Willamette Wine Fling (A Wine Country Day Trip)

April 23, 2007

By Leigh Brown
Leigh's Wine Buzz Considering I work in the wine industry, I often find little time to explore wine country on my own time. So I took the liberty of dragging a few friends along (willingly) for a day trip through the Willamette Valley to eat and imbibe our Sunday away.

We had a bit of a late start so our first stop was lunch. We didn’t want to sample wine on an empty stomach so we treated ourselves to what I thought was going to be a light lunch but quickly turned into a hefty sampler at The Dundee Bistro. Unable to decide on what to eat, my friends and I shared our meal. My favorite dish we had was the country style pate de campagne along with the unique hand tossed pizza blanketed in spring leeks, arugula, balsamic-onion sauce, olive tapenade and provolone. My friend David had the 2006 Ponzi “Rosato” that smelled of spring strawberries and married well with the Bistro Burger’s juicy meat. Who knew?! My only beverage companion at this meal was coffee so as to ready me for the long day of tasting ahead.

At this point I was ready for a post lunch nap but thankfully we headed over to Rex Hill Winery, which was recently selected as one of the world’s top 100 wineries by Wine & Spirits Magazine. Ken, the tasting bar guru, walked us through their 2004 Chardonnay “Reserve,” along with four Pinot Noir’s. My favorite was most definitely the 2003 Pinot Noir “Oregon.” This kicky Pinot was pure silk with cinnamon along with flavors of dried strawberries and cherries. Mmmm….spicy. I’m starting to wake up.

Barrel tasting at Wine by Joe Next up we meet with the marketing director of Dobbes Family Estate, Jessica Villagrana (pictured here). Not only is her name fun to pronounce but the wines here are fun to taste. Winemaker and owner, Joe Dobbes, has been in the biz for over 20 years and it shows. My friends and I were lucky enough to get a tour of the facility to see where Joe’s craftsmanship takes place. For anyone who hasn’t experienced tasting through barrels, it is well worth trying. Not only is it an eye-opening experience but the smell is out of this world. I worked crush one year at La Bete Winery in McMinnville and the swirling aromas are intoxicating and it brought me back to the appeal of spending days amongst barrels. Jessica sampled us through various pinot noir’s, along with some other goodies and let me tell you, these wines are sexy. Along with being sexy, each barrel we sampled showed complexity, integrity and personality. I’m still not sure why we left the barrel room to move to the next spot. Sexy tastes good.

Our last wine tasting spot was at Lange Estate Winery and Vineyards. The car became a little cozier after encountering a few more friends on our adventure so we needed more wine to fill the many bellies in the back of the caravan. We hit Lange close to closing but we had enough time to sample through a flight of goodies. I was intrigued to try the 2006 Bricolage Blanc, which is predominately a blend of Gewurztraminer. The label is adorned with Hannah, the vineyard dog or as they like to call it, “the vineyard protector.” But my favorite wine was the 2005 Lange “Reserve” Pinot Gris, which is aged in stainless steal and shows crisp granny smith apple and spice. Our group decided on indulging ourselves with a bottle of this spring gem on Lange’s beautiful patio before heading to dinner.

Speaking of dinner, who couldn’t forget a night at Tina’s Restaurant in Dundee? We were greeted by our friendly waiter, Michael, who made us feel welcome and like queens. To accompany our first round of clams and bacon wrapped scallops, we cracked open a bottle of Whitehaven 2006 Savignon Blanc from New Zealand. The greenness and tart zing of this crisp white paid welcome to our shellfish and seafood and even better with the Cypress Grove chevre with roasted garlic that we ordered next. For our main course, we shared a few bottles of Tina’s Pinot Noir Bishop Creek 2004. This became the best friend to my Alaskan halibut with savoy cabbage, roasted carrots, bacon and a mustart crème fraiche sauce; a most unforgettable dish after an unforgettable day. Oh, and did I mention what we had for dessert? Alas, I’m too full to recap. You’ll just have to go find out for yourself.

~ Leigh

Editor's Note: Leigh Brown works for Urban Wineworks in Portland and will be bring to life Oregon's wine scene in her bi-monthly column, Leigh's Wine Buzz.

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Comments (1)

Headlights:

How could you leave me hanging, Leigh? I don't know if I can wait until June to find out what you had for dessert!! Call me.

Posted by Headlights | April 23, 2007 7:18 PM

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