Oak and Vine Society Tasting Receptions are a recent exciting addition to Oregon wine scenery.
What is Oak & Vine Society?
Oak & Vine Society is an exciting Wine Benefit Program championed by Linfield University. It is designed to make wine more accessible to wine lovers and support Linfield’s wine education program. Wonder what the benefits are? Is it any better than a regular wine club? We say yes, and here’s why.
The membership in the club includes unique benefits at dozen partner wineries, including complimentary wine flights and discounts and an invitation to three exclusive wine receptions annually, like the Summer Reception we attended.
You also get a personalized membership card and one of a kind private tour of the Oregon Wine Archives on Linfield’s McMinnville campus.
Is it worth it? Most definitely. As you know, to get free flights and discounts at the wineries, you must join each winery’s club and commit to quarterly wine purchases. Oak & Vine membership club does that without wine purchases commitments for dozen Willamette Valley wineries. And you get to taste wine for free from up to a dozen wineries three times per year at Oak & Vine events.
The Summer Tasting 2022
The summer tasting 2022 included ten wineries. Combined with the performance of Pacific Northwest country musician Aaron Crawford and delicious appetizers, it presented an incredible value for only $40.
We always look for such events because they offer a rare opportunity to taste many wines without traveling from one place to another, try wines from new wineries, and compare different producers side-by-side.
The Oak and Vine Summer Reception was particularly beneficial for comparison because most wineries offered 2-3 wine flights, and many were the same grape varietals and vintages. It shined the light on vintage similarities and made it easy to pick the favorites.
Summer 2022 Participating Wineries
- Brittan Vineyards
- Brooks Winery
- Celestial Hill Vineyard
- Coeur de Terre
- Durant Vineyards
- Knudsen Vineyards
- Rex Hill
- Seufert Winery
- Yamhill Valley Vineyards
- Youngberg Hill
Wine Highlights
Seufert and Rex Hill poured different styles of sparkling wines. While Seifert had an unpretentious Sparkling Rosé meant for picnics, the Rex Hill popped traditionally made 2017 Grand Cuveé fit for lunch with oysters.
Celestial Hill’s 2020 Chardonnay from Yamhill-Carlton AVA profile was between French and Californian styles: dry, lemony-apple, and a bit buttery.
We recently compared Oregon Pinot Gris from several producers, and here, tasting Coeur de Terre Pinot Gris, we felt it deserves mentioning as a delightful summer sip.
It was fun to compare Durant’s 2021 Lark Rosé to Coeur de Terre’s 2021 Rustique. Lark (100% Pinot Noir) is so Willamette Valley style with its refreshing cherry-strawberry flavors. On the other hand, Rustique is more plus, and something from “a left field” – Pinot Noir spiced up by 30% Syrah.
Most of the wineries offered 2018 vintage Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley AVA. It was a perfect opportunity for horizontal tasting, i.e., wines from the same vintage, region, and varietal made by different producers.
Yamhill Valley and Knudsen Vineyards Pinots stood out for us at the event. While different, they both had consistent black cherry and ripe raspberry aromas and flavors.
Brooks impressed us with 2018 Riesling from the estate Eola-Amity vineyard. The orange and baked apple flavors and hallmark German Riesling’s sweet petroleum-like aroma (a sign of quality) reminded us of the better examples of German Rieslings.
Wineries Highlights
The four wineries stood out for their consistent flight quality: Knudsen Vineyards, one of the pioneering vinegrowers of Willamette Valley; Rex Hill, a winery with a 35-year history; and Brooks and Coeur de Terre – relative newcomers to the previous two.
What are your favorite wine events in Oregon?
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