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Craft Your Own Wine with a Blending Experience at Willamette Valley Vineyards

Try your hands at crafting your perfect wine during a red blending experience at Willamette Valley Vineyards.

Blending experiences are available at the Estate in the Salem Hills, Willamette Wineworks in Folsom, California, and our Vancouver Tasting Room & Restaurant. These venues offer guests a unique opportunity to learn about wine and take control of the winemaking process.

“It breaks it down to a personal experience,” Vancouver Winery Ambassador Julian LaRocca said. “People get to feel a connection to what they’re doing.”

The prototype for the blending system was created and installed at Willamette Wineworks and later modified for the other locations by David Markel, Willamette Valley Vineyards Research and Development Manager. 

Each location is slightly different, with regional varietals available for blending a unique cuvée. At the Estate in the Salem Hills, wine enthusiasts can learn about and taste seven different Pinot Noir clones. At Willamette Wineworks, guests blend Natoma wines made in California.

In Vancouver, guests blend 5 Walla Walla AVA wines.

The blending system in Vancouver is the newest of the three, debuting in 2023. This location features five varietals grown on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla AVA. Guests can create their blend using Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. 

“The Blending System elevates the Tasting Room to be more of a complete experience,” Julian said. “It brings you closer to the wine and makes this more than just a restaurant.”

The Experience

A Winery Ambassador leads participants in learning about each varietal, sharing stories about the different grapes and where they grow.

At the Estate in the Salem Hills, guests can create their perfect blend using seven different Pinot Noir clones.

Attendees taste each wine, noting what flavors and aromas they experience. Next, guests create their ideal blend using the dials on the blending system to determine how much of each varietal they want in their wine.

Julian said there are no rules, but he suggests not trying to blend an equal amount of each varietal. He added that the group activity can be fun, competitive and memorable.

“A huge part of wine is the group aspect,” Julian said. “It’s about community.”

Winery Ambassadors take note of each participant’s blend so they can purchase a carafe or glass of their blend any time they visit the Vancouver location. 

Guests who try out the blending experience at the Estate can purchase a carafe of their blend and take home a bottle of their creation. At Willamette Wineworks, participants can purchase a glass or growler of their favorite blend.

Celebrate Washington Wine Month with a Blending

Those looking to pair their blending experience with a special evening can reserve a spot at our Washington Wine Month Celebration and Métis release party in Vancouver on Sunday, March 24th, at 5 pm. 

Before crafting your blend, you’ll taste our newly released 2021 Métis Red Blend. Tickets are $55 per person or $50 for Wine Club Members and $45 for Owners.

Julian said his favorite part is watching attendees take ownership of their wine.

“It’s special seeing people share their blend with friends,” he said. “The people that made the wine get to explain it as they share it.”

Mar 7, 2024 at 9:30 AM Permalink

Join Willamette Valley Vineyards in a Celebration of Oregon Truffles

Throughout February, wine enthusiasts are invited to celebrate Oregon truffles with Willamette Valley Vineyards.

Willamette’s Tasting Room & Restaurants locations in Lake Oswego, Vancouver, Happy Valley and Bend will feature truffle add-ons throughout the month, and the Estate in the Salem Hills is hosting a Gala Truffle Dinner as a part of the Oregon Truffle Festival (OTF). Tickets for the dinner are sold out, but guests can find a waitlist here.

The OTF is a nonprofit that seeks to educate the community and grow the Oregon truffle industry.

With the truffle harvesting season running through the rainier months, February is the traditional time to celebrate these delicacies.

What makes truffles special

For Executive Winery Chef DJ MacIntyre, though, truffles should be celebrated all year.

“One of the reasons I came down to Oregon was for truffles,” said DJ, who graduated from the University of Oregon and worked for Chef John Howie in Seattle before joining Willamette’s team in 2015. “I love mushrooms in general, and truffles take on a whole new realm of what they can do.”

Oregon is home to a variety of truffles that are equal in quality to their European counterparts, he said. Varieties of Oregon truffles include winter white, spring white, black and brown.

“There is a high quality of truffles the majority of the year, which allows chefs in the area to play with the flavors and Northwest ingredients,” DJ said. He added that the complexity of the taste and smell of truffles makes them extremely versatile.

Executive Winery Chef DJ MacIntyre

Pairing truffles and wine

Cooking with truffles can be as simple as sprinkling fries with truffle oil or as complicated as infusing eggs and cream for a decadent carbonara. Ingredients with a fat or oil base will pick up the aromas and flavors of truffles well.

Dishes featuring truffles pair perfectly with Willamette wines. For example, the earthiness in some truffles lends itself well to pairing with our Pinot Noirs. 

“‘If it grows together, it goes together,’” DJ said, quoting a principle of wine and food pairings. Because of this, truffles can pair well with many Pacific Northwest ingredients.

When pairing a truffle dish with wine, DJ said it's important to consider the different flavors and qualities of the wine.

Oregon white truffles have more of a funky, garlicky taste, while black truffles are a little bit on the sweeter side. So a dessert featuring the sweeter, fruitier notes of a black truffle pairs well with our Domaine Willamette Brut Rosé and its strawberry and honeydew with citrus notes. Meanwhile, a white truffle-infused meat dish with more garlicky flavor would pair well with an earthy Pinot Noir.

The Oregon Truffle Industry

Willamette’s interest in the Oregon truffle industry goes beyond wine and food pairings.

“We're trying to build awareness that we have something that is a unique food product that comes from Oregon,” DJ said.

Oregon truffles grow naturally beneath Douglas fir trees. Hazelnut farmers can now innoculate their trees with truffles, an advancement in farming technology that could give them a secondary crop from their orchards and help increase the availability of Oregon truffles.

To help showcase the connection between wine and food, the root systems of cork oak trees planted at sparkling winery Domaine Willamette are inoculated to grow French black truffles.

Oregon Truffle Festival Founders Charles Lefevre and Leslie Scott with a pair of truffle hunting dogs.

Founder Jim Bernau and Willamette also support OTF and its legislative work. For instance, Willamette encourages truffle hunting by dogs as opposed to raking for truffles. DJ said dogs can smell ripe truffles and leave the unripe ones underground. Meanwhile, raking can disrupt topsoil, harm root systems and yield immature truffles.

The main goal is to educate the community and encourage best practices so Oregon can produce top-level truffles.                            

“The word is spreading,” DJ said. “Each of us is passing that torch so Oregon shines bright.”

Jan 25, 2024 at 5:00 PM Permalink

Take a Seat at the Chef’s Counter for a New Willamette Experience

Guests at the Estate in the Salem Hills can now take a seat at the Chef’s Counter for a tasting experience filled with wine, small plates and plenty of conversation. This communal experience offers guests a unique opportunity to interact with our Winery Chef as their food is prepared and plated. 

“Guests rarely get a one-on-one interaction with their chef,” Winery Chef Jarred Henry said. “You don’t see that experience at a typical restaurant.”

The Chef's Counter communal experience seats eight guests.

Attendees can also engage with other wine enthusiasts at the eight-person counter nestled in the Estate Tasting Room as they enjoy a four-course small-bites menu. Current pairings include seasonal seafood with elevated wines and a Bananas Foster dessert paired with 2019 Domaine Willamette Brut. Please note substitutions and modifications may not be available.

Reservations are $60 per person or $45 for Owners and Club Members. The Chef’s Counter experience is available Monday through Friday at 2 pm and lasts around an hour and a half.

Your ticket cost will be credited to a 4-bottle purchase of featured wines or a 6-bottle purchase per couple.

What to expect

Chef Jarred said he’s excited for guests to try the unique pairings. The winter menu features Dungeness crab, halibut and more, paired with a mix of bold and lighter wines. The menu will change seasonally.

“I wanted to focus on textures and play on different temperatures of food and wines to create an intriguing movement on the palate,” he said.

Winery Chef Jarred Henry puts the finishing touches on dishes at the Chef's Counter.

The Chef’s Counter will offer an intimate setting for guests to learn more about the food and wine they’re enjoying.

A Winery Ambassador will guide attendees through the tasting experience and share stories about the featured wines. Guests will also have a passport to fill out tasting notes.

“We were looking for a really fun, energetic and engaging experience for our guests to interact with the Chef and Winery Ambassador,” Hospitality & Guest Experience Manager Kaylin Ray said. “It’s intended to spark conversation. I’m excited about the liveliness and energy it’ll bring to the Tasting Room.”

A lasting impact

The Chef’s Counter experience is more than just a tasting — it’s an educational opportunity too. Guests can take what they learn at Willamette with them to their next party or dinner. 

“We’re going to walk guests through the pairings and they’ll be able to take that knowledge with them as they pair wines with special dishes at home,” Kaylin said.

The Chef’s Counter is approachable, she added. It’s perfect for both new and experienced wine enthusiasts.

With seasonal and local ingredients at the forefront, guests can also learn how our terroir influences both the dishes and wine.

“You’re not going to get this one-on-one experience anywhere else in the Willamette Valley right now,” Kaylin said. “It’s an opportunity to talk to the Chef, make friends, socialize and learn from top-tier ambassadors.”

Make Reservations for the Chef's Counter

Jan 8, 2024 at 12:00 PM Permalink

Wishing You a Happy New Year

2023 | Year in Review

Thank you for your continued support of Willamette Valley Vineyards throughout 2023. Your steadfast commitment to Willamette allows us to tell the Oregon story through sustainably grown and crafted wine.

Exciting growth, strides in sustainability and a plentiful harvest filled the winery's 2023 calendar. Please read more about some of the year's highlights below.

We wish you and yours a joyful 2024.

February | Domaine Willamette Truffle Dinner

As a part of our ongoing partnership with the Oregon Truffle Festival, we hosted a Truffles & Bubbles Sparkling Dinner at Domaine Willamette. Attendees enjoyed the state's best truffles with our award-winning sparkling wines. In 2024, wine enthusiasts will enjoy a truffle dinner on Saturday, February 24th or Sunday, February 25th at the Estate in the Salem Hills.

Dec 29, 2023 at 1:05 PM Permalink

Mo’s Seafood & Chowder Festival Returns to Willamette Valley Vineyards

Mo’s Seafood & Chowder Festival is making a triumphant return to Willamette Valley Vineyards this January.

Willamette hasn’t hosted the classic event since 2020, and wine enthusiasts and crab lovers alike have felt its absence. 

“With the three-year hiatus, we’ve missed out on people visiting from out of town who would come annually,” Estate General Manager Spence Fogarty said. “For many local Club Members, this has been one of the most sought-after events we host. It's a staple in January.”

Fresh crab pairs perfectly with Willamette's Pinot Gris.

The festival returns to our Estate in the Salem Hills on January 26th-28th. Seafood and wine will take center stage as attendees delight in delicious chowder bowls and other fresh seafood paired with our classic Oregon wines, including the 2022 Pinot Gris. 

Tickets are available for purchase online. Admission is $40 per person or $30 for Club Members and Owners. Tickets include a glass of wine, a $15 wine credit, a Riedel glass to take home, live music and access to the event. A variety of Mo’s seafood and sides will be available for purchase.

“We created this event many years ago as a partnership with another local Oregon brand,” Spence said. “The event brings the amazing offerings of the coast to the Willamette Valley for us to share that story with our customers and guests.”

Mo’s North Coast Regional Manager Billie Jo Edmonds said her heart was filled with joy when she learned the event was coming back in 2024.

“My favorite part is the interaction we get with everyone,” Billie Jo said. “We bring in such a diverse group of individuals who make the event so fun.”

The Seafood and Chowder Festival is Mo's biggest event of the year.

What to expect

This year’s festival is the 24th iteration of the event. As usual, Louie, the giant inflatable crab, will tower over the Estate and be a great photo-op for attendees. This family-friendly event has something for everyone.

“If you’ve never been, you don’t know what you're missing,” Billie Jo said.

Mo’s will prepare food for purchase like shrimp skewers, clam chowder, oyster shooters and a crab dinner. Guests who purchase a case of wine will receive a whole crab to enjoy at the festival too.

With the Oregon crab season opening just last week, the seafood should be particularly tasty this year.

“It looks like it's going to be a really good season,” Billie Jo said. “I’m expecting big, fat, juicy crabs this year.”

Louie the inflatable crab is a great place for kids and adults alike to take photos.

The festival is the perfect opportunity to celebrate the bounty that Oregon provides from both the ocean and the land as it highlights wonderful seafood and wine pairings. While Pinot Gris is at the forefront, many of our wines — both white and red — can complement fresh seafood.

Although the pandemic put a hold on the popular event, Spence said it’s expected to return with a full crowd.

“We look forward to celebrating this event for many years to come,” he said.

Dec 20, 2023 at 8:30 AM Permalink

Help Willamette Valley Vineyards Combat Hunger this Holiday Season

Give back to your community this holiday season when you join Willamette Valley Vineyards in collecting items for local food banks through the annual Willamette Cares Food Share program. In return, you’ll earn a card for a two-for-one seasonal wine tasting to gift to a friend.

Willamette Cares Food Share is part of a region-wide effort to combat hunger. Support our neighbors in need by donating non-perishable food items at the Estate in the Salem Hills, Tualatin Estate Vineyard, McMinnville Tasting Room, or our Vancouver, Lake Oswego and Happy Valley Tasting Room & Restaurant locations. Donations can also be made at Willamette Wineworks in Folsom, California.

Look for the collection barrels at participating tasting rooms through December 31st. Donations will be distributed to local food banks to help support families in need after the holidays. 

The Turner Fire District will also have two metal barrels in our Estate Tasting Room for their toy drive. 

“The Willamette Cares Food Share started in 2014 as a way for the wine industry to come together on a philanthropic project,” said Emily Nelson, Associate Director for the Willamette Valley Wineries Association. “We knew that many wineries were already engaged in supporting their local food banks, so we wanted to unify the efforts and help promote at the regional level.” 

What to donate

This year, guests who donate six or more items will receive a two-for-one-tasting flight certificate to gift to a friend.

Examples of most-needed items include:

• Non-perishable food items for food baskets. Please check the expiration dates.
• New personal care & toiletry products.
• Laundry and kitchen cleaning supplies.
• Blankets and towels.
• New toys for children ages 1 month to 13 years old (especially 10- to 13-year-olds).
• School supplies.
• Direct cash or check donations can be made to Turner Fire Volunteer Association at 7605 3rd St. SE, Turner, OR 97392.

Community impact

Supporting charitable organizations not only allows us to support the community but also gives our guests and Owners a chance to make a difference too, Estate General Manager Spence Fogarty said.

“We find that we have a lot of members and guests who want to help out,” he said, adding that guests often feel a sense of pride knowing they can help those in need through their favorite winery. 

“Supporting the community has always been a defining element in the Willamette Valley wine region,” Emily said.

To find out more about the program click here.

Dec 4, 2023 at 10:00 AM Permalink

Willamette Valley Vineyard “Elves” help tidy up local wine aisles

This December, some Willamette Valley Vineyard volunteers are getting in the holiday spirit by acting as “elves” in the community.

Volunteers team up with members of Willamette’s National Sales Department and visit local stores to stock shelves and displays, tidy up the wine aisle, dust bottles, fill wines in the cold box and more. The program started as a way to support our community partners by providing them with some extra hands during a busy time of year.

Industry Relations Manager Suzanne Shultz said a little help can go a long way during the holidays. She added that many clients have expressed their gratitude for the annual outing.

“We get a lot of responses,” Suzanne said. “There’s a lot of confusion and shock, and they ask if we’re really there just to help them. It’s terrific and a great act of goodwill.”

The volunteers don’t just tidy up our winery’s bottles — they clean up the entire wine section and help customers pick out bottles, too. 

Willamette Owners Aurora and Gary Clabaugh said acting as elves is a great way to connect with the community.

“It’s a way to volunteer, get out there and meet people,” Gary said. “We can share our experiences with others too.”

Owners looking to volunteer next year can apply through Oregon Wine Enthusiasts or email  stock.offering@wvv.com for more information. The elves usually go out on the days before Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve. 

“It’s nice to try to spread some Christmas cheer and have fun,” Aurora said. She added that it’s great meeting other owners, too. 

The yearly tradition is one way Willamette Valley Vineyards aims to positively impact the community.

“It’s about supporting those who are supporting us throughout the year,” Suzanne said. “It’s not much, but it’s a little something we can do to say thank you.”

Nov 30, 2023 at 1:00 PM Permalink

Fall harvest includes “harvesting” mason bee cocoons to support our native bees

One of the unique ways Willamette Valley Vineyards practices sustainable vineyard stewardship is through our mason bee program. These insects play a crucial role in encouraging biodiversity and maintaining a healthy bee population.

This November, Randy Hillyer, Facilities Coordinator at the winery, and Stephen Paisley, Willamette’s “Bee Guy,” cleaned the mason bee boxes before storing them for the winter. This process included removing nearly 11,000 cocoons from 240 wooden trays and placing the cocoons in a refrigerator so the bees remain dormant until the spring.

Mason Bee Cocoons

Cleaning the bee box cocoons and trays is crucial to maintaining mason bee populations. Removing pests, mold, pollen, wasps and other materials from the trays ensures the bees have a clean, safe place to live and lay eggs. Washing the cocoons gives the bees a better chance of thriving in the spring.

Stephen and Randy will return the bees to their bee houses in late March or early April. Until then, the bees are hibernating inside their cocoons. As the temperature warms, the bees will emerge and get busy pollinating nearby plants and flowers.

Bees at the vineyard 

Since 2019, Stephen and Randy have been working on managing the mason bees and helping bolster pollinator populations.

Willamette first introduced mason bees at four locations in 2019, including Tualatin Estate Vineyard, Elton Vineyard, Bernau Estate Vineyard at Domaine Willamette in the Dundee Hills and the Estate Vineyard in the Salem Hills.

Stephen, a self-described “mason bee enthusiast,” brought the idea to Willamette Valley Vineyards after encountering mason bees for the first time about eight years ago at Jackson Bottom Wetlands in Hillsboro. He was fascinated by the insects.

“What’s really cool about mason bees is they’re native to the valley,” Stephen said, adding that it might surprise some that honey bees are not native pollinators.

About mason bees

Mason bees come in a blueish color and sort of resemble a large fly, Stephen said. This type of bee is known for its efficient and productive pollinating abilities. Unlike honey bees, mason bees are solitary — they don’t live in a hive. They are classified as hole-nesting bees because they build their nests in natural holes they find in their environment or, in this case, man-made holes. 

Mason Bee Cocoons

Like other bee species, mason bee populations are declining. Stephen’s idea to reintroduce mason bees into the vineyards is an effort to support healthy populations of native pollinators. 

Benefitting the environment

Our vines are self-pollinating, so the bees don’t directly impact our crop. However, bees are a crucial part of our everyday lives.

Mason bees are extremely efficient pollinators, making them a key component to farms and gardens everywhere.

“If we lost the pollinators, we’d lose half of our food,” Paisley said.

This spring, wine enthusiasts can take a close-up look at the mason bees in our vineyards when the boxes return and the bees emerge from their cocoons to help the surrounding environment flourish.

Nov 21, 2023 at 12:30 PM Permalink

Cow Horn Burial at Bernau Estate Vineyard

Vineyard stewards, staff and Owner volunteers gathered at Domaine Willamette today to bury a cache of cow horns filled with manure.

The biodynamic tradition will transform the manure into a nutrient-rich matter that will enrich the vineyard. 

In the spring, the team will unearth the horns and mix the resulting matter with rainwater by hand. 

Willamette’s biodynamic consultant Jim Fullmer, prepped the team to fill the horns by hand with manure he brought from his biodynamic farm.

The manure “will go from something you don’t want to put in your face to something you’ll want to smash your face into,” he said. Indeed, by spring the manure will be a rich, dark, earthy matter that smells sweet and is alive with nutrients.

Come spring, the resulting mixture will be sprayed on the ground beneath the vines at Bernau Estate Vineyard. The cow horns buried today will provide the vineyard with several sprays throughout next year’s growing season.

"These biodynamic preparations represent the culmination of a 25-year effort to produce Demeter-certified Pinot Noir from the Dundee Hills AVA," said Founder and CEO Jim Bernau, "and they mark just the beginning of our journey here.”

The 2023 vintage of Pinot Noir from Bernau Estate Vineyard will be the winery's first official biodynamically-certified grown and biodynamically-certified made wine. Grapes harvested at Bernau Estate this fall were fermented separately from the winery’s other wines to preserve their biodynamic qualities.

Founder & CEO, Jim Bernau (left), Vineyard Manager, Efren Loeza (center) & Director of Winemaking & Vineyards Terry Culton (right)

Biodynamic farming uses a holistic, ecological and ethical approach in all types of agriculture. It involves managing a farm by treating it like a living organism. 

Using biodynamics in the day-to-day operation of a farm, such as a vineyard, encourages a farming system that is minimally dependent on outside materials that can be created to meet the land's needs. These outside materials include chemicals, pesticides and other harmful sprays. The farm's biodiversity is organized in a way that the waste of one part becomes the energy for another, thus increasing the farm's capacity for self-renewal and sustainability.

“It does make good wine,” Fullmer said.

Nov 3, 2023 at 3:47 PM Permalink

Harvest 2022 at Willamette Valley Vineyards

With pickers gathering clusters in the vineyards and bins of fruit making their way to our Salem Hills production facility, Willamette Valley Vineyards is bringing in the biggest vintage in the company’s history.

Not only is the fruit plentiful, the quality of the fruit is indicating an excellent vintage for 2022.

Oregon Wine Enthusiasts gathered around several bins of Pinot Noir grapes at Bernau Estate Vineyards for the first pick of the 2022 harvest. These Pinot Noir grapes will eventually make sparkling wines to be sold at Domaine Willamette.

“The grapes are looking and tasting amazing and I am really excited for the quality of wine we will produce,” said Assistant Winemaker Brandon Shelby.

Harvest is an exciting time every year, but this year we are delighted with the results. Following a late frost in April and a cool spring, our vineyards experienced ideal growing conditions this summer and vineyard crews began harvesting fruit in late September. 

Harvest started with early picks of Pinot Noir at our Bernau Estate Vineyard in Oregon's Dundee Hills. The first pick was dedicated to sparkling wines. These wine grapes have higher acidity levels that give our sparkling wines the structure to age for years and the ability to remain bright after secondary fermentation.

Bernau Estate Vineyard’s lower elevation at 280 to 300 feet off the valley floor allows for the fruit to ripen earlier than higher elevation sites such as Elton Vineyard, Tualatin Estate Vineyard, Loeza Vineyard and finally the Estate in the Salem Hills, where the grapes will ripen towards the end of the growing season. 

The Estate Vineyard is traditionally one of the last sites to be harvested due to the cooler weather in the Salem Hills as well as the vineyard’s ability to let the fruit hang a bit longer for sugar and flavor development.

“Still, it’s always an amazing feeling when we finally get the last of the grapes in the door for the vintage,” he said.

Oct 18, 2022 at 10:02 AM Permalink