Oregon Help PLEEZE

Looks like we'll be doing an Oregon trip this summer and it looks like I'll have 3 or perhaps 4 days ( is this enuf time?) to poke around the McMinnville/Willamette Area...our scheule is flexible. I would appreciate any winery and/or restaurant suggestions.

Any other touristy stuff I should consider as I really don't want to spend all my time in tasting rooms?

Anything on the coast worthdoing/seeing?

TIA,
'Winger

My take might be a bit dated, as I had my visit to Portland and the surrounding environs in 2005. That said, I was fascinated by the contrasts between the approaches to pinot noir at Archery Summit and their neighbor Domaine Drouhin and I liked the sparklers at Argyle. If the weather is nice, dining al fresco at the Dundee Bistro is an experience--good food, good service, good rest stop when I stopped there for lunch. If you go into Portland, I loved dinner at Paley's Place--stunning quality of ingredients and presentation and dining on the porch makes it feel like you are visiting someone's home for dinner. It was quite charming when I went--I hope it still is. And don't forget the proverbial stopping and smelling at the Portland Rose Garden.

Because we're cheap, we always stay at the Safari Inn in McMinnville. Clean and pleasant. No special amenities. The airplane museum in McMinnville has the Spruce Goose - in fact was basically built around it. Quite a sight to see. I can come back later with winery ideas. All by itself the coast is worth seeing.

Wineries:
Cristom, St. Innocent, Dom. Drouhin, Chehalem, Scott Paul, Hammacher

Carlton Tasting Room for the smaller fish

Food:
Dundee Bistro for lunch
Joel Palmer House for dinner

Mark Lipton

A genuine thanks Keith, Laura,Mark and the person who sent me a PM for the great/helpful suggestions.
It is hard to believe that only 3 or 4 people here have any experience with Oregon...Frankly, I had hoped/expected a few more people to chime in as it not as if I was requesting travel to Tuie or someplace not relevant to a wine "community". Oh well.

[Jenise]

Bill, I definitely have some suggestions for you based on two quick trips I made down there last Oct and Nov, just haven't had any extra time this week. I'll be more help next week.

Torii Mor and Lange tasting rooms are next to each other and have the advantage of beautiful view from the Dundee Hills as well as well made Pinot Noirs. I second the Dundee Bistro for lunch. It includes the Ponzi wine bar (which is not limited to their own wines although I enjoyed the Ponzi Pinot Blanc with lunch.)
I visited Argyle, Chehalem, Archery Summit, Drouhin, and some others I'm forgetting in 2005. I did not get to St. Innocent. I did visit the Carlton Tasting Room but friends who have been there twice were more enthusiastic about Oregon Wine Tasting Room in McMinnville. They highly recommend Joe Dobbes (reasonably priced too), Penner-Ash (beautiful facility) and mention that Scott Paul is importing some Burgundy so their tasting included Burgundies along with his own wines. My Portland standout dinner was at Hurley's and I also enjoyed the more casual atmosphere at Noble Rot Restaurant in Portland. I didn't have time for the coastline but would love to spend a few days at a resort on the coast.

[quote="Redwinger"]A genuine thanks Keith, Laura,Mark and the person who sent me a PM for the great/helpful suggestions.
It is hard to believe that only 3 or 4 people here have any experience with Oregon...Frankly, I had hoped/expected a few more people to chime in as it not as if I was requesting travel to Tuie or someplace not relevant to a wine "community". Oh well.[/quote]

Been busy - gimmie a minute, will ya?

I live 6 miles from McMinnville.

http://www.obarestaurant.com/new/indexMaster.html - this is where you should plan to have a great meal.

[Jenise]

Winger,

Finally remembered the name of the place I in particular wanted to mention to you: The Horse Radish Cafe in Carlton. Relatively new, I think it had only been open about 4-5 months when we stumbled across it in October, they feature five or six good wines per day made by small producers (under 500 cases generally) who don't otherwise have representation. Generous tastes are only $1 and forgiven if you buy. As well, they offer a great selection of local cheeses, and if a lunch of good bread, cheese, salumi, olives, etc is your idea of nirvana, as it is mine, this is where you stop for a midday meal. And absolutely do not resist their amazing chicken salad--it's to DIE for. It's in the heart of Carlton's tiny downtown. If you arrive into town on the road that brings you in from McMinneville, go to the stop sign (just past Scott Paul) and turn left, it's half a block down on the right. I echo Mark's recco on Scott Paul, btw. Wasn't so happy with the Studio--the wines weren't very good the day I was there so we paid too much ($15, I think) for what we got, and it was a zoo to boot.

Be prepared to pay for tastings. A lot of producers here are charging quite a bit. Domaine Serene charges (a nonforgivable) $15. Lemelson, Archery Summit and a few others charge even more.

The Ponzi tasting room's VERY good, so is the bistro. Best discovery of our trip there in October: Dobbes Family Winery, right on the main drag in Dundee. Exceptionally spicey and complex pinots and syrahs. Works the same magic on his whites, too.
I think the fee here was also $10, but that disappears if you buy.

Best tasting room in the area, though, by far, is the Oregon Wine Tasting Room. Basically a wine store presided over by one Patrick, who has been doing this for like 20 years, tastes are $1 and forgiven. Patrick will have a bunch of wines open and he'll open more bottles to prove various points you may discuss during your visit. It's 20 or so gorgeous mniles out of town going west toward the coast (on hwy 99 in Amityville across from the worthwhile-stop Lawrence Gallery), and well worth the trip. And Patrick sells his good array of inventory at just 25 cents over what the wineries charge.

Jenise, the city is not that horrible - it's Amity, not "Amityville."

And it's McMinnville (no middle "e.")

I had a message ready for recommendations. And, then to my amazement, discovered I cannot edit, delete or post an attachment in this forum.

Good meals at Tina's in Newberg, for French Bistro Maison in McMinnville and for Italian, Nick's Cafe in McMinnville (also have great jazz there sometimes) - a bunch of winemakers hang out here.

While you're in Carlton go to Tyrus Evan - Ken Wright's joint and across the street is "The Tasting Room." Very pleasant folks there - and you can taste from several wineries.

In McMinnville right off the main drag (3rd St - believe it or not) is an area known as the "Pinot Quarter" - 8 or 9 wineries clustered in a few block area. Panther Creek was the first of these established.

Domaine Serene and Domaine Drouhin (right across the road from each other) are both worth the trip despite what tasting fees they charge. Lemelson is also well worth whatever they are charging now. (I don't know fees at some of these places as we belong to several of their "clubs" -means we get wines from them at regular intervals and don't pay for any special tasting events, meals etc - oh, and we can always bring another couple, too.)

If I can get fixed up here in this forum I have more for you later.

(Pretty good cheeseburger at Alf's as you head out of McMinnville toward Amity.)

These recommendations are great...keep 'em coming folks!
Thanks,
Bill

[Jenise]

In McMinnville right off the main drag (3rd St - believe it or not) is an area known as the "Pinot Quarter" - 8 or 9 wineries clustered in a few block area. Panther Creek was the first of these established.

Domaine Serene and Domaine Drouhin (right across the road from each other) are both worth the trip despite what tasting fees they charge. Lemelson is also well worth whatever they are charging now. (I don't know fees at some of these places as we belong to several of their "clubs" -means we get wines from them at regular intervals and don't pay for any special tasting events, meals etc - oh, and we can always bring another couple, too.)

If I can get fixed up here in this forum I have more for you later.

Also in the "Pinot Quarter" area is, if you get tired of wine and are into beer, an excellent brewery. Terrific beer and decent pub food. Buy a glass or get a sampler of small pours served on a wine cask stave.

I'll 2nd Joseph's reccomendation for all three restaurants. I especially love Nick's because it's both so good and so original-quirky. A five course meal in which you get to choose all five courses runs about $40 each. Great wine list. In nice weather, for a place to sit at sunset? Go to the top of the McMennamin's Hotel right next door to Nick's. And if you want a baguette to take wine tasting with you (helps scrub your palate), an excellent bakery is around the other side of McMennamin's, on the side street.

[Jenise]

Oh, and Joseph? We've had a hard time figuring out what's giving you the trouble you've been having, but we found something that might be causing it yesterday and flipped another switch--let me know if you still have problems.

An excellent bakery is around the other side of McMennamin's, on the side street.

Red Fox. Love it.

Okay, Jenise. Let me look around and see if I can do anything now.

Oh, and Joseph? We've had a hard time figuring out what's giving you the trouble you've been having, but we found something that might be causing it yesterday and flipped another switch--let me know if you still have problems.

Okay, here's the deal (if you can't fix it, I can live with it) - when I log on I can see all the fora except Friends and Fun. If I want to go there I click on one of the other fora and then use the little "Jump to" box on the lower right of the screen. And I still have limited capabilities in some of the fora - mostly in "attachment" restriction.

[Jenise]

Oh, and Joseph? We've had a hard time figuring out what's giving you the trouble you've been having, but we found something that might be causing it yesterday and flipped another switch--let me know if you still have problems.

Okay, here's the deal (if you can't fix it, I can live with it) - when I log on I can see all the fora except Friends and Fun. If I want to go there I click on one of the other fora and then use the little "Jump to" box on the lower right of the screen. And I still have limited capabilities in some of the fora - mostly in "attachment" restriction.

So strange! We really don't understand what's causing this, but our techie person has seen your post here and will look into it as soon as time allows (like maybe not tonight, but tomorrow).

So strange! We really don't understand what's causing this, but our techie person has seen your post here and will look into it as soon as time allows (like maybe not tonight, but tomorrow).

It's all fixed.

[Jenise]

It's all fixed.

Great!

Had errands to run in Yamhill and Carlton today. Spent an hour or so at The Horse Radish. Ate some good cheeses (two Oregon blues and a Brie de Meaux) and good salume. Had a few pinots.

Spent about a half hour with Sabra, the owner, (no, Stuart, she's not from Israel and it's "Saybra.")

Anyway by summer they'll have the back patio open and it has a view of Ken Wright's joint.

Good local artists on the walls. too.

Did you sit on the blue couch, Jenise? I like the blue couch.

Did you sit on the blue couch, Jenise? I like the blue couch.

I like the idea of The Blue Couch.

[Jenise]

Had errands to run in Yamhill and Carlton today. Spent an hour or so at The Horse Radish. Ate some good cheeses (two Oregon blues and a Brie de Meaux) and good salume. Had a few pinots.

Spent about a half hour with Sabra, the owner, (no, Stuart, she's not from Israel and it's "Saybra.")

Anyway by summer they'll have the back patio open and it has a view of Ken Wright's joint.

Good local artists on the walls. too.

Did you sit on the blue couch, Jenise? I like the blue couch.

Yes. And just about every stool in the joint, too. Sabra's great. But everybody in there was, including the other patrons. In fact, so well did I get along that when we went stopped in about six weeks later on our way back from somewhere else, they recognized me and greeted me like family. My kind of place. Next time try the chicken salad. Mind you: I hate chicken salad. Their's is a revelation. No mayo, for one.

It will be a definite stop if I get to Oregon again. Maybe in 2010?

Had errands to run in Yamhill and Carlton today. Spent an hour or so at The Horse Radish. Ate some good cheeses (two Oregon blues and a Brie de Meaux) and good salume. Had a few pinots.

Spent about a half hour with Sabra, the owner, (no, Stuart, she's not from Israel and it's "Saybra.")

Anyway by summer they'll have the back patio open and it has a view of Ken Wright's joint.

Good local artists on the walls. too.

Did you sit on the blue couch, Jenise? I like the blue couch.

Yes. And just about every stool in the joint, too. Sabra's great. But everybody in there was, including the other patrons. In fact, so well did I get along that when we went stopped in about six weeks later on our way back from somewhere else, they recognized me and greeted me like family. My kind of place. Next time try the chicken salad. Mind you: I hate chicken salad. Their's is a revelation. No mayo, for one.

I'll try it (although I like mayo) - if nothing else it'll be saved by the Red Fox baguette.