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Fall/Winter Touring
Season in the Oregon Wine Country
'Ask me about the best time to
visit the Willamette Valley, and you may not get the same answer twice.
It’s hard to choose: I love the coiled energy of spring, the flash and fun
of harvest each fall, and lazy, hazy,
long summer days. But I do reserve a special place in my affections for
this time of year. Harvest is wrapping up and things are quieting
down. The rain and the sun are both frequent visitors to our hilltop, and
the vines are busily painting themselves red and gold – one last glorious
show before they shed their leaves and sleep through the winter. Not many
people visit in this in-between season. With rainy or bright sunny
winter afternoons, it’s an ideal time to enjoy the
slower, quieter side of wine country. '
The beautiful
Willamette Valley is especially beautiful in winter. If
you thought visiting wineries was only a fair-season pastime, think again!
Pacific Northwest wineries with winter hours are abundant, with most open
year-round. Now is a perfect time
to explore a variety of wineries and plenty of Northwest wines. You are
sure to receive more personal attention, face no crowds, and enjoy a
refreshing
break
from your winter routine.
For your touring pleasure, we have
compiled a list of top-notch wineries that welcome your visit... rain or
shine or snow. So what are you waiting for? Plan your winter
getaway today!
North Willamette Valley
 In
the
northern portion of Oregon’s
Willamette Valley, from about Portland to Salem, most wineries
keep their doors open year-round, presenting a wealth of options for
memorable winter wine touring experiences. Heading
south from Portland, on Highway 99, you’ll come to humble but mighty Winter's Hill Vineyard. The winery’s tasting room, open
weekends from 12
pm-5 pm in the winter,
is where Peter, Emily, Russell, and Delphine
Gladhart are growing the finest grapes, harvesting them at optimum ripeness,
and crafting the best wines possible
-- a sure cure for
cabin fever.
From the start of the growing season to the
final production of the wines, it's their family's work, pride, and joy.
Some
other wineries near Winter's Hill we may suggest include Domaine Serene,
Domaine Drouhin, Vista Hills, Archery Summit, White Rose and DePonte as well as many others
all open during the wintertime.
Not far from all of them is Torii Mor
Not far from Winter's
Hill is another family-owned and operated winery – Torii Mor Vineyards, one of Oregon’s oldest
vineyards. Owner Donald Olson
says winter can be the perfect time to visit the winery’s tasting room,
which is open daily from 11 am-5 pm.
“Visiting
us during the off-season is great if you want individual attention from our
staff, since we have fewer people through the tasting room. The scenery is
amazing during all seasons, but from the tasting room in winter, you can watch the
storms roll in and out of our valley...it's quite ominous!”
Some
other wineries near Torii Mor we may suggest include Lange, Erath, Maresh,
Joe Dobbes, Argyle and others
all open during the wintertime.
Winter Wine
Tasting
Experience Wine
Tasting in the Valley! Winter brings both a unique beauty and intimate
wine tasting experience to the Willamette Valley. Rain, snow or shine...
gorgeous scenery and fantastic wines await.
Join us for wine events as part of
Willamette Valley By The Glass.
Enjoy special releases, reserve tastings, food pairings, live music,
seminars to build your palate and more!
The Willamette Valley is the Heart of Oregon Wine Country. As Oregon's
leading wine region, the Valley has two-thirds of the state's wineries
and vineyards and is home to more than 200 wineries and tasting rooms.
It has been recognized as one of the premier Pinot noir producing areas
in the world.
It's the perfect time to go wine tasting in the Valley! Come explore the
exciting wines of the Willamette Valley.
Cabin Fever:
"If you would test the soul of a friend...rub
elbows with him for
five months! One of three things will surely happen: You will hate each
other afterward with that
enlightened hatred which is seasoned with contempt; you will emerge with the
contempt tinged with a pitying toleration, or you will be close,
unquestioning friends to the last six feet of earth--and beyond. All these
things will cabin fever do,
and more. It has committed murder, many's the time. It has driven
men crazy. It has warped and distorted character out of all
semblance to its former self. It has sweetened love and killed
love. There is an antidote. . .
Wine Tours!!!"
*
* Cabin Fever by B. M. Bower
Check out the
ON-LINE
WINTER DISCOUNT COUPON!
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