Best Oregon Wine Trip Planning

One of the joys of Oregon’s wine experience is finding hidden gems, and also being able to meet wine makers/owners for a tasting (such as what I offer by appointment at Bjornson Vineyard where I make my wines). When I was younger, this type of authentic experience with a wine maker was more common in wine regions around the world. There are many great craft producers that you can meet and here are some that I can highly recommend from personal experience (northern Willamette Valley).

Anderson Family Vineyard (Cliff)
Arabilis (Kenny & Allison)
Championship Bottle (Saul)
Franchere Wine Co (Mike)
Goodfellow Family Cellars (Marcus)
Satyr Fire (Paul and David)
Varnum Vintners (Cyler)
Vincent Wine Co (Vincent

Wine lounge and restaurant ecommendations: For an exceptional culinary experience after your Sun Break wine tasting, try the Cozy Taberna in Salem. Spectacular and creative dishes (I mean, really spectacular), great service and ambiance, and great people. I have also been fortunate to meet the culinary and service team, and I am very impressed. Note: the address is Liberty Street, but the restaurant is tucked away in a historic, very cool alley to the west of the Street. Call them if you are lost : )

Winery tasting rooms close early and you can continue your exploration of Oregon wines at The Valkyrie Wine Tavern in Independence. Savannah the owner and bon vivant will be there to be sure you have a great time. She has a broad selection of both Oregon and International wines. She has a phenomenal palate and you can explore great classics along with the most unusual wine and grape varietal you’ve never heard of (yes, I have been blown away by some of these). And if her wine knowledge doesn’t somehow impress you, her charm and personality will. You will wish this wine bar was in your neighborhood : ) The Valkyrie is also a great bottle shop with reasonable retail pricing on bottles to go.

There are several great wine lounges in Portland but here’s an exceptional one, Vino Veritas, in the Montavilla neighborhood, where you will also be met and served by one of the owners, Nic Ferreira. Great guy and super knowledgeable. Ask for the always exceptional list of wines available under Coravin and you’ll be able to taste hard to find wines that can otherwise be too expensive to try on their own. Oh, and great vibe with live jazz music too? Absolutely. (In McMinnville check out the HiFi Wine Bar, no owner on site as far as I know, but a cool spot.)