Willamette Hot List

A tasting at Antica Terra is an elevated experience unique to the vision of owner and winemaker Maggie Harrison. The ‘collective tasting’ includes eight Antica Terra and Lillian wines alongside a rotating selection of inspirational bottles from around the world, which are wide ranging - it could be a grower Champagne or esoteric bottlings made from rare, indigenous grapes. There’s also a ‘Rarities Flight’ with hidden gems from their cellar and a ‘Very Nice Lunch’ option with food pairing created by chef Timothy Wastell. You can also embark on an excursion to the Oregon Coast for some fishing and crabbing, complete with a crab boil (and wine pairing) at the end of the day; or, create your own cuvée in their Blind Blending experience. It’s no surprise that their wine club has a waitlist.

A winery that grew out of a shared passion for Pinot Noir between Jay Boberg, co-founder of seminal music label I.R.S. Records, and Jean-Nicolas Méo, owner and winemaker of the Côte d'Or's famed Domaine Méo-Camuzet. The winery was born in 2011 and the combination of Méo’s expertise with Boberg’s entrepreneurial spirit has resulted in critical acclaim for their exquisite Pinot Noirs. Visit the estate for an elevated tasting experience - choose between the Pinot Noir & Chardonnay tasting, the Library tasting, or Le Petit Dejeuner, a private tasting with a classic French breakfast (check website for details).

We wrote about Big Table Farm in our Oregon Wine hot list last week and are pleased to include them in our Willamette hot list as well. The Atelier is the studio where they work and host tastings. You can choose between a private tasting at the ‘big table’ where they will walk you through current release wines, including single vineyard and special bottles or library wines; or enjoy a lighter tasting experience at the bar.

Purple Hands Winery and Urban Tasting Room, Dundee, OR.

Owned by Cody and Marque Wright, Purple Hands was founded in 2005 with 250 cases. Today, they work with three estate vineyards and source from the most acclaimed vineyards in Oregon. Cody and Marque are committed to sharing their knowledge about the winemaking process through two distinct tasting experiences: the urban winery and tasting room where you can see the working winery in action, or the Haakon/Lenai Tasting Room nestled in the vineyards in Dundee Hills. (may we suggest both?)

Troon Vineyards Wine Bar, McMinnville, OR.

Located on Third Street, the Troon Vineyards wine bar is among the McMinnville ‘culinary walk of fame’, which isn’t a bad place to be. The street is filled with great restaurants, local winery tasting rooms, shops, and taprooms. We included Troon’s Vermentino in our Oregon wine hot list last week, and Laura (Belle & Bottle founder) notes: “When I last visited Troon, I bought lot of different wines because I couldn’t choose! I wanted to keep trying all of the amazing wines. Aside from the Vermentino that we shouted out in the top wines last week, they also have a skin-contact Vermentino that’s exceptional.”

Where to Stay: The Atticus is a delightful boutique property well located in the heart of McMinnville. If you don’t want to stay in McMinnville, the Lake Oswego area has a great selection of your standard hotels for points and there are several B&B style places. You can also book the VRBO in the Vineyard at Troon.

Shoulder Visits: Tag on a day or two and visit some wineries nearby. Close to Portland, you can find Grape Ink Wines - organic & biodynamic wines produced by Jarad Hadi (also represented by our friend Jenny Lefcourt at Jenny & Francois!), and Willful Wines, helmed by the amazing Pam Walden. She makes incredible wine and her 2021 Winemaker Cuvée Pinot Noir is to die for.

In 2020, women found themselves straddling home life and work responsibilities in an environment unlike any other. Life was lonely, exhausting, and monotonous. Connection with other women was beholden to Zoom happy hours, sometimes with friends; but more often than not, with work colleagues. The stress of the ‘always-on’, digital-only environment only underscored the need for the space that we had before COVID. 

In 2024, we have a new normal. While we’ve returned to in person gatherings, many people have moved away, others are no longer back in an office full time, still working from home, and our calendars continue to have a gap that needs to be filled where our social lives once were. For Belle & Bottle, a company that brings people together over wine and food, the obvious solution was to create a space where women could meet each other, share experiences around their passions, learn something new, and have a good time while doing it. 

While we were building the company, we also discovered that there’s a need to talk differently about wine. The current system of wine experts who make the experience of wine exclusive, unapproachable and confusing, is stuck in the past. Wine is fun and tasty, and can be as simple or complex as our palates want it to be. No need for a lecture from an ‘expert’ on which wine to enjoy on girls night - we’ve got great recommendations for you, that you can find in your local wine shop or even the supermarket. And if you do want to get a few pointers on how to order wine from a wine list or you want to hear from the winemaker about the process behind the juice, we’ve got you covered there, too.

Belle & Bottle Social is a space where women who are united by a shared love for wine, food, and travel can connect with each other - and, connect with small-production winemakers, boutique wine retailers, and women-owned businesses in wine, food, travel, and hospitality. Collectively, we all know a lot and our social club is the place to share ideas, questions, and recommendations.

When you join Belle & Bottle, you become part of a movement that empowers women and small business owners (like the small production wineries we feature). Together, we celebrate their achievements and support their work so we can create a more inclusive and equitable future. 

It’s free to join. You can also upgrade your membership to paid, which entitles you to exclusive event invites, custom content, and a private directory to help you build your network.