re: Wine Trip

We've been to Napa (10 years ago) and Willamette (2 years ago). Both kind of far away (not sure where you live) so a "long weekend", in my opinion, is too short.
So much to see and do around those areas besides wine, but that's another story.

Personally, I also prefer Oregon wines (Pinot Noirs for me, Pinot Grigio for my wife) to the bold Cabs of Napa, but to each his own.

I had no idea that Willamette had just as many wineries as Napa. They are all a bit more spread out though, but all the little towns have interesting B&B's, restaurants, bars, tasting rooms. I would recommend staying in McMinnville, kind of central to Willamette (and home to one of the greatest aviation museums you'll ever see--on par with the Smithsonian and home to Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose).

We always say when we go back we'll go back to Willamette.

Here's an article from an Oregon paper on how Willamette's been affected, and I'm sure Napa's similar. Hopefully better by next spring. LINK