In search of good pinot noir, truffles, and friend time in Oregon’s Willamette Valley
NEWBERG, Ore. — Pinot noir. That’s how we started (and ended) the discussion on where to go on our girlfriend getaway. We were talking about Oregon’s Willamette Valley, home to some of the best pinot noir wines in the country. Its abundance of world-class wine was the clincher, but this 150-mile-long valley, bordered on three sides by mountain ranges and sliced by the Willamette River, also has an abundance of natural beauty. Miles of rolling vineyards bump up against thick Douglas fir forests, crisscrossed with quiet backroads and dotted with down-to-earth towns. It’s Napa 30 years ago. We heard that repeated a few times on this trip.
The vast, spread-out region, beginning about 50 miles south of Portland and ending near Eugene, is the largest river valley in Oregon, with four distinct regions (North Valley, Mid-Valley, South Valley, and West Cascades), and more than 700 wineries. Most wineries are still small-scale, often tucked down a country road, and planted, harvested, and owned by locals who are eager to share their wines and their passion for viniculture.
Our first stop was the Allison Inn & Spa in Newberg, about 25 miles south of Portland, and the largest resort in the region. The 85-room, stone and wood retreat sits on 35 acres, with vineyards, formal flower, vegetable, and herb gardens, and walking trails, including a half-mile art walk. We strolled the grounds and had lunch at the inn’s award-winning JORY restaurant, before driving to our first wine tasting at Remy Wines.
Founder Remy Drabkin and her two friendly, energetic dogs joined us in the winery’s 1900 family farmhouse. Drabkin, who founded the vineyard in 2006, is an outspoken advocate and leader for community and wine industry inclusivity, and founder of Wine Country Pride, which hosted the world’s first queer wine festival in 2022. She’s also known in the valley for pioneering Old World Italian varietals like Dolcetto, Lagrein, and Sangiovese. We tasted Remy Black Heart, a clean, crisp bubbly wine, an estate grown, two-year barrel-aged Legrein, and the top-selling Remy Red, an 18-month barrel-aged wine.
Drabkin also happens to be the first woman elected mayor of nearby McMinnville. And that’s where we headed next.
Down on Main Street
McMinnville, homelands of the native Kalapuya tribes, sits between the North and South Forks of the Yamhill River, in the heart of wine country. William T. Newby and his family arrived by wagon train in 1843 and named the town after his hometown in Tennessee. By the late 19th and early 20th century, the town was booming.
Today, its downtown district is on the National Register of Historic Places, with more than 60 historic properties built between 1884 and 1937. Most of the significant buildings are on treelined, twinkling light Third Street, and house a variety of cafes, restaurants, shops, and wine- and beer-tasting rooms. We browsed a few galleries and shops, including the Narthex Gallery, located in McMinnville’s First Presbyterian Church and showcasing the works of regional and international artists; the Currents Gallery representing more than 60 Oregon artists; Mes Amies with women’s clothing and accessories; and La Bella Casa, with unique home goods and gift items. By then, we’d worked up a thirst and lucky for us, the R. Stewart & Co. Tasting Room was right in front of us! Of course, the odds were good: McMinnville has more than 20 wine-tasting rooms within walking distance, and more than 200 wineries and vineyards within a 20-mile radius.
R. Stewart & Co. is a longstanding winery, and one of the first tasting rooms in the city. We sipped glasses of their Rose´ d’Or, a soft, rich sparkling wine, and the perfect prelude to dinner at Humble Spirit. McMinnville has a slew of good restaurants, like Painted Lady, Mac Market, and Pizza Capo, to name a few. Humble Spirit is one of the newest, focusing on farm-to-table dishes. They walk the talk: A lot of their ingredients come from their own farm. We shared Oregon Bay shrimp rolls, cavatelli pasta with parsnips and sage brown butter, and grilled whole trout.
We spent the night at the art-filled, 36-room Atticus Hotel, displaying a whimsical, creative blend of old and new. Each room is unique, with handcrafted furnishings, original works from local artisans, modern baths, and fireplaces. Our luxury bunkhouse room was perfect for our small group of friends, sleeping six with a wall of luxury bunks, a sitting area for lounging and late-night chats, and a large bath. The alarms were set, as we’d be getting up early the next day to head into the forest.
Tromping for truffles
We joined Stefan Czarnecki, owner of Black Tie Tours, a company offering winery tours year-round and foraging tours when truffles are in season. Czarnecki has been foraging for most of his life. His father, Jack Czarnecki, is an expert mushroom and truffle hunter, and author of four cookbooks, including the James Beard-winning “Cook’s Book of Mushrooms” and his latest, “Truffle in the Kitchen.”
Willamette Valley, with its cool-ish climate, rainy days, and shady forests, is among the world’s best regions, outside of Europe, for foraging truffles. We drove a short distance to a private Douglas fir forest (Czarnecki has permission to forage here) and followed the dogs as they sniffed for buried truffle treasures. Success! We (the dogs) found a handful of small white truffles, dirty little nuggets worth triple their weight in gold. The excursion included an elegant lunch in a nearby barn, prepared by local chefs Erick Caballero and Alex Graham, paired with wines from Bells Up Winery. There was a charcuterie platter overflowing with salumi, pates, breads, cheeses, olives, and fruit, paired with a full-bodied rose; root vegetable soup topped with shaved truffles, paired with Bells Up Jupiter estate pinot noir; a seasonal vegetable salad with a peppery Candide pinot noir; and grilled bone-in rib eye with herbed truffle butter, paired with a Firebird Syrah. Dessert was an Oregon black truffle flan with fresh shaved truffles.
Small towns, big wines
We traveled empty roads on our way to Independence, with one stop along the way. Bryn Mawr, near the small town of Salem, sits on one of the steepest slopes in Willamette Valley, surrounded by rolling vineyards and Douglas fir forest, and drenched in salty maritime winds. The vineyard, known for its refined, complex pinot noirs, has a sleek, wood and stone tasting room with comfy couches and a stone fireplace, and outdoor terraces. The views were gorgeous. We sampled their estate pinots, and tried a 2018 estate chardonnay, aged in oak but still fresh and acidic.
That evening, our last in Willamette Valley, we stayed at The Independence — A Trace Hotel, in the town of Independence, located on the banks of the Willamette River. It’s a contemporary boutique hotel, with modern rooms, an on-site restaurant, and a rooftop terrace. Our room, named the “Indy Squad Suite,” was a sweet spot, with six luxury bunk beds, two full bathrooms, a large vanity and dressing area, separate sitting area, and wine frig. (Of course!) We dined at Territory restaurant in the hotel, sharing smoky blue cheese and wild mushroom flatbreads, heirloom beets drizzled with creamy goat cheese dressing, pork belly risotto, and wild boar ragu.
Rain, rain go away
“The rain is good for the grapes!” the woman checking us out of the hotel exclaimed with excitement, as water pummeled the roof. Sour grapes, we thought. Our plan was to hike the trails in Silverton-Silver Falls State Park, to work off some of the food and wine we’d been enjoying. Instead, we visited the Oregon Garden Resort & Spa for massages and lunch. By the time we were done, the rain had slowed, and we toured the beautiful Oregon Garden, an 80-acre botanical oasis, set on 80 acres and including more than 20 themed gardens, including a children’s garden with animal-shaped topiary, and a conifer garden with one of the largest collections of dwarf and miniature conifers in the country.
We were in the airport waiting for our flight back home. “Look at this!” one of our girlfriends cried. She pointed to an article on her phone: Time magazine has named Willamette Valley to its list of the “World’s Greatest Places,” calling it “the next Napa.” We knew that. For more information, visit www.willamettevalley.org and www.traveloregon.com.