Which wineries to visit in Oregon the day after Thanksgiving?
I’m going to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with my mom and stepfather in Oregon, and I’m trying to decide which wineries we should check out that Friday. Personally, I think the day after Thanksgiving should be the day when everyone in the US spends 24 hours straight using the bathroom. Just save it all up for the entire year, enhancing worker productivity in the process, and then take that holiday as your chance to let it all go at once. Think about it.
Anyway, where should we go? Here’s a short list, with preference given to those wineries that are usually closed to the public but are open for the holiday:
- Beaux Frères - Probably my only chance to get a bottle of their 2005 Upper Terrace Pinot Noir, which has already sold out!
- Lachini - Another small, newer winery that seems to have sold out of most of their wines. Hopefully they’ll have something left to taste and/or purchase after Thanksgiving.
- Shea Wine Cellars - Highly reputable house of Pinot Noir. Everything is sold out. Wow…I don’t even know if they’ll be open after Thanksgiving.
- Lange - After reading about this winery, I really want to go check it out even though they’re open most of the year.
- Dusky Goose - Intriguing, if a little hard to tell whether they’ll be open to the public.
- Black Cap - The Web site is incomplete, to say the least, so I can’t tell if we can visit this winery either.
- Amalie Robert - A very new winery with a lot of promise. Again, can we visit? I don’t know.
- Westrey Wine Company - “Texture & Terroir amidst post-industrial splendor.” Sounds fun.
- Apolloni Vineyards - Quite a mix of Pinot wines, but with a couple different Pinot Noirs available. Looks interesting, and they’re open for sure.
- Lemelson Vineyards - They make a solid selection of low-volume Pinot Noir, and they have received some recent press notice. Could be good!
- Hamacher - Another solid-looking Pinot-focused winery.
- Scott Paul Wines - A few Pinot Noirs on offer, one of which (Audrey) looks to be quite limited and delicious. And, they’re open on Thanksgiving!
So, the final list appears to be (based on confirmation of open status on Friday after Thanksgiving):
- Beaux Frères (15155 NE North Valley Road, Newberg, OR)
- Lachini (18225 Calkins Lane, Newberg, OR)
- Apolloni Vineyards (14135 NW Timmerman Road, Forest Grove, OR)
- Scott Paul Wines (128 S. Pine St., Carlton, OR)
Other wineries will be visted on an as-needed basis.