Benton Lane Winery

23924 Territorial Highway, Monroe, OR 97456

Website: http://www.benton-lane.com/

My very first introduction to Oregon wine was a glass of Benton Lane Pinot Noir. I remember it fondly. It was almost 10 years ago and my friend Denise and I had a weekly tradition of having dinner and some wine at a local wine bar. We would head to the wine bar after work and always order fondue to share while having a glass or two of wine and listening to live jazz music. I really looked forward to our weekly outings. I was a wine newbie willing to try anything, but I usually preferred whites over reds. My friend Denise on the other hand loves big, bold reds. Pinot Noir was the one type of wine we could both agree on. One night we both decided we wanted to try something different and asked our server for a recommendation. That’s how we were introduced to Benton Lane. We immediately loved it and would often order it on repeat visits. We branched out a bit and tried some other Oregon wines that we also liked but kept coming back to Benton Lane. That wine got us talking about someday visiting Oregon.

Sadly our weekly tradition had to end when my friend moved to North Carolina with her family, but we have continued to stay in touch. We kept saying we should visit Oregon but had other family or work related commitments that prevented us from planning a trip. Finally we decided to do it and knew we had to visit Benton Lane. Although it was about an hour drive from where we were staying in Salem, we made the trek to Monroe on our first day in Oregon. The drive to the winery was very quiet and rural. As we drove down route 99, on each side of the road were flat fields that seemed to stretch on forever. We could see the mountains off in the distance. It was very picturesque. Unlike the more northern part of Willamette Valley where there are wineries in close proximity to each other, the wineries were much more dispersed.

Entrance to Benton Lane Winery

The long drive to Benton Lane was well worth it for me because of the sentimental connection I have with the winery. For anyone else in the area I would recommend visiting because they have great Pinot Noir. I also discovered that they produce a lovely limited production Pinot Blanc as well as Pinot Gris. The winery is surrounded by acres of vines that is a very pretty sight to see. Denise and I were the only ones there when we arrived and it was so peaceful. The winery and tasting room is inside of a wood paneled building that looks like a farm house. The tasting area is sectioned into two areas. The first area that we immediately walked into has a small, simple wooden tasting bar that accommodates four people at a time. Off to the right was an area with a few gift items, like shirts, wine souvenirs, and jams.

Extra tasting area at Benton Lane

To the left of the tasting bar is a second area that has a few tables and chairs for seated tastings. From that section there is a door that leads to the outdoor stone patio area with several tables and chairs shaded by a large tree and a fantastic view of the area. We chose to do a tasting at the bar and then walk around for some pictures. A nice couple from the area celebrating an anniversary joined us about mid-way through and they were the only people we saw while we were there. The Pinot Noir was just as good as we remembered and Denise and I were glad we could finally say we made it to the winery.

Benton Lane outdoor patio