A Spring Trip to Oregon Wine Country
A weekend winery itinerary for Independence, Oregon
A weekend winery itinerary for Independence, Oregon
We recently had the chance to head out to wine country for a stay at The Independence Hotel. (Code SAM10 is good for 10% off your booking.) While we were there, we went for wine tastings at both Johan Vineyards and Andante Vineyards and the whole experience was lovely.
We checked into the hotel in the afternoon, settled in and had a glass of Queen Bee Bubbly from Left Coast Estate, which was something I’d definitely like to drink again. After a while, we took it up to the rooftop and watched the sun set.
We picked up takeout (if you don’t mind a little drive, head to Red Hills Market) and made our way back to the hotel for the night to watch a movie and settle in.
The next day, we were up early for a pastry from Ovenbird Bakery, and after wandering around town for a bit, we made our way to Johan for our first tasting.
We’re huge fans of Johan’s natural wines and had one of their pet nats at our wedding reception, so it was wonderful to experience a tasting at their vineyard and see their beautiful property.
After finishing our tasting here, we made our way to Andante, where they set up the sweetest experience in their production room, which is currently under construction.
It was such a charming setup and we loved getting to see the space before their wine room and restaurant areas go in.
The team was wonderful and it was so much fun getting to know the owners and hearing all about how they started their winery.
We took a tour around the grounds and learned about nettles and other herbs that grow throughout the vineyards: the grapes were just starting to bud when we got there.
We also got to check out their garden, which had just begun blooming as well.
Such a lovely afternoon. Be sure to try out their wines and stop by the vineyards sometime. Looking forward to coming back once their space has been built out!
After we wrapped up at Andante, we went for dinner to the Joel Palmer House in Dayton.
This was a truly unparalleled dining experience that I can’t quite recommend enough. The menu consisted of hand-foraged mushroom-based dishes and it was such a treat.
The Independence was an ideal landing place for the weekend: super central to the wineries and lots of restaurants. If we’d stayed longer, we would have definitely spent some more time in McMinnville as that area has lots of amazing wineries and restaurants, too.
The hotel offers bike rentals, hot tub reservations and a gym, which was pleasant. They also had natural bath and haircare products which I love to see— I took a bath both nights with some locally made bamboo bergamot bath salts.
I highly recommend a trip out to wine country: it’s so beautiful and is truly the perfect outdoor experience as we move into some warmer weather. Feel free to use code SAM10 for 10% off your booking.
Thank you to The Independence Hotel for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own.