Oregon Pinot Noirs have been hailed as some of the best.  What got them this distinguished status among the world’s best Pinot Noirs?

The grape growing conditions of the Willamette Valley are ideal for this varietal.  Iron-rich red soil, combined with warm sunshine and nourishingly damp climate make for the perfect growing conditions.  There was something magical about the 45th parallel, that imaginary line around the Earth that brought us fantastic Cotes du Rhones from France and Piedmonts from Italy.  Tapping into this little-known fact, Dick Erath experimented and planted over 23 varieties in the hills of Dundee over 40 years ago.   Through some trial and error, the Pinot Noir grape flourished in Oregon’s warm Summers and cool wet Autumns.  The marine climate allowed bright fruitiness to come forward through a well-developed grape.

Erath Winery put Oregon Pinot Noirs on the map in 1972.  Today, the Willamette Valley is home to hundreds of wineries, making it the Sonoma Valley of Oregon.  If you are visting Portland, Oregon, don’t miss Erath Winery located in nearby Dundee.  The tasting room is open 11am-5pm everyday.  You can also arrange a tour of the cellars by calling ahead.

The legendary Erath Winery has a wine club that is free to join.  You enjoy 20% off regular pricing on any of your orders.  The catch is that they only ship 4 times a year, but each shipment comes with a selection of 3 wines costing less than $85.  These wines are fantastic and well worth the anticipation!

Fine Wine, Pinot Noir, Red Wine, Wine Club, Wine Tasting dundee, erath wine club, oregon, Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley

I was in Portland recently and I ventured down to wine country. The main cities are Newberg, Dundee, and Lafayette. There’s also Yamhill a little farther out which is supposedly the up and coming area. While in Newberg I checked out a couple of tasting rooms. My first stop was Hip Chicks do Wine. It’s a 100% women owned and run company. For $10 I was able to sample 8 different wines. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised! They were quite amazing. You can checkout all of their wines on their site www.hipchicksdowine.com. They also have a wine club worth checking out. This winery was founded by Laurie and Renee, who both didn’t know much about wine until they dove in and just starting experimenting. They describe themselves both as ‘cooler’ girls who first discovered wine in the old days when coolers were actually made with wine. They took wine making courses in Oregon and started developing wines. Though they have many higher end wines the founders favorite is still ‘pink and fizzy’. So for something tasty and a little less pretentious I’d suggest checking out Hip Chicks do Wine.

USA Wine fizzy, hip chicks do wine, newberg, oregon, pink, portland