Unlike the two wineries in southern Oregon we sampled earlier, those in Willamette Valley have high tasting fees - around $15 in many cases - and the wine offerings are heavily weighted toward Pinot Noir. After learning that we live in the Santa Cruz area, the pouring technician at Bethel Heights Vineyard told us that the founder of Bonny Doon Vineyard, Randall Graham, had been a mentor of theirs and was important in the early years of getting their enterprise on its feet. They had very fond memories of him. Small world. The cost of the Pinot Noir we purchased there? Fifty bucks. Ouch! And to be honest, it was good, but not memorable.
At our campground we asked if there were any wineries in the area with more drinker-friendly prices. They recommended the nearby Stoller Family Estate. It's a majestic place, its rolling hills covered with lush vines, its tasting room beautifully designed and expensively executed. The wines? Very nice. We bought a dry Reisling and their flagship Pinot Noir.
Back at the campround, we sauteed a couple of Walmart filet mignons, served with a shallot pan sauce, and opened a bottle of Pinot Noir from the Santa Cruz Mountains to see how it compared with the local product. We liked it better than any of the Oregon Pinots we'd tasted. I think we in California prefer more powerful, fruit-forward red wines; that's what we're used to. Matter of personal taste. Maybe a more sophisticated palate than ours would lean more toward the Oregon style.
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