McMinnville Wine Walk

Eeks, I’ve almost made it! Just one more day of work, then I am off until the day after Labor Day! Yippee! I’ve got a celebratory dinner with Brice at one of my new favorite restaurants, Lechon, then I’m off to Utah for a hiking trip on Sunday before heading off to Europe for a month. Be sure to follow my adventures at @bakery_bingo.

If I were to be staying in Oregon for the full summer though, one of my top activities in this area is wine tasting. Enjoying the gorgeous views, beautiful weather and delicious wine is a delightful way to spend a summer day. I usually head out to the wineries in the Willamette Valley. Anne Amie and Domaine Drouhin being two of my go-to picks. I love seeing the vineyard and being out in the countryside.

The downside however is the whole driving situation. Unless you decide to splurge with a limo (which is no doubt a blast like my post like spring detailed but not always feasible), you have to select one person to play DD for the group. And you spend most of your day trekking around the winding roads when you could be drinking.

I hadn’t really considered just staying one of the wine country towns and doing tasting rooms. My opinion on that option has completely changed since partaking in the McMinnville Wine Walk. I had perhaps one of the best Mondays ever a few weeks back, playing hooky from work and drinking and eating my way through the quaint, historic town of McMinnville.

I was blown away by how many tasting rooms there are. They’ve got more than 20 all within walking distance of the downtown area. Turns out my preconceived notion that tasting rooms are boring and not that pretty is very wrong.

Remy Wines has an incredibly cool old barn set up with barrels for bistro tables and funky artwork.

The joint Winderlea/Brittan Vineyards space is bright and open, similar to the Winderlea winery up the hill. They’ve got welcoming and friendly service, small bites of food, and superb wines.

The more you go to, the better the perks from the McMinnville Wine Walk passport! Visit 10 participating rooms and you win one of those cool 33 Book Co tasting notes journal. Visit 15 and you also get a nifty plastic Wine Walk GoVino wine glass, which are perfect for picnics b-t-dubs.

There were too many good spots for us to check out in the time we had, so I am eager to return and get more spots stamped on my passport!

One of the really nice aspects of sticking to McMinnville is the accessibility to non-wineries when you need a break from wine. Heater Allen Brewing, Grain Station Brew Works and Random Spirits are all great choices.

And then there’s the food! Very important for a day of drinking. Bakeries and cafes abound, as do delicious restaurants.

I was so impressed by our lunch stop at Pura Vida Cocina. To the point, I keep thinking of making the hour drive just to get their top-notch Mexican cuisine. Their menu is full of seasonal dishes that are fresh and healthy but still satisfy the fried Mexican food craving (you know what I’m talking about!). Be sure to order the house made crispy chips and chunky guacamole, along with the Aguacate Frito, fried avocado served with arugula, black beans, chipotle and cojita cheese.  To keep the alcohol flowing, their cocktails are outstanding, especially their fruity aqua frescas with vodka or tequila.

Best of all of this, you can enjoy it all without getting in the car. You can literally just stroll your way around town, eating, drinking and giggling like we did. {Or if you must, you can be like Meg and crutch your way around. Because, trust me, you don’t want to miss out on a day like this.

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Thank you to Little Green Pickle and Visit McMinnville for the complimentary tastings and transportation to check out McMinnville Wine Walk. I was not paid to write this review and as always, all thoughts are my own!