| Wine CountryDestination Carlton Oregon... |
| By Tim & Carolyn Sinniger |
| Winter in the Willamette Valley...The harvest and crush are over and the grapes have long since made their way from fermentors into oak barrels and stainless steel tanks. The holiday tourists have come and gone. Winemakers have settled in to craft the world class pinot noir, chardonnays and the numerous other wines the valley is so well known for. While on a trip to Portland we had a Saturday afternoon and evening free and decided to venture into the valley and visit Carlton, Oregon. What we found was a lack of traffic, un-crowded tasting rooms and a wonderfully quaint downtown Carlton that offered plenty of great things to do on a winters day! |
| Contents copyright Northwest Wine Fan 2007 |
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| Tim Sinniger |
| Traveling into the valley from Tigard we decided to stop by Penner-Ash Wine Cellars. Since this was not a planned stop we of course got lost and had to search a bit to find it. With Lynn Penner-Ash turning out some of the most exciting Pinot Noir in Oregon we were anxious to see their sustainable three-level gravity winery and tasting room.. The winery is just beautiful as you can see from the photos. The tasting room staff was knowledgeable and even advised us of wineries to see while in Carlton. Our favorite wines tasted were: 2006 Penner-Ash Pinot Noir Dussin Vineyard 2006 Penner-Ash Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Both are current releases. Penner-Ash WIne Cellars tasting room is open Thursday - Sunday 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM |
| We started with Champignons Semolina Cake: sauteed wild mushrooms topped with white wine suace served with a semolina cake. Our second course consisted of Potato Cauliflower Soup and a Green Salad with herb vinaigerette dressing. We were going to order wine by the glass but the bottle prices were so inviting we had a 2004 Domaine Schlumburger Gewurztraminer Fleur. Great! |
| Cuvee Gallic charm in the heart of Oregon Wine Country Winter Hours: Wednesday - Saturday 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM Sunday 5:00 PM - 8:00 PM 214 W. Main Street 503-852-6555 Visit Cuvee's website |
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| Penner-Ash Wine Cellars 15771 NE Ribbon Ridge Road Newburg, OR 97132 503-554-5545 View map to Penner-Ash Visit Penner-Ash Wine Cellars website |
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| Off to Carlton... |
| Leaving Penner-Ash we headed out Highway 240 and then onto highway 47 taking the backroads on our way to Carlton. We love driving through the Willamette Valley and in the winter you escape most of the usual traffic. As you arrive in Carlton you cannot help but be impressed by the simplicity and quiet demeanor of this quaint town and the surrounding neighborhood. Restaurants and shops are scattered along Main Street while most of the wineries are located on side streets about town. |
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| One of the first landmarks you will notice is the Carlton Depot built in 1923. Inside this remodeled train station you will find the Tyrus Evan tasting room and gift shop. Here you can sample and purchase their wine. They also offer select wines from other wineries. Tyrus Evan is a ambitious project by Oregon Pinot maker Ken Wright. The label utilizes the middle names of his two sons Cody and Carson. Their specialties include Syrah, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Clarets and they also make a pretty good Viognier. Grapes for these wines come from varied sources in Washington and also from Del Rio Vineyard in southern Oregon. We have been following Tyrus Evan for several years and have been delighted with most all of their wines. The Syrah (both Walla Walla and Del Rio Vineyard) as well as the Claret are our favorites. Tyrus Evan tasting room is open 7 days a week 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM Tyrus Evan at the Carlton Depot 120 N. Pine Street 503-852-7010 |
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| Carlton History - Did you know? In 1872 a railroad was built between Portland and St. Joe. Since there was no stop between the two cities a local farmer, Wilson Carl, went to Portland and was able to talk railroad officials into establishing a stop. This meant that farmers would not have to haul their produce so far to the railroad. The story goes that railroad officials started calling the stop Carl's Town which was soon shortened to Carlton. |
| One of the tasting rooms that the Penner-Ash staff highly recommended was Scott Paul Wines. Unfortunately, Scott Paul was hosting a private party that day. It looks to be a wonderful shop and we look forward to visiting our next trip and trying some of their wines. For you Burgundy fans Scott Paul Selections represents over a dozen producers from France. Scott Paul Wines tasting room is open Wednesday - Sunday 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM Scott Paul Wines 128 S. Pine Street 503-852-7300 Visit Scott Paul Wines website |
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| Solena Cellars was the first Carlton winery I visited several years ago. I went with a large group and had lunch in the barrel room. We had a great time! Some of us bought wine futures from Solena...their 2001 Klipsun Cabernet Sauvignon. Good stuff! Laurent and Danielle Andrus Montalieu are still producing some of the most exciting wines in the area. In 2003 Northwest Wine Company was formed by Laurent, where Solena wines are made. Located in McMinnville, it is a state of the art custom crush facility. In 2007 they purchased the historic "Hyland Vineyard" in Mcminnville. With more than 100 acres of 35 year old vines newly available to the winery we look forward to their new offerings. Like a lot of other Willamette Valley winemakers Laurent and Danielle make more than just Pinot Noir. They also produce Pinot Gris, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and a Zinfandel. |
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| Favorites tasted were: 2006 Grand Cuvee Pinot Noir 2006 Pinot Gris Solena Cellars tasting room is open Thursday - Sunday 12:00 AM to 5:00 PM Solena Cellars 213 S. Pine Street 503-852-0082 Visit Solena Cellars website |
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| The tasting room is open daily February through December 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM The Carlton Winemakers Studio 801 N. Scott Street 503-852-6100 Visit Carlton Winemakers Studio website |
| Started by Eric Hamacher, Luisa Ponzi, Ned and Kirsten Lumpkin, The Carlton Winemakers Studios is one of the original wine cooperatives in the Willamette Valley. It is also the first winery to be registered with the Green Building Council and is also LEED compliant. The Studio is host to several of the areas boutique wineries. Many names you know like Hamacher Wines, Andrew Rich, Domaine Meriwether and Domino IV. Some are growers who sell their grapes and have just recently begun to produce their own wine. Names like Ribbon Ridge Vineyard, Resonance Vineyard should sound familiar to those who enjoy great Pinot Noir. Penner-Ash and Scott Paul Wines are alumni of The Carlton Winemakers Studio. A must stop while in Carlton. With over 10 wineries represented you can spend an entire day here! |
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| Dinner and the Downtown Scene... |
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| We had phoned ahead and made reservations at Cuvee for dinner. Having finished our wine touring early we had a couple of hours free before dinner. We ventured down Main Street and found a local wine shop, a gourmet deli and wine bar and a great cup of espresso! |
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| Both a winery and wine shop, Utopia Vineyard and Online Cellars is a great little shop located on Main Street. In addition to their Utopia Pinot Noir they also have a good selection of other Oregon wineries available as well as a large selection of California icon labels. We sampled wine with Daniel Warnshuis, operations manager for Utopia Vineyard and proprietor of Online Cellars. Our favorite wine tasted was the 2005 Utopia Vineyard Pinot Noir from grapes on their estate vineyard on Ribbon Ridge. The 2005 is sold out so be watching for their 2006 vintage. Utopia Vineyard / Online Cellars 116 W. Main Street 503-852-7546 Visit Utopia Vineyard's website |
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| Cuvee One of the dining experiences we had been looking forward to, Cuvee was a delightful experience. Cuvee offers French dining in the Oregon Wine Country and we were excited to try Chef Henry's Gallic cusine. The ambience is simple yet inviting with white linen tablecloths and rustic black chairs. Our server Felipe was an excellent host and helpful with menu choices. |
| After our visit to Utopia Vineyard / Online Cellars we had a little time before our dinner reservations. We decided to have an espresso and relax for awhile at Cielo Blu Italian Grill located right accross the street. We sat at the small kitchen bar and enjoyed our espresso and biscotti. It looked like they were preparing for a large private dinner for about three dozen people. The menu looked intriguing and we look forward to dining here soon. Cielo Blu Open Sunday, Tuesday - Thursday 11:00 AM - 9:00 PM Fridays & Saturdays 11:00 AM - 10:00 PM 119 W. Main Street 503-852-6200 Visit Cielo Blu's website |
| For my entree I chose Coquilles St. Jaques: Scallops and shrimp cooked on a bed of rice topped with a leek carrot bechamel sauce and goat cheese. Carolyn chose the Filet Mignon de Porc a l'Alsacienne: Medallions of pork Tenderloin, breaded then sauteed, served on a bed of Red Cabbage accompamied with a chartcutiere sauce and homeade pasta. Both were delicious! Our meal was really a pleasurable experience and Chef Henry and Felipe were very attentive to our dining enjoyment. We look forward to going back in the summer to have lunch outside! |
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| And there was music and dessert! |
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| Horse Radish Dinner is over, the day has been memorable. What better way to top it off, but with some French Press coffee, artisanal cheeses and a little music. Located on Main Street, Horse Radish more than fit the bill. With a great selection of wine, artisan meat and cheese, tea, bread and coffee this was the perfect spot to wind down and relax. The wine list offered many great selections. We only wish that we had more time to fully explore. The shop as you can see from the photos is inviting and we were able able to spend some time with the proprietor, Sabra Mathot. Horse Radish has been open almost a year now and their popularity was apparent during our vist. Locals in anything from french berets to cowboy hats were relaxing and grooving to sounds of Jon Koonce. |
| Horse Radish - Cheese and Wine Bar Hours: Friday and Saturday 12:00 Noon to 10:00 PM Sunday thru Thursday (Closed Tuesdays) 12:00 Noon to 6:00 PM 211 W. Main Street 503-852-6656 Visit The Horse Radish website |
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| As we headed back to Portland we could not help but bask in the glow of a day spent with winemakers and restauranteurs and experiencing the charm that is Carlton, Oregon. The off season is a perfect time to plan a trip to the area. There are no crowds or traffic to deal with and of course there is the added plus of being able to have a more intimate experience while visiting the wineries. As you can see by the map below we visited only a handful of the fine wineries in the Yamhill-Carlton area. We are looking forward to our next trip! |
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