Ok, so the show has ended but the wineries are still there so I’m leaving this post for those of you that might want a easy quick trip to the wine country:
Traveling from Portland to the PNWS Aviation Museum sculpture show brings you within 5 miles of 100 wineries tucked into the hills and back country of Yamhill county. Here are 3 excellent wineries directly on the route that will leave you with a sense of having visited the wine country with little detour from your true destination. Each winery has areas to picnic if you should bring a bag lunch.
BUT FIRST A WARNING TO ALL: The local police use hwy 99w thru Sherwood, Newberg, and Dundee as a source of city revenue; radar speed traps abound!!
Now back to wine:
Stop 1) After leaving Sherwood on 99w you pass through a dense corridor of trees, crest a hill and begin a decent into Newberg. On the right, about a quarter mile down this grade is the entrance to Rex Hill Vineyards. Watch closely for the sign and entrance. Rex Hill is a large winery with an elegant tasting room and nice territorial views. They also have a very large welded steel (c10) abstract sculpture adjacent the parking area!
View from Rex Hill Vineyards tasting room balcony
Stop 2) After leaving Newberg there is a straight 1 mile stretch of 99w leading to Dundee. On your right about half way is Duck Pond Cellars. Duck Pond has a large friendly tasting room and best of all… tasting is free!
Entrance walk to Duck Pond Cellars and free wine tasting!
Stop 3) About 3 miles beyond Dundee look for Sokol Blosser’s sign and Sokol Blosser Lane on the right. 1/2 mile up the road is Sokol Blosser Winery with outstanding views. Sokol wines are distinctive and Sokol is also forging new standards for sustainability and carbon footprint reductions in the wine industry.
View from Sokol Blosser Winery
After leaving Sokol Blosser it is only a short distance to the Hwy 18 turn-off taking you to the Evergreen Aviation Museum five miles distant.