McMinnville and the Yamhill Valley

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Southwest of Portland is the Yamhill Valley where there are vineyards and wineries that specialise in producing Pinot Noir wines. There are also some nice Rieslings and Chardonnays produced in the region. The town of McMinnville is one of the main centres. We think it is a gem of a little town and will go back if we are ever down this way again.

Driving through the countryside on a wine tasting exploration, we were overcome by the similarity between the views there and the countryside in Tuscany, Italy. One could superimpose one upon the other; however, seeing castles on the hilltops and nibbling on gelato in every village was not possible, so it wasn’t a perfect match.

In McMinnville is the Hotel Oregon. It is an old hotel that has been restored, but done so in a way to preserve its old ambiance and charm. It has a restaurant and pub where we enjoyed several meals and there is an old world pub in the cellar that made me feel like I was in England. The main street is treed and lined with wine tasting bars. We highly recommend this as a place to spend some time.

After a day and a bit of walking and sampling wine in the area we left for the coast.

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Photos

Vineyards of the Yamhill Valley
We couldn't help but feel we were in Chianti country in Italy when we saw some of the scenes in the Yamhill Valley, Oregon.

McMinnville
This is a gem of a little town with old buildings that have been refurbished and a relaxed yet prosperous atmosphere. We highly recommend this as a great place to stop.

The Oregon Hotel
Our favourite place to eat. In the hotel all the rooms have names and one was called the Jake Blair room. It is - it says so in our little brochure on the hotel.

Wine Tasting Cellars
This was one of the wine tasting locations we went to out in the country after zeroing in on what we wanted at the wine tasting bars in McMinnville.

Comments

[Sean]

Wish I was there!
That area looks like a lot of fun and very relaxing...could use a bit of that right now!!