Leg 3: Oregon Wineries 

Our Pinot Noir Tasting in Oregon: Pinot Noir is King in Oregon, especially in Willamette Valley.  To acknowledge the uniqueness of the valley, 6 districts or AVA's are designated: Chehalem Mountain, Dundee Hills, Eola- Amity Hills, McMinnville, Ribbon Ridge and Yahhill-Carlton District. Our trip began in the Eola-Amity Hills district with a visit to Williamette Valley Vineyards. 

 Winery #10 Williamette Valley Vineyards In heart of the Eola-Hills AVA, Williamette Valley Vineyards was one of the larger Oregon Wineries we visited for our Pinot Noir tasting. Very nice vineyard, with good everyday drinking Pinot Noir. Wine Enthusiast rated their 2006 Williamette Valley Pinot Noir an 88, stating "a good value wine".  WVV has a nominal tasting fee of $10. We tasted the 2006 Williamette Valley Pinot Noir. The wine had hints of cherry and spice, a long with a medium body and a short finish. Nothing too exceptional, just a good everyday drinking Pinot Noir. None the less we still bought a bottle which we proceeded to drink and fininsh in our hotel room. 

Winery#11 Archery Summit. Most definitely the highlight of our winery trip to Oregon. Located in the Dundee Hills district Archery Summit produces world-class PInot Noir. We had a great Pinot Noir tasting of some spectacular wines which included  Archery Summit Estate, Arcus Estate,Red Hill Estate, Premier Cuvee and their Renegrade Estate wines.  The Pinot Noir tasting was not cheap, but if you like Pinot, it's worth it. The wines are not cheap either, so it pays to shop around if you are buying them retail.

I fell in love with the Red Hill Estate 2005. Deep garnet color with aromas of black cherry and vanilla fill your nostrils. Very juicy and succulent with a beautiful integration of tannin and a nice long finish. Very fruit foward..a true 'fruit bomb" . If you like fruit, this is your Pinot. Wine Spectator has consistently rated their wines "outstanding'. I bought a bottle of the 2005 Archery Summit Cherr Hill Estates and will save it for a perfect occassion.

Winery# 12 De Ponte Cellars Located in Dundee Hills AVA amother great winery, though not as well known as Archery Summit. They produce some fine Pinot, resonably priced. Wine maker Isabelle Dutarte comes from Archery Summit has been producing several fine wines for De Ponte Cellars for sometime now. My everyday favorite is thier lower priced label Clay Hill Pinot Noir 2005. Surpringly fruity, balnced and easy drinking for simple cooking fare. 

 Winery #13 Van Duzer Vineyards A nice not so known vineyard in the Eola-Hills AVA of Williamette Valley. Van Duzer has some nice Pinot Gris, also known as Pinot Grigio,but honestly I'm not a big Pinot Grigio fan so I came for the Pinot Noir and tasted a nice little flight of some easy drinking Pinot Noir. Their entry level Pinot Noir-if you can call it entry level was the 2006 Vinters Cuvee Pinot Noir which is a blend of 6 Pinot Noir clones aged briefly in oak barrels. Very easy drinking with a medium body; reasonably priced at $20. Their 2005 Estate Pinot Noir is a little bit more complex, with a deep red color, complex nose  of berry  and tobacco with sublte hints of lavendar along with a nice long, creamy fininsh. A little bit more costly at $30 per bottle. As stated in my wine  blog I had a surprise tasting of Cabernet Sauvignon at the vineyard made especially for the Thoma Family, the owners of Van Duzer Winery. I liked it so much I bought a bottle.

 Winery 14 ;Maysara Winery-Small bio-dynamic winery in the McMinnville AVA of the Williamette Valley. It seems that bio-dynamic is very "in" now especially in the wine growing industry and Maysara prides itself on it. Bio-dynamic means  special care is given  not introduce harsh chemicals and pesticides into the earth and atmosphere when growing and harvesting the grapes. They even use screw on caps, which I still find hard to get used to! As far as the wine went, not bad, not great. Just not my personal stlye for Pinot Noir. Try to find some of their wine and see what you think. Maysara is hard to find in NJ, so maybe you'll have better luck than me.

Napa Wineries

Sonoma Wineries

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