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A group of 20somethings and 30 somethings sit around an outdoor firepit with glasses of wine, surrounded by fields and farmland.
Visitors taste wine at Abbey Road Farm in Carlton.
Abbey Road Farm [Official]

A Guide to Walk-In Wine Tasting in the Willamette Valley

Where to find high-caliber pinot noir at wineries, vineyards, and tasting rooms in Oregon’s most famous wine region — without a reservation

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Visitors taste wine at Abbey Road Farm in Carlton.
| Abbey Road Farm [Official]

Back in the day, wine tasting in the Willamette Valley was a breeze: Any old Portlander could hop in a car, waltz into any of the hundreds of wineries in the Willamette Valley, taste through some world-class pinot noir, and be back in town in time for dinner. Now, with many wineries short-staffed and tasting room seating distanced, visiting wineries from the Chehalem Mountains to the Van Duzer Corridor takes some planning. The vast majority of tasting rooms require reservations, indoors or out, especially during the busy harvest season.

Really, if you’re a wine nerd flying in from elsewhere, you’ll probably want to make some reservations depending on what kind of experience you want to have: Places like Alexana and Patricia Green Cellars pour a ton of high-rated pinots by appointment only, and trail-blazing estates like Adelsheim rent out cabanas and vineyard decks for tastings. Those looking for views can sip pinot from the deck of Penner-Ash or Bethel Heights, while those looking for something cozy can taste in the caves at Archery Summit. People really looking to shell out the big bucks can book a private tasting at a place like Bergstrom or Antica Terra, or nab a reservation for Soter’s Mineral Springs Ranch tasting, which includes food pairings made with produce grown on the onsite farm. Even the spots on this list can get mobbed on the weekends and prioritize those who make reservations; if you’re particularly set on a specific winery, it’s best to call ahead or book online.

Still, those of us with the foresight of a golden retriever can use this as a starting point for any off-the-cuff Willamette Valley tasting tour. For better luck grabbing a seat with vineyard views, head out to wine country on a weekday. Looking for something to eat between flights? This map of Willamette Valley restaurants may help. As always, this map is not ranked; it’s organized geographically.

Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; the latest data about the delta variant indicates that it may pose a low-to-moderate risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial transmission. The latest CDC guidance is here; find a COVID-19 vaccination site here.

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Trisaetum Winery

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Not only does this Ribbon Ridge winery make a number of bottles with 90+ scores from Wine Enthusiast and James Suckling; not only does it cover a wide swath of Willamette Valley wine regions and varietals, including Dundee Hills pinot and Coast Range riesling; it also serves as an art gallery for winemaker and owner James Frey. Frey’s paintings are like his wines, distinctive and nuanced. Visitors can taste indoors or out, on a covered deck overlooking the vineyard or within the gallery. It’s open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Vidon Vineyard

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This Chehalem Mountains estate has been making 100-percent estate wines since the ‘90s, with a nice selection of not only pinot noir and chardonnay, but also tempranillo and syrah. Vidon is almost exclusively by appointment, but will take day-of visitors when possible; the vineyard asks drop-in visitors to call (503) 538-4092 to confirm availability.

Resonance Vineyard

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In this woodsy vineyard and tasting room, visitors sip pinot noir and chardonnay from across the Willamette Valley with views of the rolling hills surrounding the property. Here, a tasting will often show off the variance within pinot noir, with some pours presenting subtle, ruby Dundee fruit and others getting into the dark, savory, tobacco-y notes of the Northern Willamette Valley pinots. Resonance is open daily for tasting, indoors or out.

Lemelson Vineyards

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The high-scoring wines and verdant outdoor patio at Lemelson make it a popular spot to taste gravity-flow wines made with estate-grown grapes. The wines on offer here generally consist of the Willamette Valley big three — pinot noir, pinot gris, and chardonnay — with a few one-off rieslings, from dry to dessert. The tasting room is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Cana's Feast Winery

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Cana’s Feast is a welcome respite for those with pinot fatigue: This Carlton winery specializes in Italian varietals, pouring things like nebbiolo and sangiovese grosso made with Red Mountain grapes. Then again, those who can’t imagine leaving the pinot noir world will find some pretty expressions of the varietal, sourcing grapes from high-profile vineyards like Freedom Hill. The estate is surrounded by Italian cypress, with bocce ball courts and a piazza straight out of Italy. The tasting room is open daily.

Flâneur Wines

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Housed in a converted grain elevator, Flâneur Wines’s Carlton tasting room pours a slate of wines from the Ribbon Ridge and Chehalem Mountains AVAs, including some welcome bubbles and whole cluster pinot. Flâneur Wines has a good handle on savory character in its pinot, with good structure for cellaring. Flâneur is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, taking its last walk-in at 4:15 p.m.

Abbey Road Farm Winery & Tasting Room

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Abbey Road Farm’s wine collective is the ideal spot to taste for those looking for a well-rounded experience, complete with opportunities to hang with farm animals, eat a six-course meal from a celebrated chef, and even spend the night at the onsite bed and breakfast. Abbey Road hosts a number of different labels and winemakers beyond the Abbey Road label, including Lares, Wilkens, and Stratera, so tastings may involve everything from sparkling pinot gris to Van Duzer gruner veltliner — and plenty of pinot noir, of course. Abbey Road is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Dobbes Family Estate

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Dobbes’s downtown Dundee tasting room is the ideal spot to get a good reflection of Oregon’s larger wine diversity. Beyond the fact a tasting flight may involve a Dundee pinot with serious strawberry notes and a mushroom-y Eola-Amity pinot, Dobbes sells wines from both the Willamette Valley and Southern Oregon — visitors can take home a bottle of McMinnville pinot noir, or a Rogue Valley viognier. The tasting room is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Domaine Roy & fils

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At this Oregon-stylish Dundee estate, visitors taste pinot noir and chardonnay grown in the Yamhill-Carlton and Dundee Hills AVAs, organically grown and made with a deft understanding of how to build structure. That’s good news for those looking to take home bottles for the wine fridge: Domaine Roy consistently makes highly acclaimed wines with real cellaring potential. Domaine Roy is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays through Fridays for indoor and outdoor tasting.

Day Wines at Day Camp

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Owner and winemaker Brianne Day is a legend in the somewhat-amorphous natural wine world, appearing on the Wine Enthusiast 40 under 40 and earning a semi-finalist nod from the James Beard Awards. The wines here are daring, creative, and wide-ranging: Tastings involve everything from Applegate Valley pet-nat and vermentino to syrah-viognier blends to Van Duzer pinot meunier. Visitors taste on the cool, breezy tasting room patio in “urban” Dundee, with guidance from the winery’s casual, even nerdy staff. It’s open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Durant Vineyards Tasting Room

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This Dundee Hills estate is far more than a vineyard and winery: Durant makes its own olive oil with olives grown onsite, hosts overnight visitors in its vineyard cottage, and welcomes families to stroll down its nature trail or through its gardens. However, because of Durant’s eclectic offerings and jaw-dropping hillside views, it’s a hot ticket; reservations often dominate covered spaces, though some may get lucky and nab an empty table. Your best bet is to taste on a rain-free day, when the area can host more walk-ins in uncovered tasting areas. The tasting lodge is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.

Sokol Blosser Winery

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This pastoral estate’s tasting room opens early — 10 a.m. — which makes it many hardcore wine tasters’ first stop. Susan Sokol and Bill Blosser planted this vineyard’s first vines in 1971, and the winery remains a family business: Alex Sokol Blosser, Susan and Bill’s son, makes the wine, while his sister, Alison Sokol Blosser, runs the company. Sokol Blosser’s wide-ranging selection of pinots is impressive, as are its fun blends and sparkling wines — not to mention the extensive food program. Sokol Blosser is another hot ticket, so it’s best to call ahead for availability. Sokol Blosser is open Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Coeur De Terre Vineyard

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This McMinnville-area winery is a lovely spot to taste regardless of weather: The outdoor, covered deck is lined with Adirondack chairs with views of the vineyard, and indoors, the tasting room is warmed by a fireplace for rainy days. The brunt of the wines poured at Coeur de Terre involve pinot noir or syrah grapes, with whites like pinot gris and chardonnay thrown in for good measure. Keep an eye on the events calendar, which often includes live music.

Stangeland Vineyards & Winery

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Stangeland is an old-school wine geek’s winery — off the beaten path, making really gorgeous Eola-Amity Hills cool-weather pinots. Stangeland started planting pinot in the late ‘70s, which makes its vines some of the more mature in the Willamette Valley. Visit the mid-century tasting room filled with oak barrels, surrounded by a ring of trees and mountains. Walk-ins are welcome 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Cubanisimo Vineyards

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This picturesque estate near Salem was known for its vibrant live music, dance nights, and events, with expansive grounds that make it easy to spread out. The events continue today, though visitors can stop by any day of the week to taste pinot, indoors or out. Cubanisimo is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Willamette Valley Vineyards

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Willamette Valley Vineyards is likely your best bet at grabbing a walk-in spot any day of the week. It’s massive, with a warm-but-spacious indoor tasting area, a large courtyard, a sprawling patio with vineyard views, pinot decks, a mezzanine, and vineyard lawns. Those who walk in, however, may have a harder time nabbing a straight-up flight; the mezzanine, patio, courtyard, decks, and lawns are bottle-and-glass service only (which shouldn’t be a problem for those of you just looking to relax with a glass of wine). Expect lots of pinot noir, from rosé to whole cluster, with some fun rare offerings like méthode champenoise sparkling and semi-sparkling muscat. Willamette Valley Vineyards also offers a full food menu with suggested pairings, like coconut-green curry clams meant to be eaten alongside a glass of pinot blanc. It’s open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and until 8 p.m. on Fridays.

Trisaetum Winery

Not only does this Ribbon Ridge winery make a number of bottles with 90+ scores from Wine Enthusiast and James Suckling; not only does it cover a wide swath of Willamette Valley wine regions and varietals, including Dundee Hills pinot and Coast Range riesling; it also serves as an art gallery for winemaker and owner James Frey. Frey’s paintings are like his wines, distinctive and nuanced. Visitors can taste indoors or out, on a covered deck overlooking the vineyard or within the gallery. It’s open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Vidon Vineyard

This Chehalem Mountains estate has been making 100-percent estate wines since the ‘90s, with a nice selection of not only pinot noir and chardonnay, but also tempranillo and syrah. Vidon is almost exclusively by appointment, but will take day-of visitors when possible; the vineyard asks drop-in visitors to call (503) 538-4092 to confirm availability.

Resonance Vineyard

In this woodsy vineyard and tasting room, visitors sip pinot noir and chardonnay from across the Willamette Valley with views of the rolling hills surrounding the property. Here, a tasting will often show off the variance within pinot noir, with some pours presenting subtle, ruby Dundee fruit and others getting into the dark, savory, tobacco-y notes of the Northern Willamette Valley pinots. Resonance is open daily for tasting, indoors or out.

Lemelson Vineyards

The high-scoring wines and verdant outdoor patio at Lemelson make it a popular spot to taste gravity-flow wines made with estate-grown grapes. The wines on offer here generally consist of the Willamette Valley big three — pinot noir, pinot gris, and chardonnay — with a few one-off rieslings, from dry to dessert. The tasting room is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

Cana's Feast Winery

Cana’s Feast is a welcome respite for those with pinot fatigue: This Carlton winery specializes in Italian varietals, pouring things like nebbiolo and sangiovese grosso made with Red Mountain grapes. Then again, those who can’t imagine leaving the pinot noir world will find some pretty expressions of the varietal, sourcing grapes from high-profile vineyards like Freedom Hill. The estate is surrounded by Italian cypress, with bocce ball courts and a piazza straight out of Italy. The tasting room is open daily.

Flâneur Wines

Housed in a converted grain elevator, Flâneur Wines’s Carlton tasting room pours a slate of wines from the Ribbon Ridge and Chehalem Mountains AVAs, including some welcome bubbles and whole cluster pinot. Flâneur Wines has a good handle on savory character in its pinot, with good structure for cellaring. Flâneur is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, taking its last walk-in at 4:15 p.m.

Abbey Road Farm Winery & Tasting Room

Abbey Road Farm’s wine collective is the ideal spot to taste for those looking for a well-rounded experience, complete with opportunities to hang with farm animals, eat a six-course meal from a celebrated chef, and even spend the night at the onsite bed and breakfast. Abbey Road hosts a number of different labels and winemakers beyond the Abbey Road label, including Lares, Wilkens, and Stratera, so tastings may involve everything from sparkling pinot gris to Van Duzer gruner veltliner — and plenty of pinot noir, of course. Abbey Road is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Dobbes Family Estate

Dobbes’s downtown Dundee tasting room is the ideal spot to get a good reflection of Oregon’s larger wine diversity. Beyond the fact a tasting flight may involve a Dundee pinot with serious strawberry notes and a mushroom-y Eola-Amity pinot, Dobbes sells wines from both the Willamette Valley and Southern Oregon — visitors can take home a bottle of McMinnville pinot noir, or a Rogue Valley viognier. The tasting room is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Domaine Roy & fils

At this Oregon-stylish Dundee estate, visitors taste pinot noir and chardonnay grown in the Yamhill-Carlton and Dundee Hills AVAs, organically grown and made with a deft understanding of how to build structure. That’s good news for those looking to take home bottles for the wine fridge: Domaine Roy consistently makes highly acclaimed wines with real cellaring potential. Domaine Roy is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays through Fridays for indoor and outdoor tasting.

Day Wines at Day Camp

Owner and winemaker Brianne Day is a legend in the somewhat-amorphous natural wine world, appearing on the Wine Enthusiast 40 under 40 and earning a semi-finalist nod from the James Beard Awards. The wines here are daring, creative, and wide-ranging: Tastings involve everything from Applegate Valley pet-nat and vermentino to syrah-viognier blends to Van Duzer pinot meunier. Visitors taste on the cool, breezy tasting room patio in “urban” Dundee, with guidance from the winery’s casual, even nerdy staff. It’s open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Durant Vineyards Tasting Room

This Dundee Hills estate is far more than a vineyard and winery: Durant makes its own olive oil with olives grown onsite, hosts overnight visitors in its vineyard cottage, and welcomes families to stroll down its nature trail or through its gardens. However, because of Durant’s eclectic offerings and jaw-dropping hillside views, it’s a hot ticket; reservations often dominate covered spaces, though some may get lucky and nab an empty table. Your best bet is to taste on a rain-free day, when the area can host more walk-ins in uncovered tasting areas. The tasting lodge is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.

Sokol Blosser Winery

This pastoral estate’s tasting room opens early — 10 a.m. — which makes it many hardcore wine tasters’ first stop. Susan Sokol and Bill Blosser planted this vineyard’s first vines in 1971, and the winery remains a family business: Alex Sokol Blosser, Susan and Bill’s son, makes the wine, while his sister, Alison Sokol Blosser, runs the company. Sokol Blosser’s wide-ranging selection of pinots is impressive, as are its fun blends and sparkling wines — not to mention the extensive food program. Sokol Blosser is another hot ticket, so it’s best to call ahead for availability. Sokol Blosser is open Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Coeur De Terre Vineyard

This McMinnville-area winery is a lovely spot to taste regardless of weather: The outdoor, covered deck is lined with Adirondack chairs with views of the vineyard, and indoors, the tasting room is warmed by a fireplace for rainy days. The brunt of the wines poured at Coeur de Terre involve pinot noir or syrah grapes, with whites like pinot gris and chardonnay thrown in for good measure. Keep an eye on the events calendar, which often includes live music.

Stangeland Vineyards & Winery

Stangeland is an old-school wine geek’s winery — off the beaten path, making really gorgeous Eola-Amity Hills cool-weather pinots. Stangeland started planting pinot in the late ‘70s, which makes its vines some of the more mature in the Willamette Valley. Visit the mid-century tasting room filled with oak barrels, surrounded by a ring of trees and mountains. Walk-ins are welcome 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday.

Cubanisimo Vineyards

This picturesque estate near Salem was known for its vibrant live music, dance nights, and events, with expansive grounds that make it easy to spread out. The events continue today, though visitors can stop by any day of the week to taste pinot, indoors or out. Cubanisimo is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Related Maps

Willamette Valley Vineyards

Willamette Valley Vineyards is likely your best bet at grabbing a walk-in spot any day of the week. It’s massive, with a warm-but-spacious indoor tasting area, a large courtyard, a sprawling patio with vineyard views, pinot decks, a mezzanine, and vineyard lawns. Those who walk in, however, may have a harder time nabbing a straight-up flight; the mezzanine, patio, courtyard, decks, and lawns are bottle-and-glass service only (which shouldn’t be a problem for those of you just looking to relax with a glass of wine). Expect lots of pinot noir, from rosé to whole cluster, with some fun rare offerings like méthode champenoise sparkling and semi-sparkling muscat. Willamette Valley Vineyards also offers a full food menu with suggested pairings, like coconut-green curry clams meant to be eaten alongside a glass of pinot blanc. It’s open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and until 8 p.m. on Fridays.

Related Maps