If you are a regular reader of this column, you know my views on expensive wine: some deserve the big price tags they command. However, I’ve also pointed out more than once that when you’re living on a budget – as most of us are – it makes no sense to pay those prices as long as there are so many options available on the lower-end of the price scale. In other words, you could pay $100 for a bottle of great wine, but you can pay $10-$15 and still get a very good bottle.
That leaves me with a bit of a problem. As someone interested in wine, who writes about wine and who teaches classes about wine, I’m supposed to know about wines at both ends of the price range. But if I’m only willing to pay for the affordable ones, how do I evaluate the ones at the upper end of the scale? This is a particular problem in Oregon. I live here, so I should be familiar with the wines. However, Oregon is known its pinot noir – a notoriously expensive wine.
Recently, my husband surprised me for my birthday with the perfect solution: A full Saturday of wine tasting in the world-renowned Dundee Hills region, south of Portland and just three hours away from Central Oregon. Home of some of the world’s best pinot noirs, Dundee is filled with wineries that are written up in all the wine publications. Their wines are in such demand that they command top prices—way beyond my budget. Fortunately, most of the winemakers also offer tastings at their wineries—almost all of which are in park-like settings, and that means I (and you) have a chance to sample great wine for nominal cost.
Finding your way around Dundee is easy. Not only is there plentiful information on the internet, there are professional tours you can hire, and the directions to the various wineries (mostly along highway 99W) are well marked with blue tourist signs. Pick a morning and head over the hills (wine tastings usually start about 11 a.m.) and you’ll be tasting before you know it. If you spit (or better yet bring a designated driver), you can even make it back the same day.
The biggest problem in the Dundee area is choosing which of the many wineries to visit. Domaine Drouhin and Domaine Serene are the big names, the producers that helped bring international attention to Oregon pinot noir. However, there are plenty of other great wineries to visit. Here are some of my recommendations:
De Ponte Cellars. This is my new favorite Oregon winery. The wines are primarily pinot noir, but there are several very different ones to sample. The real treat here (besides that they were pouring seven wines when most wineries had four or five) was that they still had a few bottles from their 2008 bottling of the Dundee Hills pinot noir, the vintage that most experts agree was likely the greatest vintage ever for Oregon pinot noir. Another thing to love about De Ponte is the service. Both servers managed to share knowledge and humor in just the right balance. Finally, I loved the spit bucket --- a very large barrel in the center of the room, which assured that no one would spit or spill on your sleeve.
Four Graces. This small production winery is named for the owners’ four daughters. The tasting room staff is very knowledgeable without being pretentious. Our server surprised me by willingly answering our questions about who (besides Four Graces, of course) makes the best pinot noir in the Dundee Hills. The answer surprised us, and led us to another winery we hadn’t intended to visit (White Rose Estate). Four Graces offered five different wines for tasting. In addition to some gorgeous pinot noir, Four Graces produces a lovely pinot gris and an amazingly complex pinot blanc.
White Rose Estate. Another small winery, White Rose is just over a decade old. But the vines on the land have been growing for more than 30 years, providing fruit to some of the top pinot noir producers in the state. Although the winery only makes pinot noir, there is still plenty to taste. The day we were there, they were pouring samples of five different wines. Although each was true to the pinot noir grape, each was delicious in a unique way. And all of them exhibited the two qualities of outstanding pinot noir: First, they were wonderfully complex to sniff – with varying combinations of fruit, wood and floral notes. Second, after I spit each one, the incredibly balanced flavors lingered for a very, very long time. But the wines aren’t the only reason to visit this winery. The tasting room staff members, who include the winemaker’s brother, are engaging and friendly. And if you go, you might get as lucky as I did and be served by the winemaker himself. He was even signing bottles for those who purchased wine!
Argyle. Although Argyle makes some wonderful still wines, why would you waste your time on them when Argyle makes sparkling wines that compare favorably to French Champagne? Unlike the other wineries mentioned above, which were not especially crowded, Argyle is a larger producer with a bigger name. Thus, it was difficult to find a space at the bar. Despite the mass of people, the servers seemed to accommodate everyone efficiently and quickly. My server would disappear after pouring a wine and yet somehow magically know exactly when to reappear to answer a question or pour my next taste. Despite the large number of wines they pour (you have a choice of three different “flights” of wines, each with four different wines), she seemed to know everything about all of them. The sparkling wines were all terrific with the crisp acidity and fine bubbles that one expects from a well-made sparkler. Unfortunately, my favorite is one that is well out of my price range – the 2001 Extended Tirage, a very small production wine that has been aged for nearly a decade in the Argyle cellars.
Archery Summit makes the list for a couple of reasons. First, there’s the beautiful cellar in which the tastings are conducted. With the rows of oak barrels, the smell of aging wine, and the cool dampness of the cellar, you’ll almost expect to be greeted in French. Second, Archery Summit makes some phenomenal pinot noir – and these wines have the price tags to match their pedigrees. Visiting the winery is an affordable way to sample these beauties.
In addition to these, there are a number of other very good wineries to visit in the Dundee Hills. Of all the wine regions I’ve toured (more than 20), I’ve seldom found such a concentration of very good producers in such close proximity to each other. If you’re as fortunate as I was (to have a designated driver), you could easily visit five or six or more in one day.
However, before you go, you need to know that all of the wineries charge a tasting fee, which varies from $5 to $15. Although it may seem expensive, it really is a good value. Most wineries pour between four and six samples, and because you’re paying for the tasting, you do not have to feel obligated to purchase any wine. Additionally, most wineries are happy to have two people share one tasting, and I’ve never had a winery refuse me a second pour when I wanted to try a particular wine again.
If you do plan a visit, check out the Dundee Hills Winegrowers Association’s website, www.dundeehills.org. You can map out your day in advance, and learn of special promotions or discounts on tastings.
If you make the trip, I hope you’ll try at least one or two of the wineries I recommend and enjoy their fantastic wines and equally terrific service. But I won’t blame you at all if you decide to take a little time to visit the “name” wineries, too. After all, they helped put Oregon – and particularly the Dundee Hills – on the wine map in the first place!
That leaves me with a bit of a problem. As someone interested in wine, who writes about wine and who teaches classes about wine, I’m supposed to know about wines at both ends of the price range. But if I’m only willing to pay for the affordable ones, how do I evaluate the ones at the upper end of the scale? This is a particular problem in Oregon. I live here, so I should be familiar with the wines. However, Oregon is known its pinot noir – a notoriously expensive wine.
Recently, my husband surprised me for my birthday with the perfect solution: A full Saturday of wine tasting in the world-renowned Dundee Hills region, south of Portland and just three hours away from Central Oregon. Home of some of the world’s best pinot noirs, Dundee is filled with wineries that are written up in all the wine publications. Their wines are in such demand that they command top prices—way beyond my budget. Fortunately, most of the winemakers also offer tastings at their wineries—almost all of which are in park-like settings, and that means I (and you) have a chance to sample great wine for nominal cost.
Finding your way around Dundee is easy. Not only is there plentiful information on the internet, there are professional tours you can hire, and the directions to the various wineries (mostly along highway 99W) are well marked with blue tourist signs. Pick a morning and head over the hills (wine tastings usually start about 11 a.m.) and you’ll be tasting before you know it. If you spit (or better yet bring a designated driver), you can even make it back the same day.
The biggest problem in the Dundee area is choosing which of the many wineries to visit. Domaine Drouhin and Domaine Serene are the big names, the producers that helped bring international attention to Oregon pinot noir. However, there are plenty of other great wineries to visit. Here are some of my recommendations:
De Ponte Cellars. This is my new favorite Oregon winery. The wines are primarily pinot noir, but there are several very different ones to sample. The real treat here (besides that they were pouring seven wines when most wineries had four or five) was that they still had a few bottles from their 2008 bottling of the Dundee Hills pinot noir, the vintage that most experts agree was likely the greatest vintage ever for Oregon pinot noir. Another thing to love about De Ponte is the service. Both servers managed to share knowledge and humor in just the right balance. Finally, I loved the spit bucket --- a very large barrel in the center of the room, which assured that no one would spit or spill on your sleeve.
Four Graces. This small production winery is named for the owners’ four daughters. The tasting room staff is very knowledgeable without being pretentious. Our server surprised me by willingly answering our questions about who (besides Four Graces, of course) makes the best pinot noir in the Dundee Hills. The answer surprised us, and led us to another winery we hadn’t intended to visit (White Rose Estate). Four Graces offered five different wines for tasting. In addition to some gorgeous pinot noir, Four Graces produces a lovely pinot gris and an amazingly complex pinot blanc.
White Rose Estate. Another small winery, White Rose is just over a decade old. But the vines on the land have been growing for more than 30 years, providing fruit to some of the top pinot noir producers in the state. Although the winery only makes pinot noir, there is still plenty to taste. The day we were there, they were pouring samples of five different wines. Although each was true to the pinot noir grape, each was delicious in a unique way. And all of them exhibited the two qualities of outstanding pinot noir: First, they were wonderfully complex to sniff – with varying combinations of fruit, wood and floral notes. Second, after I spit each one, the incredibly balanced flavors lingered for a very, very long time. But the wines aren’t the only reason to visit this winery. The tasting room staff members, who include the winemaker’s brother, are engaging and friendly. And if you go, you might get as lucky as I did and be served by the winemaker himself. He was even signing bottles for those who purchased wine!
Argyle. Although Argyle makes some wonderful still wines, why would you waste your time on them when Argyle makes sparkling wines that compare favorably to French Champagne? Unlike the other wineries mentioned above, which were not especially crowded, Argyle is a larger producer with a bigger name. Thus, it was difficult to find a space at the bar. Despite the mass of people, the servers seemed to accommodate everyone efficiently and quickly. My server would disappear after pouring a wine and yet somehow magically know exactly when to reappear to answer a question or pour my next taste. Despite the large number of wines they pour (you have a choice of three different “flights” of wines, each with four different wines), she seemed to know everything about all of them. The sparkling wines were all terrific with the crisp acidity and fine bubbles that one expects from a well-made sparkler. Unfortunately, my favorite is one that is well out of my price range – the 2001 Extended Tirage, a very small production wine that has been aged for nearly a decade in the Argyle cellars.
Archery Summit makes the list for a couple of reasons. First, there’s the beautiful cellar in which the tastings are conducted. With the rows of oak barrels, the smell of aging wine, and the cool dampness of the cellar, you’ll almost expect to be greeted in French. Second, Archery Summit makes some phenomenal pinot noir – and these wines have the price tags to match their pedigrees. Visiting the winery is an affordable way to sample these beauties.
In addition to these, there are a number of other very good wineries to visit in the Dundee Hills. Of all the wine regions I’ve toured (more than 20), I’ve seldom found such a concentration of very good producers in such close proximity to each other. If you’re as fortunate as I was (to have a designated driver), you could easily visit five or six or more in one day.
However, before you go, you need to know that all of the wineries charge a tasting fee, which varies from $5 to $15. Although it may seem expensive, it really is a good value. Most wineries pour between four and six samples, and because you’re paying for the tasting, you do not have to feel obligated to purchase any wine. Additionally, most wineries are happy to have two people share one tasting, and I’ve never had a winery refuse me a second pour when I wanted to try a particular wine again.
If you do plan a visit, check out the Dundee Hills Winegrowers Association’s website, www.dundeehills.org. You can map out your day in advance, and learn of special promotions or discounts on tastings.
If you make the trip, I hope you’ll try at least one or two of the wineries I recommend and enjoy their fantastic wines and equally terrific service. But I won’t blame you at all if you decide to take a little time to visit the “name” wineries, too. After all, they helped put Oregon – and particularly the Dundee Hills – on the wine map in the first place!
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