Day One: Arrive in Eugene
Stay: Valley River Inn
Navigating the I5 corridor is not one for the weak, with numerous construction zones and even complete highway closures make sure to plan ahead and leave a heavy cushion of time to get to your destination. After a lot of cruising, road trip snacks, pee breaks, and Mumford & Sons singalongs, we made it to our hotel and our evening reservation at Sweet Waters on the River. Aaron our waiter was extremely friendly with guiding us around the many options on the menu, and from the jump, we were welcomed with a level of hospitality that both surprised and delighted.
The midcentury modern architecture which was likely accentuated with the recent renovation was also impressive and striking from the moment we walked in the door. Having personally lived in Amsterdam for 5 years, I saw many elements of Dutch design (curves, colors, shapes, dominating windows to let the outside in) which gave me the familiar feeling of home. Not to mention the shadow play throughout the hallways which charms you as you enter each great room… bravo! Execution level 100. Frank Lloyd Wright would have been proud.
For a hotel tucked into a shopping complex, our predisposed thoughts of what to expect quickly changed. From check-in to our servers, we were met with utmost attention to detail often not seen in Oregon, a level of care usually reserved for our high end European stays. Mind you, an observation we do not make lightly. Not only were our hosts attentive, but they also proved to be vividly knowledgeable about the food, drinks and surrounding area.
Our first meal at SweetWaters started with a salty focaccia bread, warm from the oven, with a hearty serving of butter covered in honey and fresh herbs. Erick was instantly brought back to his blissful days of his childhood enjoying sweet and savory combination on a weekly basis. This was followed up by a gorgeous colorful and lightly dressed salad followed by tender pork belly burnt ends, dressed in a citrus sauce that melted in your mouth. For our entree, we enjoyed a split chicken, with brown butter rosemary reduction and a myriad of vegetables dancing on the plate. Flavors were simple, but well executed and our taste buds were grateful.
For cocktails, we tried the Sage & Stone, a herbal gin cocktail shouting from the rooftops with flavor, and the King Tide, which was a mezcal based play on a pisco sour; frothy with the smoke singing through the lime and passionfruit.
Having had a long day of travel, we returned to our room where we enjoyed the waterfront patio with a read (don’t forget to bring yours!) basking in the evening sun.
Day 2: Farm Visits & Johan Vineyards
We started early back at SweetWaters, with a hearty breakfast containing eggs benedict, and an egg scramble plate with bacon. Organic coffee re-fills were included, and welcomed!
Setting off for the day, we started by walking through the town, exploring the shops at 5th Street Public Market in downtown Eugene. A collective of local Oregon goods ranging from flowers, makers markets, wine stores and bakeries greeted our senses as we perused the multiple floors, indoor/ outdoor space encompassing the area.
The big bakery stop of the day (we are never ones to miss a pastry!) was Noisette Pastry Kitchen, a half mile away from the markets, which is somewhat of a local institution for baked goods aficionados… and shocking, it is heavily European influenced. We enjoyed a chocolate croissant (crispy exterior, with a soft and buttery interior filled with warm…you guessed it, chocolate!). Laura also snagged a devilishly appealing roasted lamb sandwich to take with us on our day.
From there, we ventured off into the outskirts of town to Groundwork Organics, a local organic farm stand lovingly filled with dozens of varieties of fresh produce and flowers. We had to enjoy a carrot in one of their fields to get the authentic experience!
Though a slight bit of a drive (a little over an hour), we then headed north to explore our first vineyard of the trip (we’re in the Willamette Valley after all!), Johan Vineyards. We first discovered Johan during our last foray into the Valley, but didn’t have time to enjoy. In the intervening time, we had read up on them, tried a few of their more interesting bottles from our local Seattle shops (including their 2022 Pinot Noir Pet-Nat, yum yum).
The thing about these wineries that makes them stand apart from the rest is the organic/biodynamic practices they use in the making of their wine. These wines are meant to actually taste like *wine* not the grocery store gobbledy gook the cheap stuff is filled with… and its apparent from first taste. “These wines just taste…different… they taste!” exclaimed a fellow visitor. Yes, yes, that is the whole point.
Led by Amanda, we set out on a tour de palette of lively and voracious wines, while also learning about their ethos. Their 180 acre vineyard is a grape producer first, and a vitner second. They sell a lot of their fruit to other producers, and release around 5,000 cases on an annual basis themselves. Heavily influenced from Austrian wines, they use the unique Van Duser AVA location to leverage the cool air fed from the nearby Pacific to grow high alpine grapes fueling the high acid wines we love to enjoy. Combined with biodynamic farming practices, experimental fermentation methods using predominantly neutral oak and newly purchased amphorae (we’ll get to this more later), they let the grapes speak their truth, and they have a lot to say!
Morgan Beck, the winemaker, joined our tasting with a gleaming red beaker filled to the brim with a gamay/blaufrankisch wine only a week away from bottling. She hung around to share her ethos of low manipulation wine, and how she plans to work with the changing environment in the Willamette Valley. Interesting, a lot of her affinity wine comes from Austria, and given our time spent in Styria, we could taste many of the similarities to some of the best that Austria has to offer.
TLDR, we loved it so much, we joined their wine club. Nuff Said.
That evening, we enjoyed our third and final meal at SweetWaters, once again on the patio we basically called home at that point. After filling our hearty appetites with a perfectly cooked salmon and mouthwatering pork chop, we took the time to meander the Willamette river trail system to get a more intimate view of the popular green belt lining the Willamette River in town. Graced with not only a massive community garden, rose garden and even a pop up performance of “Pietro” in the park, it was lovely to see a vibrant community enjoying the outdoors in the heat of summer.
Day 3: Head North to Willamette Wine Country: Antiquum Farm & Beckham Estates
Our final day in the southern Willamette Valley started by exploring the huge campus of the University of Oregon. After chuckling at the fact that nearly every window we saw on campus had a big “O” sticker (guess you can’t knock the school spirit!), we ate a filling meal at Studio One Cafe: a massive pulled pork chilaquiles, a pancake the size of our heads, and a rather large much-needed omelette + house fries to balance out the wine, of course.
Thereafter, we did a quick flyby of another pastry shop Sweet Life Petite where I would’ve purchased a big chunky cookie had I not been so full from our breakfast. Simultaneously, Erick realized how close we were to Springfield, OR and requested (demanded) we go see the Simpson’s murals located across the river in Springfield, often thought to be one of the original influences of the town the show depicts.
After Erick the fanboy got his fix and we naturally snagged a few fun photos, it was time to send it back into the hills to get an education on English Gardens and pure wines from Antiquum Farm, a short half an hour drive out of town. Just driving up to the property and walking up to the tasting room was an experience in itself… a sensual experience. Fallen apples lined the path up to the door, and whiffs of lavender presented themselves with abundance.
Our tasting was led by Jacqueline, who thoroughly educated us on the enigmatic life of Stephen Hagen, a former actor turned farmer. It should be immediately noted and observed that Antiquum Farm is not your average vineyard; it’s a fully integrated, regenerative ecosystem. This remarkable estate is redefining what it means to grow wine, blending old-world farming principles with an unwavering commitment to soil health, animal vitality, and the rhythm of the land.
What makes their enterprise unique is its “grazing-based viticulture,” a revolutionary method where sheep, geese, chickens, and pigs are part of the vineyard’s lifecycle. These animals don’t just coexist with the vines; they co-create the terroir. Their movements aerate the soil, their waste fertilizes it, and their presence eliminates the need for external inputs. The result? Wines of incredible depth, energy, and precision which are merely successful byproducts of a thriving farm organism.
The wines themselves are colorful, abundant, alive. They strike you as textural, thoughtful, and vibrant. From their electric Pinot Gris (Aurosa) to their soulful Juel Pinot Noir, each bottle tells the story of a farm in balance, where human hands guide but never dominate.
Antiquum is also family-run, and visiting feels like being welcomed into a philosophy as much as a place. Tastings are intimate, educational, and immersive (not to mention, the tasting room might be one of my favorite venues…ever? Gorg.) You’ll leave not just with bottles, but with a deeper understanding of wine as a living product of the land. Thank you, Jacqueline, for the tasting and full farm tour! Oink oink!
(And keep your eyes peeled for some of the special Farm events they put on, including a Garden Lunch series, Burgers & Bottles, Roasts, etc.!)
After spending far too much time at Antiquum to the point where we almost missed our next tasting, we hurriedly purchased some wine so we could be on our way to Beckham Estate Vineyard. Not a short drive from Antiquum, but we were headed north anyway on our wine crawl towards Seattle, so it made sense for us given our final destination.
Nestled in the Chehalem Mountains AVA of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, Beckham Estate Vineyard is more than a beautiful, family-run winery; it’s one of the most innovative and historically rich winemaking projects in the Pacific Northwest. Founded by Andrew and Annedria Beckham, the estate merges small-lot, organically farmed wines with an ancient winemaking tradition few in the U.S. have dared to revive: clay amphora fermentation.
What sets Beckham apart aside from their extraordinary line of wines fermented and aged in handmade clay vessels (amphorae) is the fact that the vessels themselves are crafted onsite by Andrew himself, a ceramicist (and former ceramics teacher!) turned winemaker. Andrew is the proud founder and owner of Novum Ceramics, the only producer of commercially available amphorae for winemakers and brewers in North America!
These amphorae are inspired by qvevri, the 8,000-year-old Georgian clay vessels traditionally buried underground to produce natural wines in harmony with nature. Qvevri winemaking is one of the oldest and most respected techniques in the world and Beckham is among the first in the U.S. to make these vessels from local Oregon clay, fire them in his own kiln, and use them to create wines that bridge ancient tradition with modern Oregon terroir. Why clay? More energy & tension, slower fermentation, twice the amount of oxygen during aging, acts as a fining chamber, wines finish clarity and faster than in barrel.
The best part about it though? You can feel the “former teacher” in Andrew from the moment you meet him; he inspires shared enthusiasm and curiosity and is willing to answer (almost ;)) all of your questions. We’ve certainly met other winemakers who are much more cagey, afraid to let other people into their trade secrets, but Andrew is humble, open, and welcoming.
The wines resulting from their long slumbers in Novum clay pots include a skin-contact Pinot Gris and earthy, textured Pinot Noir, both of which are vibrant, pure, and deeply expressive. They carry both the soul of the soil and the whisper of history, untouched by oak or stainless steel. It’s winemaking stripped to its essence: clay, grapes, time, and intention.
Visiting Beckham Estate is a study in passion and a full dedication to the continuity of a craft: part vineyard, part pottery studio, part history lesson all wrapped in the intimacy of a family project with global resonance. If you’re looking to taste Oregon through the lens of the past, there is nowhere quite like it.
And a final bonus: Beckham has their own AirBnB properties on site, so if staying in their very backyard suits your fancy, you’re in luck!
After leaving Beckham Estate and accidentally missing our reservation by just a narrow 30 minutes at No Clos Radio (doh! we will be back, as it looks amazing!), we wrapped it all off with a meander through McMinnville’s MacFresco event, where they shut down their main strip to cars and open it up to outdoor seating & live music every weekend from June - Sept. We’ve been to McMinnville during the sleepier times of the year, and boy, this was not that! The streets were buzzing, live music happening on seemingly every corner, and folks were clearly enjoying the al fresco dining everywhere they could. McMinnville never disappoints!
The beauty of wine (and travel for that matter!) as we get older isn’t about quantity, it is about quality and indulging in something we believe in. It just feels good, ya know? Building these relationships with producers in the Willamette Valley has become a lesson in the diversity of understanding what is being produced, and we firmly believe that just as you should (and probably do already) know your butcher, you should also spend time getting to know your local vintner. Cheers!
