Author Archives: Cathy Gartley

Bethel Heights

6060 Bethel Heights Rd NW, Salem, OR 97304

On my second trip to Oregon wine country we decided to spend a day exploring the Eola-Amity Hills region, located a short drive northwest of Salem. This beautiful area epitomizes the farming side of winemaking. After driving through busy Salem, we found ourselves on quiet country roads surrounded by rolling hills of vineyards as far as the eye could see. Pulling into the parking lot of Bethyl Heights, the outside of the tasting room doesn’t look real fancy. The building has dark gray wood paneling and a red metal roof. There’s an old fashioned grape press near the entryway. The history of this winery dates back to 1977 when a group of relatives Ted Casteel, Pat Dudley, Terry Casteel (Ted’s twin), Marilyn Webb, and Barbara Dudley decided to change direction from their current occupations and purchased 75 acres in an area that one of the earliest Oregon settlers referred to as Bethel Hills. It took several years for the newly planted vines to produce their first crop for wine in 1981. What started as wine made in Terry’s basement turned into 3000 cases of commercial Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Gewurztraminer by 1984. Over 30 years of winemaking they grew their production to 10,000 cases of estate produced wine. Today, the original owners are joined by the next generation to help run the winery. All of their wine is estate grown and organically certified.

Walking into the tasting room provided a totally different atmosphere from the modest looking building outside. I immediately felt welcomed walking into the airy tasting room. Two walls of the room were completely framed in glass from ceiling to floor with doors that opened right onto the back patio. The floors were covered in large slate colored tiles, and the lights on the ceiling were clear, glass globes. All of this made it feel like we were standing in the center of the beautiful surrounding vineyards that we could see out the windows from almost any angle of the room. In the center of the room were a few small tables and chairs for tastings inside. On the left side of the room was also a marble top tasting bar big enough for 4-5 people to stand around. Our hostess immediately greeted us and walked us to a table on the back patio. The view of vines all around was stunning and it was so peaceful. We took a seat at a picnic table and took our time sipping through our tasting as the hostess brought the wines to us one by one. There were several other groups there at the same time as us, but it felt so quiet.

Over the course of an hour or so, my husband and I sampled a total of 7 wines. We started off with a tropical, refreshing Pinot Gris and a crisp Pinot Noir Rosé. Then we moved on to two different style Chardonnays. I found the 2017 Casteel Chardonnay to taste of creamy pears and caramel while the 2017 Estate Chardonnay was light and bright. The Pinot Noirs did not disappoint either. My favorite was the 2017 Justice Vineyard Pinot Noir made from a mix of the oldest and youngest vines with cherry fruitiness and a velvety mouthfeel. At the end of our tasting we had to bustle out to get to our next reservation, but we loved the wine and took some home with us. If I lived in the area, I could see myself spending a lot more time on that patio.

La Crema

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La Crema Estate at Saralee Vineyard

Estate at Saralee’s Vineyard:3575 Slusser Rd, Windsor, CA 95492

Website: https://www.lacrema.com/russian-river-estate-2/

La Crema has two locations in the Russian River Valley. Their Estate at Saralee’s Vineyard provides a full wine country experience with private seated tastings, tours of the property, and picnic tables. The second location is a tasting room in downtown Healdsburg with a much more casual, lounge type of vibe. I’ve always considered La Crema to be a household name. It’s one of the first wines I was introduced to, and I became a fan of their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay right away. That’s what drew me into visiting.

La Crema tasting room in downtown Healdsburg

It’s been a few years since my husband and I first visited the tasting room. I was excited for it because I always liked their wines, and the in-person experience tends to make it even better! The tasting room is right off the square in downtown Healdsburg. It looks very modern inside with stark white walls and wide open space. There’s a tasting bar near the front entrance and a second reserve tasting room in the back. Since I was already familiar with the standard La Crema wines, I opted to do a reserve tasting.

La Crema Reserve tasting lounge in downtown Healdsburg

The reserve room is set up like a lounge with a big L-shaped comfy couch in one corner. There was a group of people there when we arrived, which is to be expected for a popular winery toward the end of the day. My husband and I stood around for a bit trying to be patient. Unfortunately no one acknowledged us for a while, and once we worked our way in to let the host know we wanted to do a tasting, we got minimal explanations of what was being poured. Unfortunately I left feeling bummed about our mediocre experience.

I insisted on waiting to write about La Crema because I felt they needed a second chance. This time I wanted to visit the estate. It took a few years to arrange that, but now I feel like I’ve had the true experience. My husband and I set up a private tasting at the Estate at Saralee’s Vineyard. The estate is tucked away down some back roads. The main tasting room looks like a lodge centered in the middle of a vineyard. Out front were some people enjoying a beautiful day at some picnic tables. A hostess greeted us as we approached the front entrance. We were set up for a seated tasting on the back patio looking out over the vineyard.

Tasting bar inside La Crema estate

To get to the patio, we walked through the sleek looking tasting room. The front half had tiled floors and colorful paintings on the walls. The ceilings were paneled in wood to give that lodge feel. The space was expansive. In one corner there were comfy chairs for individuals to lounge around. Across the room was a counter for purchases. Toward the back of the room where the patio was located, there was another stand-up tasting bar with people gathered around it, as well as additional high-top tables for indoor tastings. There were lots of people there, but it didn’t feel crowded at all because it was so spacious. The outside patio was covered to provide shade and there were several tables set up for groups of 2-4. It was so serene. We had a hostess who came directly to our table to pour 6 wines and educate us on the vineyards they came from. We started off with a sparkling rosé and then tried two chardonnays and three pinot noirs. These were single vineyard wines that are not mass produced and they were all lovely. I was so much happier with this experience than the tasting room. I’m glad I visited the estate.

Tasting notes from La Crema Estate tasting

I certainly don’t want to give a bad impression of the tasting room. We happened to be there when they were busy and didn’t get the service we were looking for. However, it’s still a nice place to check out when in downtown Healdsburg. If you are like me and really want the full winery experience, I would definitely recommend making the extra effort to make a reservation at the estate.

Oak Ridge Winery

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Oak Ridge Winery Tasting Room

6100 E. Victor Road, Highway 12 East, Lodi, CA 95240

Website: https://oakridgewinery.com/

I was automatically drawn to visiting this winery when I learned that the tasting room is housed inside a gigantic 50,000 gallon redwood tank. This is something you have to see to believe. It provides a truly unique experience. Where else can you go drink wine inside of a redwood tank? Of course, my more cynical side questioned “is this all a gimmick” before seeing it myself. I can assure you it is not. In fact, Oak Ridge Winery has much more to offer than a giant oak tank for a tasting room. This is the oldest operating winery in Lodi, CA. It was built in 1934 by Italian immigrant Angelo Maggio. He arrived in the United States from Genova in 1906 and planted the first cuttings in 1928. Angelo, his son Roy, and grandson Rudy carried on the farming, producing grapes that were sold to other wineries all around the country. In 2002, Rudy saw the opportunity to expand the winery to keep up with demand and start producing wines of their own at the same time. So, he created the state-of-the-art facility that exists today. Now, Rudy’s three daughters are overseeing operations of the winery and continue the family tradition, while maintaining the 2,500 acres spread through the Lodi AVA.

Oak Ridge Winery Slushy Bar

As you might expect of a unique tasting room like this one, the place was pretty popular when my husband and I visited. This was prior to COVID. Unfortunately, the tasting room was shut down during COVID and tastings were moved outside. Inside the tasting room is made up of all dark wood staves from floor to walls, and the only real lighting was coming from the front entrance. It was dim and a bit crowded. There is a semi-circular shaped bar with a big lit up sign behind it saying “Slushy Bar”. I had heard of wine slushies before and even tried one at an outdoor event on the east coast, but this was my first time seeing one in CA wine country. They had a good varied selection of wines on the tasting menu. I tried a Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, and two Zinfandels. The Zinfandels drew me in the most. The Old Soul 2016 Zinfandel had a deep purple color with chocolate and raspberry aromas. It reminded me of eating a slice of cherry pie, sweet and smooth. My favorite was the Oak Ridge 2014 Reserve Ancient Vine Zinfandel. It was so velvety with aromas of cocoa nibs and cardamom and it tasted like chocolate covered cherries. It was so yummy!

I’m glad I got to check out the winery and the tasting room, but there were a couple things that put it lower on my favorites list than other Lodi wineries. First, the tasting room made me feel like they were trying to draw more of a “party” type of crowd with the slushy bar. Second, right outside the winery between the tasting room and parking lot was an area with rows of enormous cement fermentation tanks. At first it was impressive to see, but it made the winery seem very industrial, which is in stark contrast to the other places I visited in Lodi. I would keep this on my list of places to see, but be aware that it is an atypical California winery experience.

Enormous fermentation tanks outside Oak Ridge Winery

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My journeys in wine country.

Author Archives: Cathy Gartley

Bethel Heights

La Crema

Oak Ridge Winery