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Lauren
Glazer:
The Wine Goddess
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Winery:
Lange Winery
Address: 18380 NE Buena Vista Drive
Dundee
97115
Phone: 503-538-6476
Wines Produced: Pinot Noir
Hours: 11 am - 5 pm daily (please, no buses)
Special Tasting Weekends: Memorial and Thanksgiving
weekends
Children Welcome? Yes
Directions
…
From Portland:
- Take I-5 South. Look for the "Tigard/McMinnville
Exit" (HWY 99) (about 15 minutes) Exit right.
(this puts you on HWY 99)
- Continue on HWY 99 through Tigard, Sherwood,
Newberg.
- Next stop: Dundee. (about 25 minutes)
- Take a right on Ninth Street in Dundee (towards
Lange Winery) Look for blue highway signs denoting
Lange Winery.
- Follow the signs all the way to Lange Winery.
(about 10 minutes)
From
Salem:
- Take Highway 22 west of Salem toward the coast.
- Turn right (north) on Highway 99W toward McMinnville.
- Follow Highway 99W through Amity and McMinnville.
(Slow down in Amity and watch for police monitoring
traffic.)
- Once in Dundee, take
a left on Ninth Street in Dundee (towards Lange
Winery) Look for blue highway signs denoting
Lange Winery.
- Follow the signs all the way to Lange Winery.
(about 10 minutes)
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Lange
Winery:
Roots deeply placed in Oregon's Pinot Noir
By
Lauren Glazer
For Oregon.com
One
of the first wine families in the Willamette Valley, the Langes
have produced extraordinary pinots from their perch in the Dundee
Hills since 1987. Don and Wendy Lange and their son Jesse have built
this extraordinary operation out of a pure love for the land and
singular dedication to the art of winemaking.
A trailblazer
in a number of respects, the Lange Winery is credited with being
the fourth producer of Pinot Gris in the United States and the first
to ferment that particular grape in barrel (vs. the more common
stainless steel fermentation). Their portfolio has expanded to approximately
10,000 cases of wine per year, including Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc
and Riesling (both late harvest and dry) in addition to the Pinot
Noir and Pinot Gris.
Things
have changed quite a bit for the Langes since their humble start
in 1987. A family that once shared their home with their winery
and tasting room (Jesse recalls having to high-tail it to the shower
before guests started arriving for wine tasting), now has arguably
the most stunning facility in the Yamhill Valley. Located on 15
acres of estate vines, the winery has a magnificent view (you can
feast your eyes on Mt. Hood as you feast on the picnic you should
take along to enjoy on their terrace).
The
Lange Tasting Room features a flight of up to six reserve level
wines for mere $5 that will redefine elegance and integrity for
your palate. Another great reason to visit the Lange Winery is the
incomparably hospitable and accessibly knowledgeable Gabriel Quitslund,
the tasting room manager. I had actually heard tell of Gabe far
before I met him and he certainly lived up to (if not exceeded)
expectation. The Wine Goddess loves dry wit almost as much as dry
wine - and Lange Winery boasts both.
Winemaker
Don Lange's previous career as a folk musician is evident in the
almost lyrical quality of the wines he produces. I was particularly
entranced by the Estate Pinot Noir, specifically a sneak preview
of the '03 vintage. It might have been the silky texture of the
wine or the striking aromas of citrus and cardamom or the lingering
notes of ripe raspberries on my tongue. Or perhaps my fascination
with the wine lay in the fact that the devastatingly handsome and
charismatic Jesse Lange was pouring it … the wine goddess has her
priorities my friends, and wine is only one.
Photo / Lange Winery
Don, Wendy and Jesse Lange - one of Oregon's original
winemaking families.
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