their wines are really good. I have never been to their winery, but as a wine biz pro, I have tried their wines with others in the biz. We all agree....a winery to pay attention to.

As far as other wineries.....I have to say, avoid Archery Summit (never have liked them, nor the fact that a former ';employee'; claimed to own the place when in fact he was a shareholder), DDO and Domaine Serene...again, unless you like to spend a lot of money on something simply to say that you did.

Are you hoping to see wineries that are open to the public? Or are you serious about seeing some great wineries and spending some dough at them? There are some that will open for you, if you will make a decent purchase.

So, I guess I need more info before I give advice. ;-)

I must add, a visit to Shallon is well worth the stop. His wines are unique and, some, although we ';snobs'; may hear of them and scoff, are actually quite good. He makes a blackberry wine that most would mistake for Cabernet Sauvignon. Strange but true.

He is also open 365 days a year...again, strange but true. LOL!

Astoria is just one of our stops. We%26#39;re not looking to do wine every day since we%26#39;re actually going all the way up to Seattle (for a wedding) and to Eugene for a night as well.

Appointment places are nice, but with the amount of time we%26#39;re there, I don%26#39;t see us making any appointments. We prefer to just drive and hit places. But... since we%26#39;re not going to be spending a large amount of time in these areas, I don%26#39;t want to waste the day ';hitting'; the wrong places. So if there is a can%26#39;t-miss appointment winery, I%26#39;m open to suggestions.

Thanks!

you don%26#39;t need an appointment at Shallon, we are headed over to Astoria right now! :)