The Willamette Valley, also known as Oregon Wine Country, is home to more than 700 wineries-and is known for producing some of the finest wines in the world.
Willamette Valley winemakers are known for making some of the world's best Pinot Noir as well as a diversity of other cool-climate varieties with a personal, handcrafted approach. In addition to producing world-renowned wines, these wineries have set themselves apart through collaboration and sustainability.
Any Willamette Valley vineyard you visit will be pretty, but here are ten with exceptionally gorgeous vistas to inspire your Oregon Wine Country experience:
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The Résonance tasting room is located on a dramatic hilltop in Carlton, Oregon. Walk among moss-covered, old-growth Oregon oak trees, and witness the breathtaking beauty of the sun-dappled Oregon Coast Range, as it rips apart cloud fronts coming in off the Pacific Ocean.
The Résonance Tasting Room is comprised of three buildings inspired by the barns of Oregon, with earthy wood and stone building materials, large windows overlooking the vineyard, and a sprawling, west-facing terrace.
Take a step back in time with Tyee Wine Cellars, which makes certified organic wines just south of Corvallis. The celebrated winery sits on a family farm that dates back more than 130 years-and is today tended by fourth- and fifth-generation farmers.
Tyee's scenic tasting room sits surrounded by stands of oak and hazelnut trees, with picnic tables dotting the bucolic landscape; if you feel like stretching your legs, a hiking trail explores the nearby forests and wetlands. Stop by in May-June for vibrant wildflower displays.
Family-owned and operated, Left Coast Estate is guided by two essential principles: a passion for winemaking and a deep connection to the land where they live and farm. Left Coast Estate, just 20 minutes west of Salem, is in the midst of a regal Oregon white oak forest - creating a park-like setting, with plenty of picnic space for visitors to sip excellent wines and nosh.
During your visit you'll experience a perfect backdrop for a day on the vineyard, but these vista views are part of something larger about the past, present, and future of the Willamette Valley's ecosystem. Left Coast Estate maintains over 200 acres of ecological compensation areas, of which over 100 acres are old-growth white oak forests.
Sitting just west of Eugene in the southern Willamette Valley, Sarver Winery produces a wide range of estate wines-including regional stalwarts like pinot noir, pinot gris, and riesling.
The winery's laid-back tasting room sits atop a hill overlooking its vineyard, with views extending across the Willamette Valley; on a clear day, a handful of Cascade Range peaks rise above the eastern horizon. In summer, Sarver's patio affords plenty of outdoor seating, offers a rotating cast of food carts, and routinely hosts live music.
Willamette Valley Vineyards tasting room at Willamette Valley Vineyards offers delicious food pairings to go along with the sweeping views and fine wines. Choose among spacious patio seating, an expansive courtyard, and even a 65-foot lookout tower that affords wide-open views of the vineyards below.
Those sun-kissed views aren't limited to summer, either; each winter, the winery sets up transparent igloos (called Willamette Wine Pods) on its patio. Each pod seats up to six and includes heating and lighting.
The tasting room at Domaine Drouhin Oregon sits in the heart of a sprawling, 235-acre estate growing some of the Willamette Valley's best-loved wines.
Roughly halfway between Newberg and McMinnville, two pillars of wine in the northern edge of the valley, Domaine Drouhin Oregon's tasting room boasts a heated (and covered) terrace in winter, as well as a colorful garden in spring and summer-all of which pairs well with views that extend for miles in every direction. On a clear day, Mount Hood rises to the east.
Lumos Wine Company's tasting room is located on a historic family farm in Wren, OR - just 16 miles west of Corvallis and forty miles east of the coast.
This second-generation winery on a third-generation vineyard is run by owners Dai and PK with minimal intervention and the grapes that thrive on these hillsides are all USDA/Oregon certified organic.
The tasting room, housed in an historic barn on what is left of the H bar H Dude Ranch which flourished in the 1940's, sits atop the vineyard and provides a view of the Oregon coast range and Mary's Peak that is unique to the valley. One of the original guest cabins still stands above the vineyard and serves as a cozy, rustic overnight rental.
Cherry Hill Winery sits in the Eola-Amity Hills, west of Salem, and affords picture-perfect views of surrounding vineyards and rolling hillsides. Its tasting room is open May-September, coinciding with the most pleasant months of the year in the Willamette Valley.
Visitors can walk through the Cherry Hill vineyard or relax on the patio, sipping premium pinot noir in the midst of a 150-acre state dotted with cherry trees and even a small lake.
In many ways, St. Josef's Winery is awash in history. Sitting in the foothills of Mount Hood, just outside Woodburn, St. Josef's is a large, European Old World-styled winery-and is one of the first 25 wineries anywhere in Oregon.
A large brick courtyard sits surrounded by colorful flowers, shrubs, and trees-and even includes a water fountain to complete the old-school vibe. Nearby, visitors can sip pinot noir and pinot gris next to a small, scenic pond.
Winter's Hill Vineyard sits on a 150-acre farm that includes Douglas fir and Oregon white oak forests-all teeming with native plant species. As you drive down the winding gravel road you are entering a unique environment where trees, bushes, and wildflowers create beauty and habitats for animals and pollinating insects such as butterflies and native bees. Winter's Hill also sits along the Willamette Valley Birding Trail-so keep an eye out for migrating and native birds that may be out and about.
From winery's the covered patio, views extend all the way to the rolling foothills of the Oregon Coast Range.
Article Photography credits: Autumn Schrock, Andrea Johnson, Melanie Griffith (Travel Lane County)
