An Oregon Sommelier Maps the Best Tasting Rooms in Willamette Valley
Over the last 15 years, Oregon’s winemaking region has grown exponentially. The verdant, agriculturally-focused area known as the Willamette Valley is now home to over 700 wineries and more than 800 vineyards—and new labels, brands and tasting rooms are still launching left and right. The rapid growth has been a boon for the community, a tight-knit group that’s still largely composed of locals or second-generation winemakers, who view the rising tide as a lift for all boats. But the influx has also made it harder for visitors to decide exactly where to taste wine when they’re visiting the valley without any local knowledge. Even as someone who grew up in McMinnville, Oregon, which is at the heart of the valley, I have a hard time figuring out where to focus my attention when I’m back home and want to see what’s new in the region.
To break through the noise, I spoke with Elaine Kim, a local expert with 20 years in the industry, and her team to get her recommendations on the best places for visitors to find outstanding hospitality, excellent wine and a sense of what Willamette has to offer. The primary varietals the region is known for are pinot noir and chardonnay, and an emphasis on traditional method sparkling wine is a burgeoning movement, as well. A resident of the Willamette Valley since 2017, Kim is currently the wine director at Jory, the James Beard-nominated restaurant located at Allison Inn & Spa Resort. She curates the property’s extensive 500-label wine list with a heavy focus on local producers. Kim, and Jory sommeliers Jordan Haro and Tim Holst, all chimed in with picks for vineyards and tasting rooms to visit on your next trip to Oregon wine country.
The Best Tasting Rooms in Willamette Valley
Soter Vineyards
- 10880 NE Mineral Springs Rd, Carlton, OR 97111
Mineral Springs Ranch is a 250-acre biodynamic farm that houses the Soter Vineyards and tasting room, plus fruit and vegetable plots, animal husbandry, and so much more. Known for their expressive versions of the region’s signature pinot noir and chardonnay, this producer was also a pioneer in the traditional method sparkling wine trend that’s recently taken hold. “I love their sparkling wines, specifically,” Kim says. “They have a brut rosé that was one of the first in the valley. It dates back at least 25 years, if not more. They were part of the earliest wave of producers to start making really excellent traditional method sparkling wine in Oregon.”
That sparkling rosé is the welcome drink for visitors who book the Provisions Experience, a paired lunch tasting that has upped the ante for food tastings in the area with its customization, use of on-site ingredients, and elevated plating and presentation. In a modern open kitchen inside the tasting room, chef Clayton Allen prepares six or seven carefully composed dishes that pair with Soter wines. The result is an almost overwhelming amount of food and drink, bursting with flavor and served with fine dining precision. “Soter’s Provisions Experience, essentially a lunch created from their estate garden, is always excellent,” Kim says.
Antiquum Farm
- 25075 Jaeg Rd, Junction City, OR 97448
Located much farther south in an under-the-radar AVA that doesn’t get as much attention, Antiquum Farm is the ideal tasting for a visitor who wants to explore a more obscure part of the valley. “This is a place that’s worth going out of your way for,” Kim says. “It’s a true farm, with a unique approach to viticulture that incorporates grazing livestock. They serve meals made with ingredients they’ve raised and grown on their farm, and all of their wine is made with vines on their farm.”
Years before current trends, owner Stephen Hagen coined the term “grazing-based viticulture”—simply letting livestock live in and among the vines. Private wine tastings with cheese and charcuterie boards and guided vineyard walks are always on offer, though Kim recommends looking out for ticketed events they regularly host with more substantial meals. Located in the Lower Long Tom AVA, a visit here will check this rare AVA off an enthusiast’s list. Her picks from this producer are the Alium Pinot Gris, so named for skin-contact that renders the wine the color of a yellow onion skin, and the Luxuria Pinot Noir.
Sequitur
- 14865 NE North Valley Rd, Newberg, OR 97132
Fans of Beaux Frères will be thrilled to discover that founder Michael G. Etzel hung onto his own slice of vineyard after he retired from the storied Ribbon Ridge estate and handed winemaking duties off to his son. These days, Etzel continues to make wine, restricted solely to the 12-acre Sequitur vineyard. Adjacent to Beaux Frères’ upper terrace vineyard, his own small plot produces 17 clones of pinot noir and what he calls “a small knoll” of chardonnay.
“The Sequitur experience itself feels very singular, because they’re only making chardonnay and pinot noir off his own vines,” Kim says. “It’s just this one vineyard plot and one singular expression.”
Sequitur translates loosely from Latin to “it follows,” and that feeling of a second chapter is another element that sets a visit apart. “Tasting there is having access to the story of a truly important person in Willamette Valley wine, and seeing what he’s doing after the thing that made him famous,” she says. “He helped establish the valley as a place with the best wines in the world, and that’s part of what makes it so special.” The chardonnay and the pinot noir are their two main wines, and Kim recommends any pinot noir they make. She also notes that his wines age incredibly well, so bottle collectors might be interested in purchasing library vintages.
Abbott Claim
- 11011 NE Bayliss Rd, Carlton, OR 97111
“This one is a personal favorite,” Kim says. “Tastings are held down in the barrel cellar, a beautiful space that has incredible ambience.” And she’s not the only one who feels that way. During a recent trip, multiple locals brought this tasting room up to me as a great one for out-of-towners to visit. “Sampling their True North, Slope and X Omni pinot noirs and chardonnays within their candlelit subterranean cave feels romantic, celebratory, and all around worth going out of your way for,” Kim’s fellow sommelier Haro notes.
Given the incredible architecture, wow factor of the tasting space, and a level of care and hospitality that always hits home, Kim loves to point people toward this Carlton-based producer. But above all else, their highly stylized chardonnay is what puts it over the top. “They’re making a chardonnay with some reduction, a style that’s pretty hot right now,” she says. “It’s a fun one to point guests toward because it’s more unique and really memorable. Their pinot noir is great, as well.”
Nicolas-Jay
- 11905 NE Dudley Rd, Newberg, OR 97132
A winery that seamlessly blends new world aspirations and old world mastery, Nicolas-Jay is co-owned by former music business exec Jay Bober and Burgundian winemaker Jean-Nicolas Méo of Domaine Méo-Camuzet. Together, they created this organically farmed estate in northern Willamette Valley in 2013. Tasting at their indoor/outdoor tasting room overlooking the eponymous estate is a real treat, and fans of French wine or indie music will love discovering the insider story that drives this producer.
“Their wines are beautiful,” Kim says. “They have a pinot noir I really love called Own-Rooted. Whenever winemakers have access to work with own-rooted vines, they treasure those vines.” Reach out directly to the hospitality team for special wine and food pairings hosted in the cozy tasting room, a serene vibe with oversized windows, a bright open kitchen and a wood-burning fireplace. Kim notes that if you’re staying at Allison Inn, the concierge there can assist in setting up this kind of special visit.
Alexana Winery
- 12001 NE Worden Hill Rd, Newberg, OR 97132
Located in the Dundee Hills, Alexana makes a wonderful local expression for guests to try, and it’s more than worth visiting to sample their estate pinot noir and chardonnay. This tasting room comes highly recommended from sommelier Tim Holst. He mentions that one thing that’s actually quite rare about the tasting experience—the chance to taste wines from their sister vineyards, Revana in Napa Valley, and in Corazón del Sol in the Uco Valley of Mendoza, Argentina.
“They offer a fantastic portfolio tasting experience called Hemisphere’s Collide that shows the elegance of both their Oregon wines and its sister properties,” Holst says. “It’s one of the few wineries to offer a comparison of world-class pinot noir, cabernet and malbec.” As far as the local vintages, Kim recommends making sure guests don’t leave without tasting the Alexana Estate Pinot Noir. And for those planning a day of tastings, it’s worth noting that Alexana and Nicolas-Jay are located quite near one another in the Dundee Hills.
Bethel Heights Vineyard
- 6060 Bethel Heights Rd NW, Salem, OR 97304
Located in an up-and-coming AVA in the state, Eola-Amity Hills, Bethel Heights is a fantastic spot for visitors because it presents a very distinct style of grape. “I love their Aeolian pinot noir because it really showcases the wind of this region,” Kim says. “This area is a little island of hills that come up from the valley floor, and they get blasted by wind off the coast that shoots up the Van Duzer Corridor, which is a cut in the coastal mountain range.”
The wind hits the grapes and creates fruit with a slightly thicker skin, which adds more structure and tannins to wine from this region. “We love working with their wines, and we include a lot of them on our list,” Kim says. “The Casteel family, who runs this winery, is a founding family here from back in the early ‘70s. People often look to them as some of the best growers of wines down there. These are really clean, really classic, age-worthy wines.”
Critics back up that assertion; just recently, Decanter editor Clive Pursehouse gave the Bethel Heights 2023 “High Wire” chardonnay a coveted 100-point perfect score, making it the first Oregon wine to ever receive this distinction.
Eveningland
- 4180 Lone Star Rd NW, Salem, OR 97304
If you do head out to Bethel Heights, this nearby vineyard is another exemplary iteration of the way wind impacts fruit in the Eola-Amity Hills. “Bethel Heights and Eveningland are located really close to each other,” Kim says. “The same thing is happening with the wind there—this entire AVA uniquely has that climate feature.”
Thoughtful tasting settings like a rustic-chic private cabin with a real wood-burning stove inside, or a secluded deck overlooking the vines, make this a beautiful place to take in the pinot noir, chardonnay, and gamay this house is producing. As weather permits, additional experiences, like outdoor vineyard tastings, let guests experience the draw of this producer’s two historic sites, the Seven Springs and Anden Vineyards. Adventurous guests can seek out the waterfall hike, where chilling a bottle of white downstream from the falls is not unheard of.
Another note for those setting up multiple tastings: book here and at Bethel Heights on the same afternoon. “Grouping wineries from one AVA together can be a nice way to plan a day,” Kim says. That kind of stacking is also empowering for less experienced tasters, as building familiarity with a single winegrowing region is the first step toward expertise.