Carlton, Oregon: Wine Tasting in Soter Vineyards

Despite living in Portland, Oregon for a year, my knowledge of the area is still unfortunately limited. The extent of my knowledge stops at the locations of the bars in downtown. I work late hours most days so it's hard to find time to visit a museum or see things that close at a regular time. However, Ben and I stayed for a weekend in Portland and went out to explore the vineyards.

We went wine tasting at Soter Vineyards and absolutely loved it! This vineyard is tucked away in wine country without signage and it was only from an email confirming our reservation that we even found the location of this place.

Reservations:

In order to go wine tasting at Soter Vineyards, you must make a reservation via phone. I made one 1 to 2 days before we actually went and they were able to easily find a time slot for us so there isn't a need to make reservations weeks in advanced. After the reservation is confirmed, you will receive an email with directions and a confirmation of the time of the wine tasting.

The Vineyard:

The drive over to Soter Vineyards isn't too far if coming from downtown Portland. It took about an hour and some parts of the drive were quite scenic. Upon arriving to the vineyard, there will be a sign in the middle of nowhere that lets visitors know which forks in the road to take to reach the property gates. It's best to check your email for the exact directions or you will likely be lost. It happened to us! From there the drive will be nothing but dirt roads and hills, making it a bit of an adventure until reaching the parking lot.

Upon leaving our car and walking towards the building, a woman walked toward us with 2 glasses of wine as a way to greet us. Now that's what I'm talking about! She ushered us into the building where she then directed us over to a spot nestled by the fireplace. Several bottles and tasting glasses had already been laid out before our arrival (hence the reservations) in a careful arrangement.

One by one, she went over the details of each wine, starting with the origin of the grapes, a description of the taste, and details that made the wine special. It was interesting to learn that some of the wines were made from grapes not grown from their own winery while other wines contained grapes that were grown from their winery but grown in the same way they are in France. The winery does not irrigate their grapes and instead lets the natural rainwater do its job. It rains frequently in Oregon so it's no surprise that plants can grow so well without irrigation. Depending on the amount of rain, the grapes will carry a different taste and it will be apparent in the wines. Each year, the wines can vary greatly from the previous years but they are always a representation of the natural weather in Oregon. How cool is that?!

We then told her to take our wallets and give us a couple bottles of wine and happily walked out. Soter Vineyards is definitely one of the best wine tasting experiences I have had!