Willamette Valley, Oregon

• More about your oliver guide: Cynthia Pillsbury
• Trip type: Adult, Mountains
• Activity level: moderate
• Ideal length of trip: 2-3 days... long weekend.

to & from

Fly into Portland, rent a car and head to the beautiful Willamette Valley

Where to Stay

We stayed at the Atticus Hotel in McMinnville- this town is a perfect location to explore the wine region. The town is full of some cute shops, restaurants and antique stores.

Where to Eat and Drink

• We had a delicious dinner at Humble Spirit (make sure to eave room for their yummy soft serve) – sophisticated menu, cool setting.
• For authentic Spanish food *think paella* at La Ramble fun to eat on the sidewalk!
• We were told by some locals that Pizza Capo is good.
• Red Hills Market  was a perfect place for a quick-ish and casual on the go lunch in Dundee

What to Do

Picking 2-3 wineries per day is a great strategy. Willamette Valley is a much less congested and touristy wine region than the Napa/Sonoma’s– it reminds me of a spread out Healdsburg 10 years ago. Some of our favorite vineyards included:

• Abbey Road Farm- LOVED this winery, very down to earth, great setting and wine, do not need reservations
• White Rose Vineyard- Very cool grounds, dark, moody tasting room, delicious wine, do not need reservations
• Domaine Serena- Most commercial winery– more Napa than Willamette. Delicious wines
• Stoller Family Estate- didn’t make it, but heard it was great
• Granville Winery- need reservations, but BEAUTIFUL views

We were recommended by our hotel to do a hike at Our Lady of Guadalupe Trappist Abbey Trails, about a 10 min drive and an hour loop hike… pretty views – worth it!

inside scoop

Willamette is more casual re: reservations than Napa/ Sonoma/Healdsburg, but check in advance if the wineries you would like to visit require reservations.

What to Pack

It’s fairly WARM and cools off at night, so bring a sweater.