A Day on the Willamette Wine Loop–Stop One: Campbell Lane Winery
Last weekend, I visited Lake Oswego, Oregon and the surrounding area on a media trip organized by Mt. Hood Territory. In the blog posts today and to come, I will be featuring some of the places on my itinerary that was specifically tailored to me and readers of this blog. I hope you enjoy my several mini-blogs from Mt. Hood Territory, Oregon.
On the Sunday afternoon of my trip to Mt. Hood Territory, I went wine tasting and visited three wineries in the Willamette Wine Loop. My first stop of the day was Campbell Lane Winery. Campbell Lane Winery’s story begins in 1966, when third generation Oregonian Leigh Campbell, M.D. and wife Ceille bought land at the end of a country road on Pete’s Mountain (which is positioned above the Willamette River and looks out to Mt. Hood), and named their property “Campbell Lane”. They then hand cleared fruit orchards on the land and planted the largest Pinot Gris vineyard (2.65 acres) in the United States (at the time).
The Campbells expanded the original Stoneridge Vineyard over the next 50 years and experimented with many different grape varietals. The property’s climate, elevation (700-feet), and the soil–called Jory, (a series of deep well-drained soils that formed in colluvium derived from basic igneous rock, and recently officially recognized as Oregon’s state soil on May 23, 2011)–makes the grapes grown there some of the highest quality in Oregon.
In 2014, the first Campbell Lane Winery grapes were harvested and bottled to share with the public, and their current wine list is succinct with just three types: Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Rosé of Pinot Noir. The wines feature the Clan Campbell Coat of Arms (a symbol of courage and hospitality) in the logo on their labels. Campbell Lane has also just grafted 1.75 acres of Pinot Gris vines to Chardonnay, and they plan to release an estate grown Chardonnay in Spring 2021.
For my tasting experience that day, I tried the 2018 Rose of Pinot Noir, the 2015 Pinot Gris, the 2016 Pinot Gris, the 2016 Pinot Noir, and the 2017 Pinot Noir, shown below. Since the tasting room was incredibly busy that day, I moved to a table in the tasting room so I could take my time examining the wines and not be in the way of other customers.
I was not really expecting to enjoy the wines I tried as much as I did. I admit I am kind of a California wine purist and a superfan of Sonoma Pinot Noirs. Sorry! Anyway, I tried to keep an open mind going into the tasting rooms on Sunday, and I am glad I did. From wine number one (the Rosé of Pinot Noir) I was impressed.
I went on to the 2015 and 2016 Pinot Gris, and noted they have a wonderful petroleum quality that I really enjoy. I might be buying some wine after all! By the time I tasted the 2016 and 2017 Pinot Noirs, I was sold. I won’t go into describing them too much, because wine is a very personal thing and who wants to read a bunch of meaningless descriptors anyway? I just know that I liked everything I tried, and I recommend them to you. I came home with the 2016 Pinot Gris and the 2017 Pinot Noir! I can’t wait to open them at home and share them with my husband Andy. 🙂
Before I left, I walked around the grounds of the winery (which are extremely beautiful) and took a few photos to share with you. I noticed people buying wine by the glass and the bottle and enjoying the afternoon with their families and a picnic of both food they bought in the tasting room and food they brought to the winery themselves. I’d really love to go back with a group of people and do the same thing!
If you need another excuse to visit Campbell Lane Winery, they are having a “Last Friday (of the month)” event tomorrow, May 31st from 5-9pm. Join them for tapas including crostinis, arugula salad, and an apple crumble along with shrimp and chorizo paella from Nineteen 33 Taproom. They’ll also have musical guest Rob Rainwater, performing a “rich mix of originals and classic blues and rock covers.”
Campbell Lane Winery is located at 27411 SW Campbell Lane in West Linn, Oregon. Their current tasting room hours are as follows: Sundays, 12-5pm through December 22, 2019. Last Fridays, 5-9pm March through October 2019.
If you can’t make it to the winery, you can contact the winery and buy wines from the comfort of your own home.
You can like them on Facebook here and follow them on Instagram here!
Disclaimer: Thank you to Mt. Hood Territory for arranging my trip to Oregon and this stop on my itinerary, as well as paying for the wine I purchased at Campbell Lane Winery.
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