Category Archives: Oregon

Airlie Winery

Entrance to Airlie Winery

Entrance to Airlie Winery

5305 Dunn Forest Rd, Monmouth, Oregon

Website: http://www.airliewinery.com/

Nestled into the western part of the Willamette Valley in Monmouth, OR is Airlie winery and vineyards. This was one of the most serene wineries I have ever been to. The views from the winery are absolutely spectacular, and my tasting experience felt like I was stopping in to visit a relative. This is a dog friendly winery. After parking our car, the owner’s two Irish Setters came right up to greet us as we opened our car doors.

Airlie Winery was established in 1986. The original site of the winery was a Christmas tree farm and the former owners began planting vineyards in 1983. Current owner Mary Olsen purchased the property in 1997. She was raised in Osceola, Wisconsin and had a 22 year career working outside of the wine industry. During that time she had the opportunity to spend a couple of years in Oregon and visited the wineries on weekends. That was the beginning of Mary’s dream to own her own winery. There is a lot of history behind the name and label. In the late 1800s a railroad was built in the area and purchased by Scottish investors who named the town Airlie after the Scottish Earl of Airlie. The hot air balloon on the label is symbolic of a tradition in France where balloonists would carry a bottle of wine with them to give to the vineyard owner after crushing some of the grapes upon landing.

Outdoor tasting area at Airlie Vineyards

Outdoor tasting area at Airlie Vineyards

Airlie is a certified sustainable winery and produces a variety of wines that include Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Müller Thurgau, Gewürztraminer, Maréchal Foch, and Muscat Ottonel. There is a rather small indoor tasting room, but the real charm of the winery is their outdoor area. There are a couple of different options for sitting outside on a nice day. Right outside of the tasting room is a picnic table beneath a canopy. There are also some tables and chairs on the opposite side of the parking area the overlook the pond and surrounding vineyards. When my friend Denise and I pulled up the winery there was a group sitting at the picnic table outside the tasting room and we thought it must be some kind of group tour. As we walked up, Mary greeted us and offered for us to take a seat at the table. We hesitated a moment feeling like we were intruding, but the rest of the group encouraged us to have a seat as well. We learned quickly after taking a seat that they were not all one group and were from different places. Everyone was friendly and having a good time and as our tasting continued on we were joining into the conversation too. Mary poured the wines for us and had a story to go with each one. She was so kind and friendly that we couldn’t help but want to try them all. The tasting experience was very generous. The menu included all of their wines and we were able to sample any one of them. There is no set fee. Instead, there was a jar in the middle of the table for donations that go to a local food bank.

Outdoor tasting area in front of the pond at Airlie

Outdoor tasting area in front of the pond at Airlie

There is a quote on the website “Airlie is truly more than just a stop along the way it is a place to sit and stay!” That is my sentiment exactly. This is a place worth seeking out. What can be better than a quiet place with good, environmentally friendly wine, gorgeous views, and friendly people? Not to mention that tasting fees are donated to a good cause. Bring some friends and family and plan to stay awhile. Note that the tasting room closes between December and February but check the website to see if they will take a call-ahead.

Beautiful view of Airlie vineyards

Beautiful view of Airlie vineyards

Benton Lane Winery

Benton Lane Winery

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

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

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

Benton Lane outdoor patio

Domaine Serene

Domaine Serene Winery

Domaine Serene Winery

6555 NE Hilltop Ln, Dayton, OR 97114

Website: http://www.domaineserene.com/

An outdoor patio at Domaine Serene

An outdoor patio at Domaine Serene

Domaine Serene is located in Dundee Hills off Breyman Orchards Road near several other wineries. The entrance is directly across from the entrance to Domaine Drouhin.  This is probably the most prestigious winery I visited in Oregon. As my friend and I drove up to the winery we had a beautiful view of row upon row of vines.   The winery is housed in a Mediterranean style building. There is a nice outdoor patio in front of the entrance to the tasting room with a few tables and umbrellas. There is another outdoor area and wine bar to the side of the building. One of the defining features of the winery is a large sculpture of a wooly mammoth that looks like it is made of sticks. Our hostess explained to us that it represents the history of the area where wooly mammoth bones were once found.

Sculpture of a wooly mammoth

Sculpture of a wooly mammoth

Ken and Grace Evenstad started Domaine Serene in 1989 and named the winery after their daughter Serene. They have been receiving 90+ scores for their Pinot Noirs since they produced their first wine in 1990. The five-level gravity flow winery was completed in 2001 and opened its tasting room to the public in 2005. Domaine Serene has helped to bring recognition to Oregon wines in the media and to the rest of the wine world.

This winery is one of the more popular wineries in the area. When I visited, both the indoor and outdoor tasting bars were full and there were a couple of group tours coming through while we were there.

Tasting bar at Domaine Serene

Tasting bar at Domaine Serene

The indoor tasting bar is not very large fitting about 6 people side-by-side. The rest of the room can seat several groups of people. The room has wood flooring and wood paneling on the ceiling with several tables and chairs for seated tastings. Since it was so crowded when we came in and there was no space at the tasting bar, one of the servers behind the bar offered for us to take a seat and she came to our table to do the tasting. We were offered two tasting options, a Classic and a Reserve tasting. The Reserve tasting is a little pricey.  It was double the price of the Classic tasting, but I chose to pay the higher price because I wanted to try some wines I wouldn’t find back home. I was pleasantly surprised when the server brought over a dish of food to sample with the wines. It made the Reserve tasting more worthwhile in my opinion. Plus, I ended up only paying the price of the Classic tasting because I purchased a couple bottles of wine.

Their wines are excellent. The Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir is their flagship wine and has won lots of awards. I have tried this wine before and think it’s a great Pinot Noir. I enjoyed the white wines as well. My favorite wine from the tasting was the Rockblock Syrah. I was sad to hear that they are going to stop producing it, so I took a couple of bottles home with me. The hospitality we received was great despite the number of people there! The girl who served us was very friendly and did a nice job explaining each wine to us. This winery is well worth the visit but expect a crowd.