Pinot noir grapes grown in the 'red hills of Dundee' produce world-renowned wines.

It’s harvest time in Oregon’s vineyards, and if you enjoy wine, there is no better time to visit. As the days shorten and temperatures cool, sweet grape clusters hang heavy on the vine, ready for harvest. Just last week, vineyard workers were starting to harvest grapes for the 2008 vintage.

From the Oregon Coast, the pastoral Yamhill Valley wine region is perfect for a day trip. But if you are serious about wine, you will want to spend much more time. There are now close to 90 wineries in this small region, which is sandwiched just west of Portland to the north and Salem to the south. It is bordered by the Willamette River to the east and the Coast Range to the west.

A Comunication Breakdown burger, topped with Tillamook cheddar cheese, grilled mushrooms, onions and bell peppers, is enjoyed on the rooftop of McMenamins Hotel Oregon in McMinnville.The wineries in Yamhill County are set in a cluster of small towns including Gaston, Yamhill, Carlton, Newberg, Dundee, McMinnville, Lafayette, Amity and places in between. Each town has its own winding layout and highways leading to and fro, making a good map essential. One of the best regional maps is in the “Guide to Yamhill County Wineries,” available by calling the Yamhill County Wineries Association at (503) 646-2985.

Last week, photographer Glynis Valenti and I set out on a two-day trip through the vineyards. From U.S. Highway 26, we took the Banks exit and followed Oregon Highway 47 into Forest Grove. Yamhill County is world-renowned for pinot noir wines, but it is also home to Sake One, the only American owned sakery in the world. Here, handcrafted rice wine (under the Mamokawa label) is produced in small batches. Highlights of a tasting flight at Sake One in Forest Grove included “Silver,” which was sparkling clean, crisp and dry with notes of green apple, and “Diamond,” also crisp and dry with notes of celery, roses, melon and ocean air. Both would pair beautifully with seafood, chicken or grilled meats.

Tina’s, in the tiny town of Dundee, is a hit with Zagat and with patrons.It was time for lunch, and our tasting room host recommended a tiny place called La Estrella Tacos, where one of their specialties is Cuban Torta. This huge grilled sandwich, made with fresh Cuban bread, was stuffed with breaded beef steak, sausages, ham, cheese, refried beans, tomato and avocado, cost just $6 and was delicious.

Our winding tour led us next through Yamhill and Carlton, the new hot spot for winery tasting rooms. At Cana’s Feast Winery, we tasted a variety of wines made from special blends. A standout was Bricco Red Wine, made predominately from sangiovese. It offered flavors of deep, dark cherry, plum and spice. The winery also has bocce ball courts and a small adjoining restaurant. The Carlton Wine Bar, Ken Wright Cellars, Carlton Winemaker’s Studio and many other wine businesses are all clustered in this tiny town.

After touring the countryside and stopping to take photos and taste wines, it was time for dinner. About 20 years ago, I worked as the pastry chef along with chefs David and Tina Bergen at a Portland restaurant called Delavan’s. In 1991, they opened Tina’s in Dundee, which the Zagat Survey has placed among the top restaurants in the Pacific Northwest. Our meal that night was perfection. We started with duck paté served with stone ground mustard, cornichons and capers, and grilled scallops wrapped in smoked bacon with a shredded green apple and arugula salad. With the appetizers, our waiter offered a taste of three different white wines – an Eyrie pinot gris, Lange pinot gris and Herbert Pazen riesling. Each wine was served in a tiny carafe, offering a chance to sample each one with the different courses. With a silky, buttery texture laced with pineapple and spice, the Eyrie pinot gris was a standout. With layers of flavors from spice to smoky bacon, half-inch-thick slabs of housemade duck paté were served atop fresh greens garnished with toasted hazelnuts. Corn bisque, a marigold-colored essence of sweet fresh corn, was like sipping a field of corn.

For entrees, we ordered short ribs braised in dark beer, chocolate and spring onions, served with grilled polenta, Harris Ranch beef tenderloin with baby potatoes and butter-poached portabella mushrooms in a port-garlic sauce. Infused with the deep rich flavors of roasted carrots and caramelized spring onions, the short ribs melted on my tongue. The 2-inch-thick beef tenderloin was beautifully marbled and cooked to perfection. Favorites among a sampling of Oregon Pinot Noir were Whistling Dog (Aden Vineyard) and Tina’s (Willamette Valley).

After dinner, we were both so full that we ordered dessert to go. In my hotel room, while watching late-night TV, I dug my spoon in through a crisp caramel crust into a silky smooth coffee crème brûlée. I wasn’t staying at the Ritz Carlton, just a very nice Best Western, but I felt totally decadent. This was a meal so stellar that it will stay in my food-bank of taste forever.

Morning arrived and David Bergen had recommended a coffee shop/bookstore in Newberg called Chapters Books. An artfully swirled latte and a browse through the books led us on our way to the heart of Yamhill Valley’s wine country, the “red hills of Dundee.” Leading up Warden Hill Road from Dundee, you keep rising in elevation until all you can see is acres of perfectly trimmed vineyards and hazelnut orchards stretching endlessly to the horizon and the distant mountains.

While Glynis took photos, I sampled a few of the sweet pinot noir grapes, breathed and even tasted the brick-red dusty soil. On the way up the hill, we ran across a new winery, Winderlea. With vistas spanning 360 degrees around the surrounding vineyards and mountains, this stunning, high-tech building is a marvel. Built mainly of glass and steel, it holds a professional kitchen, where proprietor Bill Sweat and visiting chefs conduct special lunches and dinners.

We headed to the top of the hill, climbing up steep gravel roads to Erath Winery. Dick Erath is among a handful of people who are considered the pioneers of the Oregon wine business. At the winery, harvest had begun and trucks loaded with ripe fruit arrived, ready to be crushed and turned into award-winning wines. Standouts at this tasting included a pinot blanc (Willamette Valley) with bright, crisp notes of citrus, and an Estate selection 2006 pinot noir produced from vineyards in the Dundee Hills.

Lunch time led to McMinnville, where the Crescent Café had been recommended. It was closed, so we wandered down the street to McMenamins Hotel Oregon. When Hotel Oregon was built in 1905, it was just two stories high. Standing today, the hotel is five stories high, with outdoor/indoor rooftop dining, an Old World bar, cellar bar and guest rooms. In the McMenamin brothers tradition, every aspect of the original building is intact and photos featuring the history of the building and surrounding area are on display.

Dining on the three-tiered rooftop is an experience not to be missed. Views extend over the town of McMinnville to the surrounding vineyards, hills and mountains. After a long day, a glass of Edgefield Oregon pinot noir (the house wine) was perfect with a crisp garden salad and a toasty pepperoni pizza topped with lots of cheese. Our trip home to the coast wound back to Forest Grove, where we picked up fresh ingredients at the local Farmers Market to enjoy with local wines.

Two days is definitely not enough time to take in all that Yamhill’s wine country has to offer. There are many outstanding wineries and restaurants to visit. This is just a little taste. But if one or two days is all you have – go and enjoy what you can.

For more information on Yamhill wineries, restaurants, lodging and events, visit www.yamhillvalley.or or contact the Yamhill Valley Visitors Association at info@yamhillvalley.org or (503) 883-7770.