It is Willamette Dammit!

Willamette Valley Oregon is one of the absolute best wine regions in the entire world. They produce some of the most world class Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and (finally) Chardonnay not only in the US, but in the world. Willamette wine producers and workers are also some of the friendliest and most accommodating folks that you will ever encounter in wine country. They really know their stuff, and love sharing the wonders of Willamette wines. And the beauty of Willamette Valley vineyards and countryside may arguably be the prettiest wine country overall in the US.

But don’t pronounce Willamette “will-a-meat”, or “will-a-met” or anything else. You will be corrected immediately by the locals…

“It is pronounced Will-am-it, just like Dammit!”

My lovely bride and I had a Wedding Anniversary coming up, and we decided we wanted to go to wine country…yah shocker huh? We know Napa Valley and Sonoma Valley like the back of our hands because we visit often. We know the best areas to taste, we know where to eat, we know that if we are not done tasting wine at 5:00 in Sonoma Valley we can go to Girard and their tasting room is open until 7-PM. In other words we love the familiarity, and it is like our second home to some extent. But sadly we had never been to Oregon Wine Country before and we were seeking a new adventure.

I get the opportunity to attend many really cool and informative wine events and tastings events as they come through the  Dallas/Fort Worth area. This was the case when  “Pinot In The City – Willamette Valley Wine” came to town last year, and decided almost immediately that Willamette Valley, Oregon would be my next wine country destination!

We flew into Portland, rented a car at the airport and headed South. Portland is a city that I definitely want to spend some time soon. Hipsters, coffee houses, microbreweries, great food, and a really cool vibe in the city. But we had wine country waiting for us, SO ROLL ON THROUGH!

VIDON VINEYARDS

Our fist visit was with Vidon Vineyards (Vee-Dohn) outside of Newberg. We had an early 9:00 Am appointment with the proprietor Don Hagge.  We drove through the simple entrance, through the beautiful vineyards, and around the house overlooking the vineyards to the small production facilities just beyond the home. We noticed a sign that read “Tasting Room” and we looked around, but no one came out to meet us. But I heard a John Deere Gator coming towards me between the vines, and here comes an older gentleman with a full head of white hair. We introduced ourselves, and I soon learned more about Don Hagge and what drives this amazing man.  As I discovered he is very hands-on and spends a lot of time attending to his vines. We also discovered even at his advanced age he really is a One Man Show for the most part! To say Don Hagge is an amazing would be a gross understatement.

Don Hagge was Chief Astrophysicist at Nasa Space Program from 1964-1970, assisting with Apollo, Saturn 1, and Explorer programs

 

Have you ever actually met a Rocket Scientist before? Well I have now, and I love this man! He took a shinning to my wife Margie too It seems… as I turned my back for a moment and he put her on the Gator as he weaved through the vineyards collecting Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Voignier grapes for her simply because she asked what they tasted like before crushing. What a charming man, and he just makes you feel better about yourself for knowing him!

After he retired from NASA he enjoyed several ventures. In 1999 at the ripe age of 69 Don decided he wanted to become a Winemaker. So he bought land in Oregon’s Chehalem Mountain AVA in Willamette Valley, cleared the land and planted vines. He built his home on the property in 2003. And he has never looked back. At 85 years young Don is still sharp as a tack and full of energy!

 

Wine production is onsite and current  production is about 2000 cases of 100% Estate-Grown wines. His Pinot Noir is produced from 5 different clones. He also produces Tempranillo and Syrah. White wines include a damn good Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Viognier, and the favorite for my wife Margie ; Rose from Pinot Noir!

 

 

 

If you are in Willamette stop by Vidon Vineyards.  Visit with Don Hagge and taste his great wines. You will thank me.

ALLORO VINEYARDS

After a trip back to Newberg for lunch, we were off to our next appointment Alloro Vineyards. Alloro is a very stunning property that is immaculately landscaped and reminiscent of Vineyards and wineries in Tuscany, Italy. Landscaping was absolutely beautiful, and the grounds were magnificent but not ostentatious in the least. In fact, the property is very welcoming and comfortable for guests. Just off of the tasting room is a picnic area for patrons so they can sit with a glass of wine and breath in the wonderful scenery. Margie immediately grabbed a glass of  2014 Estate Pinot Noir, plopped herself  in a chair on the patio, and watched the hawks fly over the perfect rows of grapevines. She was in heaven, or actually Willamette Dammit. And while she loves good wine and definitely can tell the difference between a good and not so good wine; she couldn’t care less about all the details and nuances of how it was actually produced. Me on the other hand… Well I am a wine geek. So I met and chatted with Winemaker Tom Fitzpatrick.

Alloro Vineyards was originally planted in 1999, and the 34-acre vineyard is devoted to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Riesling, and Muscat on Laurel Ridge in the Chehalem Mountains AVA, Willamette Valley. The production facilities and winery are on site to improve processing from vines to crush in a very short time, and is powered by Solar. An incredible gravity flow design  in the production buildings gently moves the wine from crush pad, through fermentation and then barrels in the  underground cave! Production is around 2500 cases per year.

UC Davis educated and trained in Burgundy, Winemaker Tom Fitzpatrick explained the terroir is paramount to making wines from the vineyards of Alloro.  The soil, aspect of the vineyards, and the painstaking process of gentle handling and gravity flow are all designed to bring out the purity of flavor and to preserve its signature qualities of the site.

Tom believes that a wine should be an “expression of place, at a moment in time” 

2014 Alloro Pinot Noir. Red and dark fruits dominate, with notes of spice, and rose petal on the nose. While fruit forward and great concentration, it has a beautiful texture, ample structure and substance, with great balance.

2015 Alloro Chardonnay. Dijon clones, cool climate style. Palate is full, balanced and a great core of minerality that really fits my palate. Pear, tropical fruits, nuttiness dance on the tongue.

DINNER

We left  Alloro and headed back to our hotel to get ready for dinner at Dundee Bistro Wine & Bubble Bar. A classic wine bistro with a great selection of wines, heavy on Willamette Valley, and casual enough that you can wear jeans and a nice shirt and feel very comfortable. The food was farm-to-table New American, and offered many local wines by the glass. As a bonus Ponzi Vineyards has a Tasting Room next door, and you can BYOB for a small fee. We enjoyed a Sokol Blosser Dundee Hills Pinot Noir 2012. Tangy red fruits, dark cherry, spices, savory with an earthy edge. Very nice!

ROCO WINERY

The following day we had a late 11:00 appointment at Roco Winery outside of Newberg. After breakfast we had a little time before our appointment, so we decided to drive around just enjoy the area before our appointment. As I stated earlier Willamette may be the prettiest wine country anywhere. It is Willamette Dammit, and I love this valley!  I scouted out several places that was a must visit either later on this trip or the next one.

I wanted to visit Roco Winery for one reason; Winemaker Rollin Soles. Known for his quick wit and handlebar mustache, the Texas-born (big points for being Texan) Soles co-founded Argyle Winery in 1987. He left in 2013 to concentrate on his own project “Rocco”, which had been open for about 10 years at that point. Rollin received a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Texas A&M and a master’s degree in enology and viticulture at U C Davis.  I have been a big fan of Rollin’s wines at Argyle for many years, and he was one of the few Winemakers to produce a Red, White, and Sparkling Wine that reached the Wine Spectator Top 100. But alas the wine gods were not shining on me this morning as Rollin had a personal issue, and he was called away and wasn’t able to join me. So we did a quick tasting of the wines and I hope to return on my next trip to get a better look at what the infamous Winemaker and Willamette Legend is up too with Rocco.

2015 Roco Gravel Road Chardonnay was delightful. Blended from his 3 favorite  Chardonnay vineyards. Creamy and rich, notes of peach, pear, apricot. This is a sensuous and sexy wine!

 

 

 

 

LUNCH

Lunch in wine country always draws me to where the locals eat, such as Dry Creek General Store in Sonoma. Well we found a great place like reminiscent this day;  Red Hills Market in Dundee!  Delicious wood fired oven pizza on the patio & a glass of local Pinot Noir with the locals was perfect. They have a great menu, sell lots of cured meats, salads, and sandwiches. You can also find a few wine country paraphernalia here such as wine glasses, coffee mugs, and country store type items that oddly are not readily prevalent in Willamette unlike other areas such as Napa, Sonoma, or even Hill Country of Texas. That was surprising, as tasting rooms cam make a lot of extra cash selling these items. But possibly the folks in Willamette were here to sell wine, not trinkets and t-shirts. After all it  is Willamette Damnit!

VISTA HILLS WINERY

Our next stop was top 5 of all the winery visits I have ever experienced at  Vista Hills Winery!

Vista Hills Vineyard and Winery is next door to Domaine Serene, and down the road from Domaine Drouhin. So you can understand this is exalted terroir that produces some of the absolute best Pinot Noir in the world.

The Winery and Tasting Room are in the top of the hill surrounded and shaded by large trees. When you walk in the lobby you are amazed by the breathtaking scenery just outside the doors the tall windows and glass doors.

Large shaded wooden deck called The Treehouse overlooking a vast valley of perfectly manicured grapevines… Astonishingly beautiful!

We sat out on the shaded deck overlooking the vines with Winemaker Dave Petterson for about 2 hours as he personally poured through his wines, and chatting about the wonders of Vista Hills and how to get the most from this hallowed land for his wines. Unlike some of his fore mentioned neighbors just to the North and East of him, Dave believes applying a minimalistic approach in the cellar to showcase both site and vintage. In part this means low use of new oak, and believes in the brick red Jory soil dense with nutrients that grow these amazing grapes! He produces several Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, and are 100% Estate Grown fruit.

2015 Vista Hills Piedmont Pinot Noir Dundee, Willamette Valley : Somewhat translucent in the glass, but don’t let that fool you. This wine is bursting of flavor. Raspberry, ripe dark cherry, cloves, baking spices. Smooth finish and mild tannins. Exceptional.

It was getting late in the afternoon, so we decided to go see one of my favorite Willamette Valley Wines; Penner-Ash!

PENNER ASH CELLERS

 

 

 

 

 

Penner-Ash Wine Cellars is sitting on the top of a large hill overlooking a beautiful valley below. The winery is state of the art, and gravity flow. We met a lovely young lady pouring wines and I explained was a Wine Writer &  apologized because I didn’t have an appointment. She couldn’t have been more accommodating. The tasting fee is $25, but if you purchase a Single Vineyard or better wine they waive the tasting fee. We did of course purchase a few bottles because these are tremendous Pinots, and some can only be purchased at the winery.

We decided to do a quick tasting, then purchase a bottle and go to the patio overlooking Willamette valley and soak it all in. We were well rewarded as this may be one of the best views in the valley! And my bride Margie got to do what she likes best… sit &  sip wine with a beautiful view.

HEAVEN!

If I could say anything about Willamette Valley wines overall they are exceptional. In fact they make some of the absolute best Pinot Noir in the world. And the Willamette Valley is simply incredibly beautiful. Thinking about going to wine country soon? Let me help you:

Go to Willamette Valley and don’t forget; It’s “Willamette Dammit!”

Thank you for taking the time to read my article, and PLEASE leave a comment below to let me know you were here.

Terry Hill is the Texas Wineaux!