Umpqua Valley Barrel Tour: The Tour Itself

So at 9am, we were on a bus with these menus in hand! How awesome is it to have all these wineries only a few hours away from Portland… and a tour in which they take care of the transportation for you.

 

 

 

 

First stop was River’s Edge. Their Pinot Noir needed a little more time because of the confusing legs on it, but it was in the barrel so duh… the Pinot Noir Black Oak Vineyards barrel tasting was paired with one of my favorite food pairings of the entire day, the grilled chicken-apple sausage with triple cream brie and their pinot noir jam combining the smokey savory and creamy with the fruity and then dark red wine with a bit of tannin to finish it off. I even purchased a jar of their very liquidy jam to enjoy at home. Their winery is indeed located by the edge of a river, presenting a lovely view of vines and river and bridge and rolling hill and sky.  Yes, you can indeed enjoy wine at 9:30 in the morning!


 
Next stop was Bradley Vineyard, where we shivered as we enjoyed delicious wines and snacks outside. Who would expect that it would still be in the 50s in mid May? The view was incredible from their deck, despite the fact it was a rainy day, so worth a little shivering. This quote cheered us up as we entered the very small tasting room and were blown away by their delicious reds.


They also had really cool pourers at Bradley that measured their tasting portion in little mini-flasks. Their Pinot Noirs (they had several years to try) were paired with castillian chicken tapenade spread on baguettes, which were ok- the food couldn’t quite stand up to the great punch of the wine because the bread was too dry and hard and almost cracker-like, though the tapenade was rich from stewing in its slow cooked crockpot: having a spoonful of that on its own with the pinot from a cup might have been a better match.The hit with us was the Greek Cheese Pie (which they had catered by a local restaurant- maybe next time we should stop and eat there hmm) which warmed us up while enjoying their chilled off dry riesling outside in the cold air, and also the blue cheese spread (which you spread yourself on bread or veggies) paired with their Umpqua Rose. They also conveniently packaged their various spreads as seasoned mixes to sell so we puchased the mix for that even before we picked out which pinot noir we each liked best. I am going to enjoy that blue cheese spread with guests this summer on our patio with wine, so yes I already have plans for that tasty mix!

Bradley is where I started on my box o wine bottles to take back home- everyone who purchased wine had to put in cases underneath the bus with our name on it.

Brandborg Vineyard was next, tapping their barrel into a pitcher as they told us stories about how the couple met, finding this location for their winery, ferris wheels and love puppets. They did two smart particularly inspired pairings; their barrel tasting of Pinot Noir was paired at with a rich duck stew with mushrooms and olives over rosemary polenta and they also paired their Gewurztraminer with a Thai curry shrimp and rice with a couple pineapple chunks sot hat the light and bright Gewurtz balanced the spice brilliantly. I really liked their port-style syrah as it wasn’t overly sweet or thick (though their pairing this port-style syrah with a nut/cheese/dried fruit medley was more like trail mix and not a fit). They had a full portfolio of different wines to offer, showing a lot of diversity.
Next was Sienna Ridge. The best thing there was their honey buns. Sorry. Their profile of flavors for their wine was just not to my palette.
At Marshanne Landing, they had to deal with unfortunately a busload of people who had now visited 4 wineries and had tastings but no lunch. They were really generous with their spread of food, offering not only tastings but also cheeses and veggies and breads with olive tapenades, for which I hope they know a busload of people are very grateful (I know I certainly am). MarshAnne Landing included a pairing of their Merlot with an owner made tortellini carbonara instead of the originally planned spanakopita but his updated pairing was much better. Maybe I had more then one tasting here of this particular item (although I found out later this was being done by other bus peers at every winery where they essentially finished off any trays laid out of snacks! We were a busload of greedy guests which I am both apologetic for and what kind of tour for 7 hours doesn’t include a meal and puts the onus on the wineries being visited?).Marshanne also had paired a tri-tip with their syrah and their Red Planet mixed varietal wine with meatballs and raspberry sauce, the sauce at least tried to help what tasted like frozen appetizer selections from Costco. The tortellini carbonara was what stood out for me, though I was getting to the end of my wining and dining limit. As one more note, Marshanne had a great back patio with a contemplative view of a rainy day in the Umpqua Valley, and showcased local artists in their tasting room.



Last stop at Reustle took place in their packaging area supervised by Jean Luc. A little tree with little flowers watches the bus full of people messily devour ribs with the Reustle Syrah (the last pairing).
Reustle replaced the small chicken flautas we had the day before with the Gruner with a smoked salmon crostini with goat cheese and pesto- the flautas were a better complement. They still served their Pinot Noir with phyllo cups of Rogue Smokey blue cheese- it was a clever way, just like the day before, to package the blue cheese, but phyllo cups are a eat all of it in one bite or it’s messy because it falls apart sort of deal: how Brandborg toothpicked their triple cream brie was more user-friendly.
If I had to rank my favorites of the day in terms of wine and food pairing offerings, it would be Reustle, Bradley, Brandborg, tie between Marshanne Landing and River’s Edge, and then Sienna Ridge. It was definitely fun to spend two days exploring wineries and not being responsible for directions or staying sober enough to drive. But, I think before I go back to the Umpqua Valley, I should give the closer Willamette Valley wineries a try.

From Umpqua Valley Barrel Tour- North

 

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Umpqua Valley Barrel Tour: The Day Before

In between my travel weeks of Texas and DC last month I went on a quick 2 day getaway to the Umpqua Valley for their Barrel Tours. We boarded school buses which took us to six wineries, and at each winery we enjoyed tastings they had prepared to match with their wines and were able to try tastings the other wines they offered as well. We were signed up for the North Tour, which offered stops at Bradley Vineyards, Brandborg Vineyard and Winery, MarshAnne Landing, Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards, River's Edge, and Sienna Ridge Estate.

We headed there starting early the day before though, so we ended up stopping at 5 wineries the previous day too. Our first stop in the Umpqua Valley was Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards, of which my friend was a member, even though it would be on the tour the next day. Since we were able to arrive without the bus though, we were able to enjoy tastings in peace and absorb the beautiful atmosphere in their custom built cave which includes scripture engraved on the floor, angels on the walls, and a reacreation of part of the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

 

The snacks that came with our wine pairings: a Gruner Veltliner, a Pinot Noir, a Tempranilo, a Syrah, all of which were great. I really liked the fruity brightness of the Gruner- most of the wines in the Umpqua are of the pinot variety, and even though this was my first stop, my visits later over these two days reinforced that this Gruner is unique and a highlight. I thought all their wines were great here, complex in flavor and well rounded, and was only held back by budget. Everyone here seemed very intelligent and knowledgable about both wine and food and more well traveled in terms of experience and viewpoint.

 

  

From Umpqua Valley Barrel Tour- North

We also stopped at Becker, Juliana, Delfino, and Melrose. Becker Vineyards was a misadventure as we were lost between Reustle and Becker and drove past the right road probably twice unknowingly. When we arrived though, it was worth it: their pinots are very syrah-like because of how they have a hint of smokey or spicy parallel to their juicy fruity body, and ironically they didn't have any syrahs to offer yet but I can believe that they are known for them (Becker was recommended by Reustle). Becker also had a gorgeous Lab/St Bernard mix which resulted in a gigantic lab-looking dog but at the size of a Bernard at even only a year old. He was like the size of a minature horse! The wife of the winemaker had her hands full preparing tastings for the barrel tour the next day, but was very welcoming to spend time with us anyway and share doggy stories.

Julianna Vineyards is a new winery to the region: the two lovely ladies I was having this wine adventure with go every year to this area and they had never been here. Julianna partners with a winery in Germany and so their style is very different in terms of taste profile from what you would expect from wineries in the region. I only liked their muscat- it was very light, a good summer drinking wine, and the muscat varietal is a bit sweeter grape which balanced the acidity underlying their wines. A lot of their wines also were thinner in body and sweeter, like cousins of Rieslings. When you follow the map and then see the large sign to Julianna, don't be fooled that the winery is where the sign is: that's actual a stable, and despite the number of cars parked there that seem like it's your stopping point, it's not. You have to continue down the road a bit until you see another sign and then vines and a little house where the actual tasting room is located. We almost fell for this mistake but decided to keep driving while another couple looking for them apparently gave up because they never joined us in the tasting room. The woman who served the tastings was surprisingly defensive about this, even though she admitted she had made that same mistake… so who knows if they'll fix this.

Next stop was Delfino, and then finished at Melrose because they closed the latest of all the vineyards. Melrose's acid legs were not to my taste, so I won't go into detail on them here. At Delfino when we pulled in and were greeted by a very excited pack of dogs- literally half a dozen dogs barking and running around the car as soon as we pulled in as we nervously tried to keep moving so we could park. In a silly moment, the owner Jim almost accidentally offered us doggy treats to go with our tastings instead of the crackers! Delfino has been growing the grapes that go into Abacela's Tempranillo but they have been putting together their own wines recently and they have a great berry fruit-forward syrah and even offer syrah-chocolates (which was an amazing pairing with the liquid mother syrah and would work just as well if you age and enjoy it with the tempranillo). Delfino also has a bed and breakfast on premise and if I was coming here for a weekend that would be a lovely temptation to stay here! I mean, look at a member of their staff checking me closely and learning on my leg to see if his owner gave me the doggy treats or crackers… how darling is he? He and and his doggy pals and the owners were a very warm, friendly tasting room. 

 

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