Prior to the craft beer explosion in Australia, in which we basically copied US styles, everyone in Australia also thought that the US market was 98% piss water. But people in the US think Australians drink Fosters (which is close to unavailable in Australia).
I’ve only been out to OR wine country once, but the best tasting we had by a pretty comfortable margin was at Domaine Divio. OR state law restricts the purchase of large swaths of land, so there are a ton of small operations and very few big corporate ones, which is good, but it also means it’s impossible to try them all.
Right. I guess I should also note my power level, which is high in terms of general wine knowledge and experience and low in terms of Oregon wines. Definitely a Pinotphile but have had Oregon wines perhaps twice in my life as American stuff is insanely expensive in Australia. Importing it is extremely niche and it’s subject to a 50% tax.
In downtown McMinnville you might be able to book a reservation for tomorrow for Martin Woods. (They have an online system and it looks like availability for tomorrow. I tasted with them and they were decent.) I also tried Brick House (tasting at the winery outside of town) but their online system only allows reservation 24 hours in advance. The other places I visited were smaller operations where I have a personal relationship with them from a wine forum and from purchasing/emailing over the years, but I don’t think you could get a visit scheduled for tomorrow.
If you like Whites, Oregon Chardonnay can be fantastic too. Most are nothing like California Chardonnay.
Some of my favorite Oregon producers of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay: Goodfellow Family Wineries, Vincent Wine Company, Walter Scott, Patricia Green Cellars, Brick House
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Oh and be careful of anybody selling 2020 Pinot Noir. (None of the wineries I listed above will be doing that. Well actually Brick House is experimenting with one release, but disclosing the smoke taint.) Most are smoke tainted and good wineries are not bottling them.
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I lived in Perth in 2012 and bartended for a bit, and the beer scene was just terrible, i think the most tilting thing was having to field jokes about Americans drinking piss water lol.
But yeah, where is all the Fosters at?! It’s Australian for beer!
I will say the hard cider scene was ahead of it’s time down there
Yeah, this is important. I actually have had a wine where the smoke kinda worked, but that was definitely the exception. You might try a 2020 pinot just for curiosity’s sake and to taste the tragedy, but don’t buy 2020 Oregon wine you haven’t tasted.
Yeah the one I tasted at Brick House was fine right now. (And they disclosed it so I have no issue with them selling it.) But I would be nervous about what it will taste like in 10 years from vintage, which is about when I like to drink Oregon Pinots. But no harm in trying or buying things for near term drinking.
I tasted one at Willamette Valley Vineyards and it finished like an ash tray. (They have a tasting room in downtown McMinnville that accepts walk-ins, but I wasn’t impressed.)
Nothing of what WVV sells at the local Costco has impressed me enough to want to visit them. Maybe they have some higher end stuff, but there’s so much out there to try it doesn’t seem worth the bother.
I tasted through about 8 offerings including their reserves, and I would say do not bother.
I do highly recommend Goodfellow and Vincent (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), Walter Scott (Chardonnay), and Brick House (Pinot Noir) if you haven’t tried those producers.
Yeah, I’ll give them a shot 
The Goodfellow WV and Ribbon Ridge releases are a steal in the low $20’s and you can probably find them locally. (No chance in hell for me to find them locally.) They are all made from his declassified single vineyard grapes that didn’t quite make the cut for his vineyard specific releases, but it is still amazing quality fruit going into those wines at that price point.
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OK cool, I’m in at Martin Woods and Domaine Divio. Patricia Green has a number for same-day bookings so I’ll try my luck with them and Brick House tomorrow. Thanks for suggestions.
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If you end up in McMinnville for dinner, Pizza Capo was amazing. Our second best meal of the trip, after Oma’s Hideaway in Portland. Thistle was also highly recommended, but we couldn’t get in.
Hopefully you get in at Brick House. It will be out at the winery and it’s a beautiful place and their wines are killer. And the woman running the tastings was really cool. (It’s a 4 person operation. Goodfellow is only 2!)
Will I probably be good to walk in and sit at the bar at omas hideaway?
I’m not sure. We made reservations a couple of weeks in advance. It seemed busy but we were seated outside in the back so I’m not entirely sure how busy the bar was. Oh one thing I just remembered is that it was the only place I’ve been this summer that required proof of vaccination to get in.
That’s ok I have that on my phone. I might Uber out there tonight and try my luck.
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I walked in and sat at the bar on a weekday evening a few months ago. Found a seat easy.
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Scotch Lodge is also a really good cocktail place with bar seats. Get the Soft Shell Crab sandwich if you are hungry.
Btw what is the tipping situation with these wine tastings?