Cole Danehower Oregon Wine Report


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The raw stuff! Michael Etzel, wet from the rain, taste tests the first batch of his 2001 vintage, straight from the fermenter.

Ken Wright joins a gang of volunteers on the sorting line, pulling out anything that would harm the integrity of the fruit that goes into the fermenter.

November 2001
by Cole Danehower
Oregon Wine Report

Giving Thanks for Oregon Wine

The biggest wine weekend on the Oregon calendar is the two or three days after Thanksgiving. On these special days two wonderful things coincide: the release of many wines from the previous vintage, and the once-or-twice-a-year opening of many of the region's most highly reputed but-hard-to-visit wineries to sample barrels from this year's vintage. The result is a vinous experience anyone would be thankful for!

Planning your visits on this mother of all Oregon wine weekends can be difficult, but well worth any wine lover's effort. For your 2001 planning, here are some suggestions.*

Timing is Everything

With so many wineries to visit and so little time to do it in, prioritizing your itinerary is important.

You should begin by determining which are the most critical wineries for you to visit. Perhaps you have a particularly favorite wine and you want to be sure to taste the barrel samples from this vintage, and maybe purchase some on a futures basis. Well, then you'd best plan to start your first day with that winery, because if you leave your visit until later in the day you may miss out on the opportunity to sample and purchase.

In fact, I'd ignore the usual practice of logical trip routing in favor of going first to those few "best wineries" you really want to visit---no matter where they are. Last year I put off going to a favorite winery because it seemed easier to visit a conveniently nearby group of others. Unfortunately, when I arrived at that favorite, I found I had missed by 10 minutes the chance to buy futures of the single wine I had most wanted!

This is especially good advice if there is a winery that you've always wanted to visit, but haven't been able to because they aren't normally open (like, for instance, Brick House, or Beaux Freres), you should schedule them as early as possible. That's because many others like you will also want to visit, and later in the day it is likely to be more crowded. Plus, the winery staff get tired and you won't have the same chance to chat as you will when they are fresher.

Crowds? What crowds?

OK, let's deal with this question right now: sure, it gets crowded over Thanksgiving weekend. But "crowd" is a relative term.

Take last year's experience as an example. Perhaps the most visited winery of the weekend was the open-for-the-first time Lemelson winery outside of Carlton. This impressive new facility was jam-packed with people trying to politely jostle themselves closer to the barrel samples. Even so, everyone was tolerant and friendly, and if you were just a little patient, it was a relatively simple matter to sidle your way up to the tables for samples.

If you had been in Napa or Sonoma, you'd probably have a 30-minute wait just to get into the parking lot of the most popular wineries. Here in Oregon, our crowds are more sedate. In the Willamette Valley---and even more so, in the Umpqua Valley, or the Rogue Valley---you will never experience the kind of bone-crushing tasting-room masses our friends to the south have become famous for.

Don't Drink and Drive!

OK, so the point of the Thanksgiving open houses is for you to sample the wine, but you should always exercise the utmost in caution and prudence when driving around the wine country. If you plan to taste, designate a driver who will not be sampling. Or, at minimum, spit your tastes in order to conserve both your blood alcohol and your palate.

Remember that the wine country is a rural area, and many wineries are located in small towns or loosely spaced neighborhoods. Always drive cautiously and slowly and you shouldn't get into trouble. Take plenty of breaks between winery visits, and bring along some food in the car to supplement what the wineries will have available.

Recommendations

If the prospect of so many wineries has you befuddled, here are some highly personal suggestions for this year's Thanksgiving Wine Weekend. Of course, these are just suggestions. I know you'll have a great time visiting any of Oregon's wonderful wineries.

Rarest Visiting Treat:
For the first time, Domaine Drouhin (503-864-2700) will be open to the public. This famous winery, owned by the French negociant Maison Joseph Drouhin, has never been open to the general public before. Take advantage, and go visit this beautiful winery and sample their outstanding wines.

Most Spectacular Winery:
Unquestionably the new Domaine Serene Winery (503-852-7777) is the most elegant (and biggest) winery in the Willamette Valley, if not the state (King Estate may be bigger, but I am not sure). Though the tremendously impressive winery will not normally be open to the public, it will be on this weekend. It should be a must-see for anyone interested in wine . . . but expect huge crowds!

Greatest "Old World" Charm:
Nothing beats Brick House (18200 Lewis Rogers Lane, Newberg, 503-538-5136) for giving you the feeling of a tiny Burgundian vigneron right here in Oregon. Owner Doug Tunnell can usually be found in the wonderful old barn/winery building dolling out barrel samples of his superb wines. The view is gorgeous and the ambiance nothing but authentic.

Best Chance to Taste Wines
You Usually Can't Find:
This is a tie between Ken Wright Cellars (503-852-7070) and Beaux Freres (15155 NE North Valley Rd, Newberg, 503-537-1137). Both wineries make great wines, both wineries are normally closed to the public, and both wineries normally sell out so fast that you'd better get there early to reserve your wines (and, I repeat, get there early to beat the crowds!)

Best Visiting Experience:
It is hard to beat Archery Summit (18599 NE Archery Summit Rd., Dayton, 503-864-4300) for the peak of wine/food/music combinations on these open house weekends. Though costly and crowded, you get the chance to sample some of the best (and costliest) Pinot noirs in Oregon (or the whole New World, for that matter!), and one of the tastiest food spreads in the Valley.

Best Family Winery:
Walk into the converted car dealership that is now the Broadley Vineyards (265 S 5th, Monroe, 541-847-5934) winery and you'll be greeted by either Craig, Claudia, Morgan (he'll be the one with the baby-in-the-backpack), or Jessica Broadley. It's a bit of a drive, but well worth it for the wines and the family charm . . . and the relative lack of crowds since too few people know of the Broadley's outstanding wines.

Best Winery View:
It is hard to beat the king-of-the-mountain location of King Estate (80854 Territorial Rd., Eugene, 541-942-9874). If the weather is clear you can see the Three Sisters off in the distance, and the uninterrupted views of vineyards and rolling rurality is breathtaking.

*Keep in mind that Memorial Day is the other wine-weekend of note in Oregon, and all my suggestions for Thanksgiving Day work equally as well for Memorial Day.