Day three of our road trip was wine-tasting day! We had nine wineries on our wish list, one of which we visited yesterday, Benton-Lane. We ended up making it to six of the remaining eight on our list, including Archery Summit, Domaine Drouhin, Domaine Serene, Erath, WillaKenzie and Elk Cove. Unfortunately, we missed Willamette Valley Vineyards and Ponzi, but I am looking forward to visiting them on my next trip up this way. Our plan of attack was mapped out the night before, we had our food supplies for the day and a good breakfast in our bellies, we were ready to go taste some Pinot Noir!. As we were driving to our first winery in Dundee Hills, which was about an hour drive to the north of Corvallis, we came across this beautiful red barn set amongst a field of gold. This turned out to be one of my all time favorite photographs.
We pulled into Archery Summit just a few minutes after they opened. There weren't many people there yet, which was nice, since it was Memorial Day weekend, which is a big weekend for Willamette Valley wineries. They had lovely caves that we walked through to each "station," where they had a specific wine paired with a specific cheese and bread. Manchego! Oh, and the bathroom was so cool. I even took a photo of it (which didn't turn out that great but you can get the idea of it a few photos below..I also love how you can see me taking the photo in the bathroom mirror).
Our next stop was Domaine Drouhin. I had heard a lot about this place and their Pinots...it didn't let me down. Domaine Drouhin is in a gorgeous setting overlooking the Willamette Valley and surrounded by hills that have the most unreal colors. Oh, did I mention what a beautiful day it was? Picture perfect!
Look at these hills, such crisp and distint patterns and colors...and the sky...
A cool hand-crank grape crusher was at the front door, just waiting for me to take a picture of it. Look at that view. I sat outside on that patio with my wine and just took it all in.
This photograph below was another of my favorites from this trip. I'm not sure what it is about this photo. The sky almost looks animated. Again, rather unreal.
Next up, Domaine Serene...which is probably an appropriate name most of the time. However, on this occasion, about 10 minutes into our visit, a large gaggle of LOUD giggling girls pounced out of a limo and invaded the place for about 20 minutes. The noise level went up a thousand fold. The Domaine Serene staff was not impressed by this display...a lot of eye-rolling ensued. Luckily, it appeared the gaggle was on a tight schedule, so they did not stay long. Thankfully, they were not headed in the same northern direction as we were.
Jerusalem Hills Pinot Noir...Yummy!
Next up was Erath Winery....lots of daisies in front!
Next up was WillaKenzie Estate, a little bit north of the main Dundee Hills area of wineries. There is a herd of long-horns on the property just as you turn into the estate. Cool!
Our last winery stop was at Elk Cove Vineyards, which is quite a bit north of the other wineries and perfect for our continuing drive to Cannon Beach, where we would stay our third night. I loved the name of this vineyard, La Boheme.
After all the wine-tasting was said and done, we headed about 90 miles northwest to the coast. It was a beautiful drive along heavily forested hills. We hoped to make Cannon Beach in plenty of time to take a long walk and take more photos (of course!).
Our last stop for the day, before heading to the Seashore Inn in Seaside for the night, was at Ecola State Park. Here, we were treated with a gorgeous view of Cannon Beach from the other side. A very nice way to end day three.
Now...after a quick stroll around Seaside and dinner at a local restaurant, it was time to settle in for the night. Day four would be another long day. We were going to be up early and driving north to Astoria and then to the Columbia River Gorge...I can hardly wait!
Goodnight from the end of the Lewis and Clark Trail!
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