Oregon Estate Wines

Dedicated to the Wines of Umpqua Valley!

"Where Wine in Oregon Began"

The Umpqua Valley AVA is located just West of Roseburg, Oregon on I-5. This area is not nearly as unforgiving as the Willamette Valley to the North. It is the home to some of the Oldest Vineyards in Oregon and two dozen family operated wineries. Let us be your source for information on Umpqua Valley Wines.

Below you will find a list of Umpqua Valley Wineries. Our goal is to provide you with the latest information to help guide you in enjoying our local wines.

Oregon Estate Wines Services:

Weekly Blog: We like to get out to the Wineries and will report back to you.
Wine Portal: A Free Home Page loaded with Wine News and Travel Info
Google Wine Group: Here you can chat with like minded Wine Enthusiasts

Wineries of Umpqua Valley AVA:

Here's a List of our Major Varietals:
* Baco Noir
* Cabernet Franc
* Cabernet Sauvignon
* Chardonnay
* Dolcetto
* Gewurztraminer
* Grenache
* Gruner Veltliner
* Malbec
* Merlot
* Muller Thurgau
* Muscat Canelli
* Pinot Blanc
* Pinot Gris / Grigio
* Pinot Noir
* Riesling
* Sauvignon Blanc
* Semillon
* Syrah
* Tempranillo / Valdepenas
* Viognier

UMPQUA VALLEY WINE TOURS
"Wine Tasting 101 on Wheels"
Oregon Wine Country Tours

Featured Umpqua Valley Winery
HillCrest Winery

HillCrest, Bonded Winery 44, is Oregon's oldest estate winery and home to many of the states first, including it's first Pinot Noir. Today we honor our rich legacy of innovation with our patented concrete red wine fermentors and Umpqua Valleys most sustainable vineyard practices. Our historic family estate is the fruit of many generations experience iincluding our working in vineyards and wineries in Europe, South America as well as teaching on wine in over 17 countries. It is our passion to produce wines that express classic elegance, structure, ageability and a reflection of the place in which they are grown. Using the states oldest naturally farmed vineyards, we handcraft all of our wines without any employees. From planting our own vineyards, to bottling and the tasting room, only our family’s hands touch these wines... or as we like to say "family made not family managed." "Great wines without ego"

Visit their website!

Sour Taste at Tasting Room

A recent visit to the Yamhill AVA winery of Elk Cove left my wife and I wondering at the management qualifications of the place. If you are like us you take the time and effort to go the wineries in order to have a pleasant and enjoyable time. This was not the case at Elk Cove. Unfortunately this tends to detract from the actual tasting of the wine. You get side tracked by the poor service.

Here's what happened. We arrive to the tasting room to find the host attending to a sale. (Sound familiar?) Her nose is buried in the screen. Does she even glace up to say the minimum "Hi"? No. We are the only other couple in the room as we wait at the counter for recognition. Nothing! She works through the whole sale as if we were invisible. A good 5 minutes. Even after thanking the other couple she does several more minutes of paper work! It is us that calls her over then for a tasting list. A muffled, "Thanks for waiting" was all we got as she turned away. We had to ask for our first pour as she was back to filing some papers. Not a word came out of her mouth as she simply poured the wine. We followed this routine through the whole list. She'd pour silently and walk away, we asked for the next pour, same thing!

This prompts my comments here to all tasting room staff. (Having spent 5 years behind the wine bar, I speak from experience). Say "Hello" as soon as your clients walk in the door. It doesn't cost you but a second but sets the whole mood of the visit! Multitask! Get the new folks going on a pour, then return to your sale, etc. And remember, you're there to promote the wine so get excited about having the opportunity to share your enthusiasm!!