Entrance to Emerson Vineyards tasting room
11665 Airlie Road, Monmouth, OR 97361
Websites: http://www.emersonvineyards.com/
I ended my first day of wine tasting in Monmouth, Oregon at Emerson Vineyards. My friend Denise and I turned onto the driveway from Airlie Road to a small gravel parking area behind the owner’s home. There was one other car in the parking lot. To the left was the owner’s residence. To the right was a building that looked like a large garage with a wooden sign that said “Tasting Room Open” pointing to the entrance. Vineyards surrounded the buildings on both sides. It was so calm and peaceful looking out at the rows of vines.
Emerson Vineyards tasting room and warehouse
We walked through the door labeled Emerson Vineyards into a large, open warehouse. Straight ahead there were some barrels lined up on the right and a forklift. In the corner directly to the right of the doorway right is the tasting area. Tom, the owner, greeted us from behind the small, wooden bar that accommodates three people standing. To the right of the bar is a large chalkboard with a list of the current wines. Beneath it was some stacked-up boxes of wine. An older couple was sitting on some stools to the left of the bar talking to the owner. It was apparent that they had been to the winery before and were from the area. They invited us in as if we were neighbors stopping in for a visit.
If it isn’t immediately evident from the residence on the property, this is a family operated winery. Tom Johns is the owner who lives on the property with his wife Jane. His prior career was in the medical industry. Tom’s son Elliott is responsible for growing the grapes and making the wine. The winery is named after Tom’s grandfather Emerson Waldo Fisher. While we were sampling the wines, Tom’s granddaughter came running in excited to tell her grandfather that she just came back from shopping with her grandmother.
We stepped up to the bar and Tom pointed out the wines that were open. We started with a white Pinot Noir that I have never tried anywhere else. We also tried a Viognier, Pinot Gris, a couple of Pinot Noirs, and a big, powerful red blend called Big Brother Red. My personal favorites are the Avelina Pinot Noir and Big Brother Red.
View of the vineyards behind Emerson’s tasting room
I was looking out at the vineyards through the window behind the bar as I was sipping my wine thinking “this really is the life”. Although, I understand from everything I’ve learned about winemaking that it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. I felt that Emerson’s wines were really expressive of the terroir as the French call it, or the environment from which the grapes are grown.
As we were finishing up our tasting we asked for a recommendation for dinner. Tom highly recommended a place called The Bread Board about 15 minutes away in Falls City that is popular with the locals. While we were getting directions, one of the owners of the restaurant walked into to the tasting room to pick up some wines on his way to the restaurant. He struck up a conversation with us and then headed out with his cases of wine. We later ran into him at the restaurant. It was an excellent recommendation!
This was really a great way to end the day and I’m so glad we stopped into the winery. Even though my friend and I were new to the area, everyone welcomed us like we were part of the community. Tom made our experience fun and interesting sharing some stories about the area. I will remember my experience while drinking the bottles of Emerson wines that I brought home with me.