Pinot wasn’t always my drink of choice but my husband is a fan so I would have a glass when he wants to open a bottle. When I tried Pinot Noirs from Willamette Valley region though, I was sold. We took a trip to Oregon in 2019 and made sure to dedicate a day for wine tasting.
We wanted to mostly visit small/boutique wineries and added in wineries with varietals other than Pinot as well. Here’s my list that I think you can’t go wrong with:
Bells up: Casual winery where we got to meet the owner while tasting. Compared to Napa wines, we thought all of their wines had amazing price to quality ratio and bought multiple bottles. Mostly Pinot! $30 tasting fee waived with purchase.
Natalie’s Estate: Small family run winery where we got to meet the husband and wife owners of the winery. I added this to the itinerary after seeing they also have Cab Sauvs and Cab Francs and definitely glad I did. $25 tasting fee waived with purchase.
Soter: Probably the largest winery we visited during our trip. Tasting experience was a bit more formal compared to others and enjoyable with an amazing view. They do distribute outside Oregon and I actually started noticing their bottles at wine shops after the visit. $30 tasting fee waived with purchase.
Beaux Frères: Not a huge commercial winery but well-known for their Pinot. It is on the pricier side compared to others (~$85-100/bottle) but definitely still affordable compared to Napa. We really liked the wines and regretted only buying 1 bottle because it was our first stop. $40 tasting fee waived with purchase
Ayoub: This is probably the most intimate/boutique winery. Wine maker hosts tastings himself at his property overlooking his vineyard. Really unique and fun experience + great Pinot. $30 tasting fee waived with purchase.
