- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Coaching Changes
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Willamette Valley
Posted on 5/21/25 at 9:41 pm
Posted on 5/21/25 at 9:41 pm
10 year anniversary coming up next April, would like to explore the Willamette Valley region.
Any suggestions, must do tours, best places to stay, etc? I know April can be rainy, so would it be better to push the trip to May?
Any suggestions, must do tours, best places to stay, etc? I know April can be rainy, so would it be better to push the trip to May?
9
Posted on 5/21/25 at 10:13 pm to SouthboundTiger
Funny I was looking for good info on here last night. I am debating between a trip to Willamette or Kauai for the wife’s 50th.
Posted on 5/21/25 at 10:19 pm to SouthboundTiger
It’s been a while since I went, but we did a wine tour with a guy who was amazing. He had just started up when we went, and now it looks like he has additional tour guides and all.
Backcountry Wine Tours
Will pick you up, drive you around and bring you back to where you’re staying. This could have changed but I doubt it - when we went he only toured small wineries (7500 bottles or less per year). He was super knowledgeable and it was a great experience.
We happened to share a tour with someone who knew a lot about wine. I knew relatively little. And we both had a good time!
Backcountry Wine Tours
Will pick you up, drive you around and bring you back to where you’re staying. This could have changed but I doubt it - when we went he only toured small wineries (7500 bottles or less per year). He was super knowledgeable and it was a great experience.
We happened to share a tour with someone who knew a lot about wine. I knew relatively little. And we both had a good time!
Posted on 5/21/25 at 10:24 pm to SouthboundTiger
We’ve been a few times and love it there. Rain will be hit or miss either month.
The Dundee area or Newberg has some nice rentals.
We like the smaller, less commercialized vineyards/wineries.
A tasting at EIEIO would be awesome. Jay, the owner does the best tasting experience that we’ve had. I believe the tasting is $500, but it can be applied to your wine purchase.
Eleve is my wife’s favorite winery from the area.
Durant has good wines, a beautiful tasting area, and and olive oil tasting as well.
Wolves and Peoples Brewery is a good spot. There is a bluegrass open jam session that is pretty cool. I’d call ahead to check which day.
Not far off is an aviation museum in McMinnville. The Spruce Goose is displayed there along with other interesting aircraft.
The Pacific coast is about an hour away with a scenic ride through the forest along the way. There are a few lighthouses and neat beach towns along the coast. Tillamook cheese factory is near the coast. They offer tours.
We love the vibe there, and the winery options are endless.
The Dundee area or Newberg has some nice rentals.
We like the smaller, less commercialized vineyards/wineries.
A tasting at EIEIO would be awesome. Jay, the owner does the best tasting experience that we’ve had. I believe the tasting is $500, but it can be applied to your wine purchase.
Eleve is my wife’s favorite winery from the area.
Durant has good wines, a beautiful tasting area, and and olive oil tasting as well.
Wolves and Peoples Brewery is a good spot. There is a bluegrass open jam session that is pretty cool. I’d call ahead to check which day.
Not far off is an aviation museum in McMinnville. The Spruce Goose is displayed there along with other interesting aircraft.
The Pacific coast is about an hour away with a scenic ride through the forest along the way. There are a few lighthouses and neat beach towns along the coast. Tillamook cheese factory is near the coast. They offer tours.
We love the vibe there, and the winery options are endless.
This post was edited on 5/21/25 at 10:37 pm
Posted on 5/21/25 at 10:54 pm to SouthboundTiger
quote:
I know April can be rainy, so would it be better to push the trip to May?
You aren’t completely safe until after the 4th of July if that’s really important to you.
We’ve had plenty of rain recently.
If July doesn’t work think about June. Your odds get better after May.
Posted on 5/24/25 at 5:47 pm to SouthboundTiger
I’m here now actually but not doing the wine tour. We did the Guide Along app driving tour of the Oregon Coast and it was fantastic. As a matter of fact, we did the Guide Along driving tour of Kauai also and it also was fantastic. Those are some great ideas you have!
Posted on 5/25/25 at 8:18 am to ToucanBill
FYI the locals pronounce it like dammit
Posted on 5/25/25 at 9:48 am to SouthboundTiger
We stayed at The Allison outside Newburg- I highly recommend it. We hired a driver to take us to off the beaten path places and it was fantastic.
Utopia was our favorite wine stop.
Utopia was our favorite wine stop.
Posted on 5/25/25 at 10:45 am to SouthboundTiger
Extremely underrated place to live.
Posted on 5/25/25 at 1:08 pm to SouthboundTiger
Couple of really great places to taste
Lingua Franca - Coppola offshoot (although he may since sold it), private tasting will ask you things like “what’s your favorite album” and then have that album waiting for you on the tasting room. Great mid range wines.
Antica Terra - from the outside this leaves a lot to be desired, a Quonset hut with meth vibes. Walk through an industrial store house with barrels racked to the ceiling and head into a gorgeous tasting room. Fabulous Pinot noir and most of your tasting will be drinking other people’s wines. Cool food pairings as well.
If you can get into either, highly recommend it.
Lingua Franca - Coppola offshoot (although he may since sold it), private tasting will ask you things like “what’s your favorite album” and then have that album waiting for you on the tasting room. Great mid range wines.
Antica Terra - from the outside this leaves a lot to be desired, a Quonset hut with meth vibes. Walk through an industrial store house with barrels racked to the ceiling and head into a gorgeous tasting room. Fabulous Pinot noir and most of your tasting will be drinking other people’s wines. Cool food pairings as well.
If you can get into either, highly recommend it.
Posted on 5/27/25 at 10:38 am to SouthboundTiger
Definitely leave a day to drive out to the coast, just be aware, you’ll have zero cell coverage driving through the forest. A couple of great breweries and restaurants out there, and a trip to the Tillamook creamery is great. Pelican Brewing on Cannon Beach has better than average food and their own beer, and a million dollar view.
As for the valley, yes to having a driver, and yes to mostly smaller, family vineyards, although I almost always go to at least one of the big commercial outfits, and King Estates did a good tasting when we went. I wish I could remember one we drove to, it was way up in elevation and had the most beautiful view of the valley below and the owner walked out with us and pointed out various farms and other points of interest. And very good wine. If you like Pinot Nior and Gris, you are in for a very good time.
As for the valley, yes to having a driver, and yes to mostly smaller, family vineyards, although I almost always go to at least one of the big commercial outfits, and King Estates did a good tasting when we went. I wish I could remember one we drove to, it was way up in elevation and had the most beautiful view of the valley below and the owner walked out with us and pointed out various farms and other points of interest. And very good wine. If you like Pinot Nior and Gris, you are in for a very good time.
Posted on 5/28/25 at 4:32 am to Icansee4miles
Highly suggest you include Mt Hood and the coast as part of the trip. The drive to the lodge at MT Hood is 90 min max from Portland. The drive to the coast is 90 minutes max from Portland. You can spend a half day at Mt Hood, drive along the Columbia River back to Portland (stooping to see the waterfalls ) all in a single
Day without any problems. Dinner on the river that night. Drive to the coast the next day. Dinner that night on the ocean as the sunsets. Next day drive 30 minutes to McMinnville. Wine taste however long you like. The contrast in geography in that short distance (14000 ft to sea level ) is stunningly beautiful. Each stop had its own unique climate and geography. Each beautiful and unique on its own.
Day without any problems. Dinner on the river that night. Drive to the coast the next day. Dinner that night on the ocean as the sunsets. Next day drive 30 minutes to McMinnville. Wine taste however long you like. The contrast in geography in that short distance (14000 ft to sea level ) is stunningly beautiful. Each stop had its own unique climate and geography. Each beautiful and unique on its own.
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News