Forest Grove

The northernmost reach of the Willamette Valley’s wine country [1] is in Forest Grove, about 20 minutes west of Portland [2]. Here you’ll find Shafer Vineyard Cellars (6200 NW Gales Creek Rd., 503/357-6604) on a pretty oak-shaded hillside. In addition to pinot noir, Shafer makes sparkling wines and a few Rieslings, including an ice wine.

Don’t leave Forest Grove without stopping in at Sake One (820 Elm St., 503/357-7056) to taste the local sake and tour the sakery. The sakes, made from California rice, range from the delicate Noma sake, a fresh unpasteurized wine that’s available only at the tasting room, to the milky coconut-scented Pearl or a clean-tasting, very slightly fruity Asian pear sake.

Montinore Estate (3663 Dilley Rd., 503/359-5012) is just south and west of downtown Forest Grove. As is the practice at many Willamette Valley [3] vineyards, the grapes are grown sustainably using biodynamic practices.