Edgefield Winery
by Terry Sullivan
Summary: McMenamins is a unique business that operates 56 restaurants in Oregon and Washington. Each restaurant has its own design. The Edgefield facility includes a winery, brewery, distillery, restaurant and hotel. Edgefield Winery produces wines that are used at this location and other McMenamins’ restaurants.
Several buildings comprise the McMenamins Edgefield facility which is on the National Register for Historic Places. This is the only McMenamins site to have a winery. The 2007 wine production topped 25,000 cases all used in Mcmenamins restaurants and for sale from the winery tasting room. Past the Power Station Pub restaurant, visitors to the winery are guided by signs to the winery. Stainless steel tanks behind the brewery mark the presence of the winery. The winery building includes a tasting bar, several tables and views of the oak barrel room and stainless steel tank room.
On the day of our visit, the tasting bar was packed and several people sat at the tables. The tasting attendants kept up with the number of visitors and managed to keep track of each person tasting from a flight. Visitors can select from different flights of wines to taste. Jonelle, our tasting attendant, discussed the wines and added some information about the winery while serving wine to the other visitors.
While tasting the wines, one can amble through the building and view the barrel storage room. The room is surrounded by windows; visitors can view the barrels from different sides of the room. You can also view the stainless steel tank room. Ice surrounded two of the tanks undergoing temperature-controlled fermentation.
The Edgefield winery opened in 1990. Most of the grapes are bought from vineyards in Oregon and Washington, however there is a small vineyard of Pinot Gris on the property. A second vineyard is planted with Syrah. The tasting room opened in 1992 and offers a wide range of wines. The distillery opened in 1995. Edgefield now has several fortified wines.
We tasted several wines. The 2006 Pinot Gris opens with a citrus nose. The grapefruit taste finishes crisp. The 2006 Chardonnay had an apple nose and taste. Although dry, less than one percent sugar, it had a perceived sweetness from the intense fruit. The 2006 Umbrella Jimmy Dry Rose is made from Sangiovese and Granache grapes. It began with a strawberry nose and red berry taste. The 2006 White Riesling had a fruity nose, peach taste and a slight effervescence on the finish. The fizz helps to balance the sweetness. The 2007 Vineyard Select Riesling is not produced every year. It had a floral and pineapple nose and a very velvety mouth feel. It had a fruit salad taste including pineapple and melon. The finish was sweet but balanced with acidity. The 2006 Pinot Noir was a dark red color with a cherry nose and taste. It had a crisp finish. The 2006 Pinot Noir Vintage Select was also dark red. It had a vegetative nose, smooth mouth feel, a blackberry taste and a crisp finish. The 2005 Black Rabbit was a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel and Grenache. The wine had a red stone fruit nose and taste with a touch of pepper. Soft tannins were on the finish.
The Edgefield Winery is a destination site. With restaurants, lodging a brewery and a distillery on the site, plan to spend several hours or stay overnight. A visit affords the opportunity to taste many of the wines available in the McMenamins restaurants.
Edgefield Winery
2126 S.W. Halsey
Troutdale, OR 97060
Support the following Oregon Wineries.
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| Civic Winery | King Estate | Sweet Cheeks Winery & Vineyard | |
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| Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyard | Youngberg Hill |
