Tasting and Touring Northern Willamette Valley Wine Country

Day 4 - The Last Day

By Cole Danehower
For Oregon.com

The last day of our tour of the North Willamette Valley wine country wraps up a four-day splurge of wine tasting that has introduced us to some of America's premier wineries. You can choose to break up these four days into two different weekends, or you can bask in the luxury of an extra-long weekend extravaganza-whatever works best for you!

Our final day of tasting takes us north from our McMinnville base along Highway 47 out of Carlton (where we were tasting on our Day 3 tour), through Yamhill, and toward Gaston ... with Portland being our eventual destination at the end of the day.

Kramer Vineyards
Once you leave the small town of Yamhill going north on Highway 47, enjoy the views of rolling hillsides on your way to the town of Gaston. Turn left onto Olson Road just before entering Gaston and go approximately 3 miles until you reach Kramer Vineyards (call ahead to be sure they are open, see below).

This small, family owned winery has been open since 1990 producing solid examples of Oregon's favorite varietals: Pinot noir, Pinot gris, Riesling, Müller-Thurgau, Chardonnay and others. Do try the Pinot gris - Kramer's is an especially nice version of this popular grape - and take special note of the Pinot noirs from the great 2002 vintage.

Winemaker Trudy Kramer is justifiably proud of her wines, and the amiable setting provides a great welcome for the start of your tasting day. And, in all likelihood, the person serving you samples in the attractive tasting room will be a member of the family!

Elk Cove Vineyards
When you leave Kramer Vineyards, keep a sharp eye out for the Elk Cove Vineyards sign on your left. Take the road to your left and go up to the Elk Cove tasting room, set atop a beautiful knoll with expansive views of surrounding vineyards.

Elk Cove Vineyards is one of Oregon's oldest and best known wineries, producing a wide range of wines at a variety of price points. General Manager and winemaker Adam Godlee Campbell has amply stepped into the shoes of his father, who founded Elk Cove, and has taken the winery to new levels of quality. The large and attractive tasting room (with a magnificent mounted elk's head overseeing all) easily accommodates visiting groups and allows for everyone to have a taste.

Among the most popular of Elk Cove's wines are their Willamette Valley Pinot noir (an inexpensive and very tasty example of Oregon's signature varietal), the Willamette Valley Pinot gris (a crisply fruity and affordable example of Oregon's most popular white wine), and the limited edition Optima dessert wines (more expensive but incredibly delicious late-harvest sweet wines).

Of course, for the connoisseurs Elk Cove also offers a number of premium bottlings, some of which are among the finest of their kinds that you can buy anywhere. If these wines interest you, ask for the single-vineyard Pinot noirs (they may not be available to taste, but you're sure to be happy if you take home a bottle for the table). They include the Roosevelt, La Boheme and Windhill vineyard wines, and they are all exceptional examples of why this area of the U.S. is so famous for Pinot noir.

Montinore Estate
When you are ready to leave Elk Cove (if you can drag yourself away from the wines and the views) return to Highway 47 and continue north through Gaston toward Dilley. Look for signs to Montinore Estate (it is a left turn on Dilley Road) and follow them to this impressive and recently renovated winery.

Located on a 580-acre estate (of which 265-acres are vineyards), Montinore offers visitors a classic wine tour-and-tasting experience that reflects the best of Oregon's wine country. Gently swaying vineyards greet you as you drive into the winery area, flanked by beautifully maintained gardens.

The winery is a modern building geared toward wine production and visitor facilities, with tours offered on the weekends and by arrangement. The mansion is a restored 1905 home built by the original ranch owner ("Montinore" was named for "Montana-in-Oregon"), and a fitting crown to the impressive grounds.

Montinore is one of the few Oregon wineries that can boast a true Burgundian as their winemaker. Jacques Tardy combines his knowledge of Oregon with his experience in the family wine business in France to produce richly flavored Pinot noir wines that reflect well the soil in which they are grown. Each different Pinot noir release comes from a different part of the estate vineyards, providing a different taste sensation. A number of white wines offer additional interesting dry, off-dry and sweet versions of Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay and Müller-Thurgau.

Montinore is a great place to experiment with new tastes amidst one of the most bucolic settings in the Willamette Valley.

When ready, return to Highway 47 and head north. Eventually, we will be driving back into Portland, but before we get there you can consider visiting any one of three wineries located northwest of Forest Grove. This region is beautifully hilly with intermingled forest, field, and ranches ... with three wineries offering a variety of well-priced and easy-to-drink wines.

Touring Data

Kramer Vineyards 26830 NW Olson Road Gaston 503-662-4545 Call ahead for opening hours

Elk Cove Vineyards 27751 NW Olson Road Gaston 503-985-7760 Open daily, 10-5

Montinore Estate 3663 SW Dilley Road Forest Grove 503-359-5012 Open 11-5 daily, June-December; 11-5 weekends, January-May

David Hill Vineyards and Winery 46350 NW David Hill Road Forest Grove 503-992-8545 Open Noon-5 Tuesday-Sunday

Shafer Vineyard Cellars 6200 NW Gales Creek Road Forest Grove 503-357-6604 Open 11-5 daily except January

Tualatin Estate Vineyards 10850 NW Seavey Road Forest Grove 503-357-5005 Open Noon-5 weekends, March-December

David Hill Vineyards and Winery
When you reach Forest Grove, follow the signs for Highway 8 (also Gales Creek Road), going northwest toward an intersection with Highway 6. Turn left on Gales Creek Road, and then right on David Hill Road until you reach David Hill Vineyards and Winery.

David Hill was an early Oregon pioneer and the winery is named after him. Grapes were planted on the property as long ago as the 1880s, but the current wine grape vineyards were planted in modern times. Purchased in 1992 by the Stoyanov family, the historic house has been renovated and the vineyards reinvigorated.

A variety of white, red and sparkling wines are on offer at David Hill, and the beautiful setting is ideal for gaining the feeling of really being in wine country.

Shafer Vineyard Cellars
Making your way back to Gales Creek Road, you will find Shafer Vineyard Cellars about 4.5 miles west of Forest Grove. This quaint winery offers many different wines that will appeal to diverse tastes; you can sample them all in their friendly tasting room. You might also find something interesting to buy at Miki's Santa, Christmas Ornament and Wreath Shop at the winery.

Tualatin Estate Vineyards
One last winery stop is Tualatin Estate Vineyards, one of the oldest and most respected vineyard sites in the northern Willamette Valley. To get there, return to Gales Creek Road (Hwy. 8) and go north past the town of Gales Creek. Turn right on Seavey Road and follow the signs to the winery.

Tualatin Estate Vineyards was established in 1973 and is today part of the larger Willamette Valley Vineyards in Turner, just south of Salem. Tualatin's 145-acre vineyard produces Pinot noir, Pinot blanc, Chardonnay and Muscat. In fact, when you visit you simply must sample the Tualatin Estate Semi-Sparkling Muscat wine. This delightful, low alcohol wine is extremely popular and once you have tasted it you will be hard pressed to walk away without at least one bottle tucked under your arm.

When you have finished tasting at Tualatin Vineyards, you are now ready to return to our original starting point of this four-day tour: Portland. You can return to Highway 8 and Forest Grove, and then continue back into Portland.

Well, if you have followed our intensive wine touring suggestions, then you have certainly tasted some of the best wines being made in America today ... and I don't doubt you've had a great time doing it! If you find you've been bitten by the wine bug - and many who have toured our wine countries have - then there is still a great deal more of Oregon's wide world of wines waiting for your discovery!

To help you delve further into our fast-growing wine culture, I suggest you find yourself a copy of Wines of the Pacific Northwest, by Lisa Shara Hall ($40, Mitchell Beazley, publishers, 2001). This excellent volume will help you understand even more about the wines, wineries, and winemakers that you've just experienced.

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.