Walking into Duck Pond Cellars is something of an explosion of cute. Past the pond and the flowers, past the comfortable chairs on the patio and into the bright, big tasting room at times it seems overdone but it's never oppressive. For instance, the large gift shop is chock full of every...
Sokol Blosser's gorgeous tasting room was only a year old when we visited. The tasting room attendants all cocked an eyebrow when I asked about it, looked at each other and said, We opened exactly a year ago. Happy anniversary! Bright, spacious, light wood and big windows inside, a large deck...
Fox Farm Vineyards' tasting room is located in Newburg, Oregon's town center in a historic building. The exposed brick walls, dark wood, and huge common table in the middle of the room make it one of the nicest looking tasting rooms around. The acoustics were an added bonus, so live music is...
While it's not unusual for a winery to open their tasting room in town, rather than on premises, that usually means no more than a dozen miles away in the winery's hometown. Troon Vineyard has a lovely tasting room in Carlton, Oregon where Willamette Valley tasters can recover from Pinot fatigue...
The entrance to the Southeast Wine Collective tasting bar is next to the big garage door for the winery proper, and it's easy to expect that that environment would be equally utilitarian and plain. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is a gorgeous bar, with shelves and paneling made...
Scott Paul Winery's operation lies just off Main Street in Carlton, Oregon, spread out over two historic buildings across the street from one another. The winery proper is a former granary, while the tasting room was once a creamery, then later the office for the granary across the street. Now...
Barking Frog Winery's tasting room on Main Street in Carlton, Oregon is easy to find and draws attention from its name. What's a Barking Frog, you ask? It's a Native American symbol of ecology, explained owner/winemaker Ron Helbig on our visit. A barking frog was a sign that all was well in the...
In what might be the smallest tasting room I've seen, Stone Griffon Vineyard greets guests in a hole in the wall located on the strip in downtown Carlton, Oregon. It's a dark little room, but it's friendly. Terry McIntyre, owner, vineyard manager and winemaker is quite the storyteller and...
Noble Pig resides in a comfortable, unpretentious but elegant, dark wood room on Main Street, Carlton, Oregon, surrounded by another dozen and a half pretty good tasting rooms. Other than the sidewalk sign, the place stands out by not standing out. Understated confidence seems to prevail...
When in the thick of a wine tasting trip, there comes a time for lunch. Arguably the best place for that in Carlton is the Horse Radish Restaurant, smack dab in the middle of Main Street, mere steps away from one of the tasting rooms you're visiting (or at least should be visiting). If there's a...
According to the tasting room attendant, Twelve's name comes from the scene in This is Spinal Tap, where Nigel Tufnel explains that his amplifiers go up to 11- and their wine is a little more than that. Well, OK then. It's a tastefully appointed, long thin room at the end of the block on Main...
Stangeland probably isn't the smallest winery I've ever seen, but it's got to be close. Parking seems tricky at first but isn't hard after you figure it out (back into a space). We were waved in by the tasting room maven as he unlocked the doors, and he promptly set up our glasses, chatting...