Oregon's stunning Willamette Valley produces wines that rival some of the greatest in Burgundy. These are the region's 5 best wineries to have an epic experience and enjoy world class wines.
You will be hard pressed to find somewhere more beautiful than Willamette Valley. Its rolling green hills and lush oak forests are dotted with orchards, farms and vineyards. Every time we revisit the valley we are stunned by how many phenomenal new producers there are. Because of this, it can be daunting to decide which places are the best to go tasting. Through our experiences we came to the conclusion that these 5 wineries are a must for anyone who wants to see the best that Willamette Valley has to offer.
Antica Terra
Winemaker Maggie Harrison is one of the most intriguing winemakers in America because of her wholly unique and unusual technique - making wine based on color rather than taste. This works because Maggie has grapheme-color synesthesia so letters and numbers are associated with color. As she tastes a wine from a numbered barrel she remembers it as a color. Her process is as such: she puts a splash of wine from every barrel into a glass and tastes them all to decide which color each barrel expresses. She remembers each barrel as a place on the color wheel and then decides which barrels will go into her two wines. Her first wine is the oceanic and blue Ceras which expresses more minerality and blue fruit, and the second is the floral and red Botanica which has notes of flowers like rose petal and orange blossom as well as red fruit.
We recommend getting the Collective Tasting - an exploration of 8 different wines from around the world as well as from Antica Terra, and small food pairings from their kitchen. The tasting is meant to showcase the wines that inspire Maggie, and can include wines ranging from Grand Cru Burgundy to wines made with unique, oft forgotten varietals. It is one of the best curated tasting experiences we have ever had. Highlights from the tasting were a 2012 Antica Terra Botanica and a Rabbit Liver Pâté with cherry and Antikythera glacé.
Tasting to Get: Collective Tasting ($125 per person)
Hours: Mon; Wed - Sun 9:00am - 4:00pm PT
Address: 979 SW Alder St, Dundee, OR 97115
Argyle
Argyle makes hands down the best sparkling in Willamette Valley and potentially the best in the country. There is a reason that their Extended Tirage sparkling wines are the highest rated of any outside of Champagne. Winemaker Nate Klostermann and his team are setting new standards for Sparkling Wine and at very affordable price points.
We think your first tasting of the day should be Argyle because there is no better way to start your day than with a crisp glass of sparkling wine! The best tasting is The Sparkling Experience during which you explore 8 different wines from their incredible sparkling collection. Our favorite was their 2011 Extended Tirage Brut - aged on lees for 10 years and disgorged when needed to ensure freshness. In fact, they still have some wine aging from 1987. The wine is nicely balanced with notes of toasted brioche, almond, green apple and honey, and is almost indistinguishable from a comparable Champagne.
Tasting to Get: The Sparkling Experience ($95 per person)
Hours: Mon - Thurs 11:00am - 5:00pm PT; Fri - Sun 10:00am - 5:00pm PT
Address: 691 Highway 99W Dundee, OR 97115
Bergström
This tasting is a quiet, intimate affair at John and Karen Bergström's former family home Ekollon (Swedish for Acorn), which is nestled in the Bergström estate vineyard. The home is a beautiful modern farmhouse and you will taste in either their dining room or the family room. In classic Burgundian style you will be guided through 3 or 4 of their acclaimed, terroir driven Pinot Noirs and end with a Chardonnay.
Their wines are all quite unique and perfectly express their different terroirs. The 2021 Le Spirale is perfume forward with notes of violet and lavender as well as blueberry and subtle fresh forest. The 2021 Le Pré du Col is herbaceous with lemongrass, oregano and rose notes along with cherry and mushroom. The 2020 Silice is slightly briny with lavender, anise and a variety of fruit notes such as cherry, strawberry, and raspberry. However, our favorite was the 2021 Sigrid Chardonnay - a very light yellow wine with lemon zest, honeydew, baking spice, subtle creaminess and just the right amount of acidity. In a lineup you would not be able to differentiate this astounding wine from a Grand Cru White Burgundy.
Tasting to Get: Private Wine Tasting ($80 per person)
Reservations via Email at Ekkolon@bergstromwines.com
Hours: Mon - Tues; Thurs - Sun 10:00am-3:00pm PT Address: 8115 NE Worden Hill Road Dundee, OR 97115
Domaine Serene
There is little doubt in our minds that this is the most gorgeous estate in Oregon and Serene is a fitting name for the spacious Spanish style hacienda perched atop the Dundee Hills, surrounded by vineyards and with panoramic views of the valley. We highly recommend doing the Signature Tour & Tasting Experience. You get to tour their seemingly never-ending production facility and witness the scope of their wine production. It is impressive to see how Domaine Serene has scaled their business and continues to produce world class wines. As you go through the facility, you learn the history of Domaine Serene and even get to see their old tasting room (now a members only lounge). If you're lucky, you might even catch the winemaker Michael Fay and his team taking a break right outside.
As for the wines, they will pop their highest end bottles along with some library wines to give you a look at their wide range of fantastic wines. Our favorite was the 2017 Aspect Dundee Hills Pinot Noir, a blend of the 3 estate vineyards. The wine is perfectly structured with firm tannins and has strong raspberry, strawberry and pepper notes and on the finish, baking spice and coconut. A stellar wine that will only get better with age.
Tasting to Get: Signature Tour and Tasting Experience ($400 for up to 4 people)
Hours: Daily from 11:00am - 4:00pm PT
Address: 6555 N.E. Hilltop Lane, Dayton, OR 97114
Lingua Franca
Master Sommelier Larry Stone purchased the prized Janzen Farm on December 31, 2012 and planted vines to start his Lingua Franca label. He partnered with legendary Burgundy producer Dominique Lafon of Domaine des Comtes Lafon and his protégé Thomas Savre, and together they create wines that perfectly express the unique terroir of Willamette Valley.
Their 2019 Mimi's Mind Pinot Noir for example has notes of tart raspberries, pepper, cherries, and dried herbs. It is well balanced with ripe cherry, raspberry, lavendar, pepper and baking spice, and smooth tannins and acidity that highlight how these wines are really meant to be aged. The tasting is conducted in their production facility so you can gain an in depth understanding of their production process. We recommend doing their Comparatif Experience in which they do a side by side of their best wines with comparable Burgundies - this best showcases the uniqueness of Oregon's terroir and the elegance of Lingua Franca's winemaking.
Tasting to Get: Comparatif Experience ($100 per person)
Hours: Daily from 11:00am - 3:00pm PT
Address: 9675 Hopewell Road NW, Salem, Oregon
Bonus: 00 Wines
We have yet another bonus here because you cannot technically taste at 00 Wines (Double Zero Wines). However, this is our favorite up and coming producer in the Valley, especially their Chardonnay. They make quite a wide range of Chardonnays such as their VGW, EGW and Freya Hermann Cuvée. These wines are all incredibly crisp and citrusy with a very slight creaminess to them. Each wine has its own unique minerality as well, which makes every one unique. Overall, these Chardonnays are unlike almost anything else produced in the new world - in a blind tasting there is no doubt we would have thought they were Chablis.
While they are known for their Chardonnay, their Pinot Noirs are world class as well - their 2021 Richard Hermann Cuvée Pinot Noir was just awarded 100 points by Jeb Dunnuck. The Richard Hermann Cuvée is a delicate and aromatic wine with notes of black raspberry, anise, lavender and salt. It has wonderful acid and structured tannins that give the impression that this wine will only get better with age.
If you would like to taste there, send us a note and we can try to set it up. But be forewarned, they typically only host tastings for purchasing appointments, which is quite a good prospect once you try their outstanding selection.
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