I sent an email to a friend recently about Carlton's annual Walk In the Park event. It's a great local weekend in the cute town of Carlton with wine, food, art and old cars. There's hardly anything missing here! www.carltonswalkinthepark.com Don't miss it. And here's the rest of my email about places to stop by over the weekend (many wineries will be featured at the event.) We'll have a 1967 Corvette 427 convertible to show at the event; stop by and say "hi".
Some of my favorite wineries:
ADEA -- Gaston Dean and Ann Fisher; Dean is a pioneer in the area and a character!
Twelve -- new tasting room in McMinnville (but they are out in Gaston as well; open by appointment).
Anderson Family Vineyard, off 240, near Newberg (open by appointment). Lovely owners.
Steep slopes; deep roots. Drop-dead view site.
Winderlea in the Dundee Hills -- another great view from a very "green", interesting building. A first-ever rose' out this year, which is tasty!
Styring Vineyard, Ribbon Ridge Road, Newberg (open by appointment but very flexible). Top of the hill view. Couple from TX and their two kids; family owned and run.
Lenne' Estate in Yamhill - unique proprietors and view; ancient sedimentary soil produces black fruit flavors and rich textures: unusual. I love their smoky 2007 pinot noirs.
Biggies not to be missed: Domaine Serene, Domain Drouhin Oregon (known as DDO around here), Archery Summit
In Carlton at the Carlton Winemakers Studio (an incubator for smaller start-up wineries or limited producers) is probably my most favorite right now: Brittan Vineyards. Robert Brittan made Stag's Leap wine in CA for 16 years, plus time at two other great wineries. He's a 30-year veteran. And he helps Mo Ayoub make his wine, too. Also the winemaker for Winderlea. Mo has 4 acres in Dundee and has very special pinot noir. Tasting Room Manager at the Studio is Jeff Woodard who is warm, approachable and extremely knowledgeable. His sister, he will tell you proudly, makes her wine out of the Studio: Retour Expensive, old vines but new on the market and getting lots of press lately.
Most all of these smaller names are primarily pinot noir producers, but Oregon produces lovely pinot gris, and a good deal of chardonnay (much of it low oaked or no oak). I especially love pinot noir rose' and this time of year and there are lots of choices right now.
Trisaetum Winery on Ribbon Ridge Road near Newberg has a lovely art gallery with deck facing the sun and award-winning Reisling.
Too much fantastic wine; way too little time!
