Wine Tasting: Oswego Hills

This winery is housed in an old horse stable. The buildings have all been fixed up and painted bright white, everything looked so beautiful I felt I should have been wearing a big floppy hat and white gloves. The vineyards were very well groomed but because of the harvest year, there was a lot of dropped fruit.

Wine: They poured 14 of their 16 wien portfolio, if I counted properly. There was a Chardonnay and Syrah that were aged in American oak that were both really nice. The Oak was actually Oregon White Oak, a rare specie to be coopered I'm sure. The Marechal Foch was lacking, it had an unpleasent earthiness to it of wet forest floor but the floral nose was nice. It had beautiful color too. The big reds were all alright, we bought the Syrah but I think it needs another year before we'll open it. They had 3 ports, a Foch, a Petite Syrah and the Tempranillo that they were not pouring. The Foch was thin and more like a tawny port but the PS was smooth and had a hint of coffee to it. We purchase the PS and the Tempranillo. I hope the Temp is like the PS not the Foch for our party.

Vineyards: There was a lot of sacrificed fruit which makes me sad. The 2011 vintage will be a beautiful one but a small on in the Willamette Valley. Very nicely kept, the vines were tall but spaced narrow enough they probably hand pick.

Tasting Room: They have a different clientel. They are right outside of Lake Oswego and they don't charge for tasting. They had a lot of West Linners that just sit infrom of the tables so no one else can get to the next wine. I think they should reduce the number of wines and pour a full ounce of each, I never quite got a second taste of those ports. The number of people would probably have been more manageable if they were open more than just Sundays from noon to 5pm.

Service: The owners and winemaker are their pour staff. They were nice and had great information about the wine.

Something special: They have Moonstruck Chocolate make their logoed dark chocolate circles for pairing with the Foch, that was fun.

Overall Wine Experience Score: 75

Stats: Oswego Hills
Address: 6750 Breyman Orchards Rd. Dayton, OR 97114
Tasting room is open Sunday noon-5pm
Tasting Fee: Complimentary
Website: http://oswegohills.com/
Wines: Everything - Tempranillo Port, Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Marechal Foch, Merlot, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Syrah, Viognier, Zinfandel