Tasting and Touring Northern Willamette Valley Wine Country

Day 3

By Cole Danehower
For Oregon.com

As we've seen on Days 1 and 2, two days in the McMinnville/Newberg wine area can be easily filled with winery visits and good eating between winery visits. But there's still much more nearby wine country ripe for the tourist picking. So let's see what we can do with a third day!

The Yamhill County region northeast of McMinnville, up through the small towns of Carlton, Yamhill and Gaston, is home to another range of wineries offering compelling touring options. Presuming you are using McMinnville as your base, a profitable touring day can begin by driving north out of town on Highway 99 to the left-lane intersection of Highway 47, then continuing north to the town of Carlton.

The Tasting Room in Carlton
Once in Carlton, you will benefit mightily if you stop in town and visit The Tasting Room in Carlton. The intriguing premise of this unique wine shop (housed in an old bank building on the corner of Main Street and Highway 47) is that they allow you to sample wines from wineries that don't have their own tasting rooms.

One of the unfortunately frustrating aspects of Oregon's wine country is the fact that many of the best-known producers aren't generally open to the public. Nearby to Carlton and McMinnville are some of Oregon's most famous wineries, yet many of them welcome visitors only on Thanksgiving and Memorial Day weekends (examples include Ken Wright Cellars, Beaux Frères, Patricia Green Cellars, Brick House Vineyard, Domaine Serene and The Eyrie Vineyard).

Seeing a market opportunity in this circumstance, Jay McDonald opened The Tasting Room in Carlton to provide visitors with an opportunity to sample wine from these prestigious wineries. On any given business day Jay or his assistants will have available for tasting a range of small-production, high-quality wines - particularly Pinot noir - that you normally cannot get a chance to taste without buying a whole bottle.

Jay does charge a tasting fee, primarily because of the expense of the bottles (which, after all, he has to obtain from the wineries themselves), but it is a cheap price to pay for the quality and rarity of wines he offers for you to sample. And remember: You can't go to the winery to taste these wines!

Jay himself is a font of local knowledge and you would do well to ask him what is new or "happening" in the wine country. He often will be able to direct you to a new winery that has just opened or a new tasting opportunity. And if you have any other questions on wine, winemakers or wineries, Jay is an authoritative and entertaining source of answers.

When you leave The Tasting Room in Carlton, follow Main Street to Highway 47 heading north toward Yamhill. Immediately outside of Carlton, keep an eye out for the signs on your left indicating two important destinations: Cuneo Cellars and The Carlton Winemakers Studio.

Cuneo Cellars
Cuneo Cellars is a new winery just off of Highway 47 in Carlton that specializes in all things red. They don't make white wine - owner and winemaker Gino Cuneo simply likes red wine better! In addition to the requisite Oregon pinot noir, Cuneo has gone to both Southern Oregon and Washington State to source high quality grapes for a broad range of red wines, including Syrah, Sangiovese, Nebbiolo and some superb Bordeaux-style blends.

In particular, the "Cana's Feast" designation on a Cuneo wine is worth checking out. Reserved for their best cuvées, these wines are invariably smooth, elegant, and richly flavored. It is still relatively unusual in the Pinot noir-laden Willamette Valley to be able to sample high-quality non-Pinot noir red wines (though this is beginning to change), but Cuneo Cellars is proving that northern Oregon winemakers can produce outstanding non-Pinot reds!

Carlton Winemakers Studio
When you are finished at Cuneo, turn right and go down to the Carlton Winemakers Studio, just down the road. This unique concept is the brainchild of Eric Hamacher, a young winemaker who has established an enviable reputation for the quality of his Pinot noirs and Chardonnays under the Hamacher Wines label.

Eric designed and found financial support for the construction of an ecologically "green" winery facility that could lease space to multiple wineries at once. Each winery has space for fermenters and barrel aging, and the "in-residence" wineries can share a tasting room for retail sales. It is well worth a visit.

While the individual wineries sometimes change, what Hamacher has been able to successfully do is attract a series of quality-focused boutique winemakers who call the Studio their home. As of this writing, eight different wineries were in residence. And while you should taste all that is available, I'll draw your attention to a few special names that are currently resident.

The Penner-Ash label is a new endeavor from long-time Oregon winemaker Lynn Penner-Ash. Her Pinot noirs are consistently among the finest made in Oregon, and a new release of her Syrah has proven to be equally good. Another fine Pinot-maker is Scott Paul Wright, whose eponymous label is housed here and whose wines should not be missed. Andrew Rich's wines come in all styles (from solid Pinot noir to superb late harvest Gewurztraminer) and are very well priced. Finally, Domaine Meriwether offers finely crafted sparkling wines, still a rarity in this area, despite its suitability for sparkling production.

Touring Data

The Tasting Room in Carlton 105 West Main St. Carlton 503-852-6733

Cuneo Cellars 750 Lincoln St. Carlton 503-852-0002 Open 12-5 and by appointment, April-December, Closed January-March

The Carlton Winemakers Studio 801 N. Scott St. Carlton 503-852-6100 Call for opening hours

WillaKenzie Estate 19143 NE Laughlin Road Yamhill 503-662-3280 Open 12-5, Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Adelsheim Vineyards 16800 NE Calkins Lane Newberg 503-538-3652 Open by appointment-call ahead

Panther Creek Cellars 455 Irvine Street McMinnville 503-472-8080

When finished at The Studio, go back to Highway 47 and turn left heading toward Yamhill. When you arrive in Yamhill, look for the Highway 240 turnoff to the right, in the center of town. Follow Highway 240 toward Newberg. Look for Laughlin Road, turn left and follow the signs to WillaKenzie Estate.

WillaKenzie Estate
WillaKenzie Estate (named for the type of soils in the vineyard) is the shared passion of Bernie and Ronnie Lacroute, who founded the winery in 1992. With a focus on organic and sustainable agriculture, WillaKenize has earned a strong reputation for elegant and spicy Pinot noirs and one of the most consistently luscious Pinot gris wines made anywhere.

The delightfully big and bright tasting room is a great place to view the vineyards and taste the wines they produce. If tours of the winery are being offered, be sure to take one - it is a great exposure to how one of Oregon's larger wineries (though still quite small on a "California" winery scale) operates. There are also ample grounds for a picnic.

The last two wineries we'll visit require advance appointments, so it will pay to do so some planning. Call ahead a few days before you plan to visit.

Adelsheim Vineyard
When you leave WillaKenzie, turn left on Laughlin Road and go to North Valley Road. Turn right and continue toward Newberg until you get to Calkins Lane, where you will turn left. Turn right into Adelsheim Vineyard.

David Adelsheim is one of the most important figures in Oregon's wine community. He has helped elevate the overall quality of Oregon wines through both his own winemaking, and his passion to bring to Oregon's vineyards the best wine grape varieties. A visit to his modern winery is a treat. You will be able to view the large fermenting tanks from an overhead walkway, and walk down to the cellar rooms where barrel upon barrel of great wines are silently aging.

The highlight of the tour - naturally - is the tasting that is offered (There is a small fee. Pay it gladly, it will be well worth your dollars.). Here you can sample a range of wines from great Pinot noir to one of the finest Chardonnays made on the West Coast. Take some time to linger, ask questions of your tour guide, and pay attention to the wine in your glass . . . some of the best in Oregon.

When you are finished, it's time to head back to McMinnville for the evening . . . but not before stopping at one last winery.

Panther Creek Cellars
Located just a few blocks off the main part of town, Panther Creek Cellars is one of the great names in Oregon's Pinot noir heritage. Owned by Ron and Linda Kaplan, Panther Creek's reputation is for big, spicy and character-rich Pinot noirs made from a variety of Oregon's finest vineyards.

Located inside a wonderful old building with tall glass windows, Panther Creek Cellars offers an intimate look at a craft-style winery. There'll be no fancy tasting room with gorgeous views here; rather, you'll get a real hands-on look at a working winery with samples taken right from the barrel. Winemaker Michael Stevenson, an affable and outspoken fellow who nimbly climbs barrel racks to obtain samples, talks knowledgeably about each of the vineyards he uses to make his wines.

So swirl, sniff and sip your wine. Take a moment to reflect on all the different tastes and styles you've sampled so far. Oregon is a treasure trove of great winemaking, and even though you've been treated to some of the best, you've only just begun to scratch the surface of our winemaking heritage.

Cole Danehower publishes the Oregon Wine Report, writes for Northwest Palate magazine, and is a member of the Oregon Wine Advisory Board. He can be contacted at cole@harborside.com.