Oregon Wine Country Adventures

Kirk is recuperating and readjusting to San Diego. Cathy (who is already well adjusted) is just recuperating. That means this post about travels through the vineyards of Oregon was written by Ed (from Yuma) with some photos by Tina.

Tina snapped that picture of my camera and stemware sitting on a wine cask table, the window showing a fringe of vineyards and the beautiful Oregon countryside beyond. Seems like a good place to start this post of our adventures in the heart of the Oregon wine country. I promise it’ll focus mostly on beautiful scenery and food, and I hope you enjoy reading it and looking at the pictures.

Proximity to the best Oregon wine regions was one reason Tina and I stayed in Hillsboro for part of our Oregon vacation. While most of the state’s wineries are located in the large area called the "Willamette Valley," most of the best wineries in that valley, the ones that make the best pinot noirs, are actually located in rolling hills west and south from Portland.

So we drove past hilly vineyards amidst forests:

And viewed hilltop wineries:

From the Raptor Ridge parking lot, the juxtaposition of vineyards and countryside was quite nice: 

The tasting room looked fairly ordinary from a distance:

but this view from the deck is far from ordinary: 

At every tasting room we went to, we were handed a tasting list, so we would know what wines were being tasted and how much the tasting would cost: 

After that tasting, we were hungry so we sought out the Red Hills Market in nearby Dundee. It had a nice selection of sandwiches or pizzas (and of course wine or coffee etc.). You just go up and order at the counter: 

Since the weather was nice, we sat outside on the deck, not far from the condiments and water dispenser: 

Tina had the olive tapenade and cheese sandwich, which was served onan artisan baguette with abundant fresh baby lettuces:

Wonderful, savory Mediterranean flavors.

And look at my basic Carlton ham and Gruyere sandwich: 

Simple, focused, flavorful, and crunchy. Yum.

And Red Hills Market also had a deli case for food to go: 

So that night we stayed put in the motel room and feasted on part of our purchases from the market: 

The baguette was perfect with a crispy crust and a fresh firm crumb. We loved the pheasant pâté, which disappeared that evening. We only opened one of the Olympia Provisions salamis, but they all were good and distinctive. While the Oregon Gouda was just okay, the Mt. Townsend Creamery Haystack was a perfect soft ripened cheese – rich mild dairy flavors and all gooey inside.

Of course the dinner couldn't be complete without a bottle of Raptor Ridge Reserve Pinot Noir: 

If you look carefully at that picture, you will also see a small marionberry pie that we purchased along with some salad at a Whole Foods in the area. The sort of alfresco dinner that we just can't throw together back in Yuma for sure.

The next day, my Auntie Marilyn and her charming beau, Ron, came by in the afternoon to take us out wine tasting. We had a good time talking and driving around and we made it to a couple of different wineries, our favorite being Blakeslee, where we tasted several wines (all of them good) and then bought glasses of our favorites and took them out to the beautiful patio area, a great place to sip, chat, and relax: 

Since Blakeslee is located at the Eastern edge of the Chehalem Mountains AVA, we could look across the lovely grounds and vineyards and see Mt. Hood in the distance: 

Beautiful, but also kind of sad to see Mt. Hood without most of its snow-covered cap.

That day concluded nicely when Ron and Marilyn took us out to a tasty dinner at the Rock Creek Tavern, one of the many interesting McMenamins’ locations. When I went to their first brewpub in Portland back in 1983, I had no idea that I was witnessing the humble birth of a beverage/dining/lodging empire.

A couple of days later, Steve and Helen joined us for a leisurely day of eating, talking, and wine tasting as we drove around enjoying the wonderful scenery: 

Our first stop was one of my favorites, Elk Cove Vineyards, which has been making good wine in the Yamhill Carlton AVA since the late 1970s at a strikingly beautiful location: 

Very flavorful Pinot Noirs: 

Here's a photo of some relaxed guests enjoying the beautiful weather out on the patio: 

Since we were in no hurry, we walked out to Elk Cove’s beautiful garden area: 

which includes exotic plants: 

and provides some striking views of the surrounding vineyards: 

All that tasting and talking left Steve and Helen and Tina and I very hungry, so we headed into Carlton for lunch at Horse Radish: 

We all decided to have one of the half sandwich/salad combinations. Tina opted for the BLT, but this version of that classic sandwich was clearly something special: 

An abundance of fresh lettuce, sliced tomatoes and Carlton Farms bacon, all tucked inside of extremely good bread.

And this, believe it or not, is the half salad that came with each sandwich: 

The house made balsamic fig dressing, dried cranberries, and local goat cheese all sat atop wondrously fresh organic mixed greens.

Steve and I ordered the half sandwich with roast beef:

Just look at that real roasted beef. Each sandwich also had pickled onions, a blue cheese spread, and horseradish mayo. Wonderfully good bread again. Great sandwich overall.

Refreshed, we headed off to another beautiful winery location, Anne Amie.  Situated at the top of a south facing hillside, the winery offered some outstanding views from its deck:

It also had a nice garden with some unusual vegetation:

and the best label we saw on the trip, which I believe shows the winery’s owners clad in Victorian costume at the edge of vast vineyards stretching out to the horizon:

Our last stop for wine tasting was at Panther Creek:

Ordinary building on Highway 99 in Dundee – easy to miss with no scenic view: 

But excellent tasting Pinots.

Then we continued northeast on Highway 99 into Newburg where we found Subterra restaurant:

It was not easy to locate because most of it is literally underground.

Inside, the decor was understated and the ambience comfortable:

It was also a little dim, so my photos from Subterra are unfortunately subpar. The dinner, however, was not. We began with sautéed chanterelle mushrooms atop a mound of cheesy polenta: 

We were all impressed. The mushrooms had a mild woodsy flavor and a firm texture. The soft polenta matched perfectly.

A bread basket of lightly toasted rustic breads showed up next:

accompanied with two different spreads:

All entrées include both soup and salad. Tina chose the spicy black bean soup:

To be honest, I thought it was pretty ordinary.

As was my Thai Curry chicken soup:

The salads, on the other hand, were (imho) magnificent: 
What's not to love here? Incredible fresh greens. Plump blueberries. Crumbled goat cheese. And I can't remember ever having better tasting hazelnuts. The whole thing lightly touched with a clean tasting, extra-virgin dressing.

For once, the four of us had a range of different dishes. Helen opted for the rich short rib:

The meat was melt in your mouth tender and the mashed potatoes underneath had flavors of garlic and goat cheese with a hint of truffle. I believe those are braised greens at the back of the plate.

Steve chose the pistachio crusted scallops:

There were enough nuts on each of the scallops so that both flavors came through in every bite. The large hillock on the left was sort of like a charred brussels sprout risotto with bits of other veggies and  wild rice added for flavor and color.

Tina wanted the seafood zarzuela, a stew of clams, shrimp, fish, and scallops in a complex saffron/almond flavored sofrito:

My picture does not do the dish justice. Tina loved the mix of seafood and enjoyed the rounds of sausage, slices of peppers, and chunks of fennel. The accompanying bread slices were slightly burnt, but she happily dipped them into the sauce and wolfed them down.

I was also delighted with my duck confit:

The honey drizzled confit tasted great and I appreciated the sweet/sour red cabbage and the fresh broccolini, both visible in this picture, and roasted baby potato wedges that were hiding behind the duck.

We'd had a good time that day, and Tina and I loved all of our excursions out into some of the best AVAs in Oregon. But we have only begun to sample what the area has to offer. I guess it's a good sign – leaving somewhere and already hoping for a return trip.