When the Millers Went to Willamette Valley

Our imminent move to Oregon starts now...

The best vacation Zac and I have ever taken is to Italy for our honeymoon. Nothing will ever top that, and that’s how it should be. But our trip to wine country in Oregon last week has secured spot #2 on our “Best Vacations” list, and it’s going to be extremely hard to dethrone.

Today, free subscribers will get a very high-level list of our lodging, activities, and dining; paid subscribers will get a highly detailed breakdown of our trip from top to bottom, so pick your poison.

I’ve always loved Oregon, but more specifically Portland. I hadn’t been to Willamette Valley but it had been on my list for a long time. Zac and I love wine a lot, and our taste for it has only evolved over the years. Some may say we’re wine snobs, but compared to actual wine snobs or true aficionados, we probably look like peasants. Regardless, we’re particular enough about wine that we find it difficult to buy whatever’s available at the store and will dump out a bottle if we don’t like it (could I sound any cuntier?).

All that to say, a trip to Willamette Valley has been on our list for years. We did Sonoma two years ago for our first wedding anniversary and, while it was lovely as hell, Oregon blows it out of the water (IN MY OPINION!). Zac’s sister and brother-in-law are legitimate wine connoisseurs and have the wine cellar and wine club memberships to prove it. Therefore, when we started to plan this trip, I immediately texted them to ask for winery recommendations and they threw in lodging recommendations, too.

For food and fun, I received an email from a reader who actually has a brewery in that area, and her recs were so thorough and so on-point that we truly didn’t have one bad meal the entire week. So cheers to Lisa Allen of Heater Allen Brewing for making our trip that much more incredible!

Here’s a very quick high-level look at our week for free subscribers:

HOTEL: Black Walnut Inn and Vineyard

10-15 minutes from all wineries and a 5-star experience in every way

WINERIES:

Brick House — gorgeous outdoor tasting experience, great wine

Carlton Winemakers Studio — outside was closed, which was a bummer. Experience was mid compared to everything else.

Furioso — had with a paired 5-course meal and left with 5 bottles. Did not go to actual winery but wished we had! So fun and beautiful.

Patricia Green — 100/10. Want to move in.

Durant at Red Ridge Farms — setting was amazing, experience was meh, wine was okay but would go back for scenery and maybe an event

FOOD:

Thistle — locally owned by the nicest guy ever. Menu changes weekly, so fresh.

Blind Pig — elevated bar food that was pretty epic

Cellar Bar at Black Walnut Inn — limited menu but absolutely phenomenal

Portland — Pip’s Doughnuts, Eem Thai BBQ

Rosmarino Osteria Italiana — 5-course authentic Italian meal with the most charismatic chef

Red Hills Market — local coffee/food/wine/gift shop with amazing everything

Freebies, this is where I leave you. Take the above list and make me proud.

Paybies (???), hope you’re ready for some serious details and roughly 200 pictures. If you’re an email reader, this is too long for your inbox, so be sure to click the view full message link to see it all!