The Eyrie Vineyards

Stopped by for a tasting during Memorial Day weekend. We were the only family there (but there was a larger group coming later in the afternoon). Enjoyed the wines and the host who gave us a lot of background info on each wine. Pinot Noirs are a star of this show. We're enjoying our South Block purchase (sadly it wasn't included in the tasting but I've had it before and I knew I wanted to buy this one).

After a long day at work I just wanted to try a new tasting room. I was the only person in the tasting room. I inquired if I could just have a white flight, the answer was no secondary only so many bottles were open. So I asked if I could just enjoy a glass of white wine, and decompress from my day. I was told they only do tastings, no single glasses. A tasting is $40, waived with $120 wine purchase! Seems a bit steep to me!! In California vineyards are pulling up their vines because of decrease in wine sales! How sad. I guess Eyrie Vineyards feels they are worth the price.........i will not return

Make an appointment! With appointment you get a group tour and informative tasting. I would suggest this as one of your first winery visits because of everything you'll learn. We had a family member of the winery go through several wines while the group was seated around a table with some snacks in the middle. He explained the area, the soil, the history, and the differences between the taste of their wines. This is a must for your first trip to Willamette Valley!

We had an amazing visit and tasting, walking the Outcrop and Eyrie vineyards was an experience I’ll always remember.

Come for the wine, stay for the experience. My wife and I did a wine tasting at Eyrie and we loved it. Top notch selection of wines in their Exploration Flight. What we really enjoyed about our experience was Taylor, who is a wealth of knowledge and an absolute delight - we learned so much from her about the story of the winery and each wine we tasted. She exudes an infectious passion that makes you lean in all the more and enjoy each wine more fully. World-class experience. Highly recommend, look forward to returning.

Popped in here on a random weekday to find they were fully booked - all good. Despite that, Easton was super welcoming and let us try a couple wines free of charge. Super tasty wine and super friendly staff, I definitely recommend stopping here!

We received excellent service at the tasting room from Abigail--we got to hear the interesting history of the winery as well as a full description of the wines. Highly recommend the 2014 Pinot Noir--nice tannic balance to the fruit.

Truely, one of North America's original wineries (for Pinot Gris at the least). It shows in the authenticness of the tasting room, the staff (during our tasting, the winemaker came out from the back rooms and spent a while pouring & discussing this year's harvest), and not the least, the wines. Very convenient location, affordable wine, and when it's not busy you can get some great interesting information.

Experience overall, the staff on site gave us a little tour and history about the place. It was a very intimate experience with lots of information asking and sharing. And the wine was fantastic! We were a group of 6 and they were so patient with us and accommodated wine restrictions (a few couldn't have reds, only whites).

Discriminatory service! At a members only event and wine tasting, the long time tasting room manager was clearly discriminating in favor of his favored and personally known customers. After blocking the Pinot section while entertaining his friends with stories and tastes of additional wines from behind the bar making a big deal (wink,wink) of providing them extras, he finally served some in the backup growing around them. But even when prompted he pointedly refused to provided any extra tastes to other members, particularly single females. Despite being a member of a select tier for a decade, if you don't visit frequently because you live out of state and thus don't cultivate his favor - no attention or even politeness for you. So if you are looking for wine club to join, keep looking. The two stars are because the wine itself continues to be excellent. The service even for members, unless you are "special" needs a negative rating.

This place was amazing. This company put Oregon Pinot Noir and after a tasting it's obvious why. I love how old the vines are and the flavors are great.

The Customer Service and Experience was outstanding - the best my party has experienced! This was a cool and perfect getaway during the heat of summer. The wines are superb and we recommend the Melon de Bourgogne...even though there are many other standout wines. Thank you for the great experience Eyrie .

Ventured out this way based on the side please guys were the first ones ventured out this way based on the sides of these guys were the first ones to plant in the valley. Well at least as the story goes anyway. After an extended drive from Portland down here expecting to see a massive Vineyard with sprawling grounds and Oak barrels everywhere, we arrive to what looks like an old country convenience store. After walking inside there was two folks at the counter and we said heck, maybe the wine is good? The gentleman helping us suggested we try the $15 flights and each one was pretty uneventful. With each new one being worse then the last. They dont offer anything to cleanse your palet between wines and they just keep pouring the wine in the same glass wich in my mine messes with the notes and just seems lazy on there part. Come on paying decent money for a few sips of wine. Wash the dishes and provide clean glasses for each flight. Dont let the area nostalgia rob you of your valuable vacation time and look towards the other vineyards down the road that have amazing tasting rooms and wayyyy better pinots!

If in McMinnville, you have to stop at the winery that helped put Oregon on the wine map. In 1965, David Lett started his first estate vineyard. He was the first to plant Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the Willamette Valley, and "New World" Pinot gris. Overtime, one vineyard became five estate vineyards all situated on the south-facing slopes in the Dundee Hills area. Today, David's son Jason continues the Lett family legacy at The Eyrie Vineyards. I first fell in love with The Eyrie's wine at a wine bar in Charleston, SC. I had never heard of Chardonnay from Oregon, and had the opportunity to try it there. Since then I started to plan my trip to the Willamette area. For a winery with such history and accolades the tasting room and production facility is unassuming. I probably would have walked right by it. The winemaker at another winery pointed us in the direction of Eyrie, and mentioned it was in a building that used to be a chicken processing plant (or something like that). There is nothing fancy or showy about the tasting room here, the wine is enough to speak for itself. The tasting room associates were incredibly friendly and highly knowledgeable. You can pay $10 for a discovery flight of 4 wines, or $20 for an exploration flight of 7 which includes 2 limited production releases and one library vintage. The $20 option is definitely worth it. The winery has done an amazing job of maintaining an extensive collection of library wines from the past several decades that they are able to provide visitors with a taste of Oregon's wine history. I have never before tasted wine that was so old - vintages from 1992 and 1986! Also, wine that was created from grapes that grew on the original vines planted back in 1965. The tasting menu has diverse options of varietals to select - a nice break from all the Pinot Noir. They even have a wine made from the Chesselas grape which is rare to find in the US. It was made with the perfect acidity to pair well with food and cheese. It took me back to memories of many amazing meals I had in Switzerland with a bottle of Chisels. Everything I had here was extremely well structured and rounded. I enjoyed everything I tasted. The wines hold up to aging well. We tasted a 2014 Chardonnay vs a 1992 Chardonnay and the difference was amazing. The 1992 was delicious, silky smooth and creamy goodness. I even had the opportunity to meet Jason Lett himself who was incredibly kind, fun, and down to earth.

Eyrie's winery and tasting room are still located in a quaint little part of downtown Mcminnville. It's away from the vineyards, but a must visit. The founder, David Lett, was the first to plant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Gris (PG also first in the US) in the Willamette Valley. And they're been at the forefront of Oregon wine ever since. Jacques was our host, and was very knowledgeable and friendly. He talked to us not only about Eyrie's wines, but also about the other places we had visited that day. Truly an ambassador for the area. The wines were great overall. I liked the Pinot Gris- nice fruit and a pleasant spiciness. The Chardonnay was a similar profile but with added richness and depth. The Pinot Noir was excellent- my favorite being the 2006 Reserve Estate Pinot- very musky with great fruit and a profound earthy depth. They had wines across several price points- offering a little something for everyone. I found the 2007 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir to be a particular bargain- $27 for a wine that holds its own at twice the price. A great time- recommended.

Go here!! There is no other way to start this review other than to disregard all other reviews because this place set the standard. We walked up at noon on a Thursday and it was closed as they only have tours by appointment. I called and they said to come back in 1 hour for a tour. We did and it was absolutely amazing. Aaron gave us a private tour that included a bit of history, a walking tour and then a tasting we will Never forget. The tasting room was set up with hazelnuts, crackers, cheese and wine. We were educated, amused, entertained and enjoyed every minute of our 75 minute tour and tasting. We even had a 26 year old "Library wine" that was one of the most delicious Pinto Noir's we ever had that though $400+ a bottle.. was included with the basic tasting. I cannot thank y'all Enough and after touring areas of Napa, Tuscany and a variety of other wine regions, we will not soon forget the personalized experience we felt at Eyrie. Thank you and you are all welcome for this recommendation. Enjoy and Cheers! Thanks again A-Aron!

This may not be the popular opinion, but neither of us were impressed with the wine. I was kind of surprised by this given how Eyrie was one of the earliest producers of Pinot Noir in the area... but nothing really stood out to us as a "favorite". Wine is of course a very personal thing, so your mileage may vary. Again, unlike many of the other reviews, we both thought the service was fine. We didn't feel ignored or neglected, and both pourers answered questions and did a good job describing the characters of each wine.

I went to Eyrie last weekend with two friends during a stop in McMinneville. We were all really REALLY disappointed. Wine tasting can be perceived to be a bit pretentious. In Oregon wine shops are a dime a dozen and I'm not cranky as long as I'm treated respectfully as a customer. There are many tasting rooms in Oregon that don't charge to taste wines. I understand the need to charge for tastings since many wine tours come around with customers that don't buy anything and just want to get a buzz on. I buy wine. But the experience has to make it worth my while. I expected to pay for my tasting. What I don't expect is to pay $20 to taste SIX wines. Using simple math, this amounts to about $3.33 per taste which is the same cost of a THIRD OF A GLASS of mid-range wine. Not a quarter-ounce pour. Additionally, while the tasting room was well-lit, it was drafty and cold. The staff were apathetic and uninformative. Fortunately my afternoon was quickly brightened by a visit to Dominio IV right down the street - I'll be sure to skip Eyrie next time.

Don't bother. Made a special trip here because of the history and was very disappointed. Server was so rude - he just poured the wine and said nothing about it, then leaned on the wall and ignored us. We awkwardly stood and looked around - and there's not much to see. There's nowhere to sit in this dark and dank place, couldn't wait to leave. One bright spot was a nice woman who chatted with us before we left. The wine was so so. I've been to dozens of wineries and this experience is at the bottom of the list.

I had a tasting with them at the Cavallo Point Cooking School in Sausalito, for the Allison hotel that is opening next year (http://www.allison.com) What is superb was having the owner all to myself for about 10 minutes, in an environment that was absolutely more about *THEIR* wine than the tasting room full of gaggling tourists trying to get an eloquent buzz about their day. We were really allowed to chat, and I could grill him. For Oregon, this is basically the grandaddy of all wines. While many had grapes that were being planted in the mid 1980's (both Napa *AND* Oregon) for a mid 1990 crush, these guys have been growing wine since the days of nothing but beans.... I think their first vine went down in 1965, with 1970 showing the word's first Pinot Gris... and by 1975 competing in France against other Pinot Noirs. David and Jason Lett have really started, and followed through, creating the first wine out of Oregon's hills that is worth seeking, and definitely worth aspiring to. Well done guys.

Good wine and a good experience! Taylor was informative and fun as she guided us through the tasting flight.

Come for the wine, stay for the experience. My wife and I did a wine tasting at Eyrie and we loved it. Top notch selection of wines in their Exploration Flight. What we really enjoyed about our experience was Taylor, who is a wealth of knowledge and an absolute delight - we learned so much from her about the story of the winery and each wine we tasted. She exudes an infectious passion that makes you lean in all the more and enjoy each wine more fully. World-class experience. Highly recommend, look forward to returning.

Great wines. This place won a Pinot noir competition in Paris in 1989. They have been around a long time here and it shows in their wines. All four Pinot Noir wines where different with Flavors of vanilla, strawberry, tobacco, plums and black tea. They have vineyards in different areas so the soil, rain etc give the wine their distinct taste.

We visited on 6/27/18. Taylor greeted us and explained the tasting options and shared some of the history of the valley, the winery, and the family that owns and runs it. After selecting our tasting flights Taylor did a great job of telling us about each wine and some of the characteristics we might sense as we tasted them. Really enjoyable tasting. Thanks Taylor.

First U.S. winery to produce pinot gris; theirs is very good Excellent estate pinot noir Host, Jacque, is exceptionally knowledgeable about wines

Missed opportunity: Found this place while looking for something else, the door was unlocked and ajar and people were inside for a tasting...When we entered, the young woman told us they were closed and we should come back at noon ( it was 11:10). Not the best hospitality for an industry that depends on the taste of the product as much as the experience of the buyer. Business must be great to turn away out of towners ready to ship good wine home. We don't know what The Eyrie wines taste like and probably never will...

Great wines and even better staff. Abigail and Ryan know their wines and will treat you right!

How many first's can you put in a review? First commercial Pinot Noir planting and bottling in Oregon, First commercial bottling of Pinot Gris, not only in Oregon, but the entire new world, first bottling of Pinot Muenier in Oregon, first bottling of Muscat Ottenel outside of Europe and the 1975 pinot noir was my first introduction to vinifera wine.....wait when did this become about me? Eyrie Founder David Lett graduated from UC Davis with a degree in winemaking and a desire to make Burgundian style wines, typically marked by restraint and finesse. The hot summers in California tended to produce too much sugar in Pinot Noir and the other classic Burgundy grapes, which created wines that could only be described as featureless fruit bombs (Think Gallo Hearty Burgundy). having traveled in Europe and sampling the wines of the Burgundy and Alsace regions, David knew what he was looking for in the way of a climate to grow grapes that produced the flavors he was looking to produce in his wines. He selected Oregon's Willamette Valley and the rest, as they say, is history. His former UCD professors thought he was nuts, they thought our climate here was too wet and cold to ripen grapes, so I guess it was fitting he leveled a former nut orchard to plant his grapevines. Thank God for stubborn, far sighted people. It is hard to imagine what the Oregon wine industry would be today had it not been for David, there most assuredly would be people making wine in the Willamette Valley, I doubt it would be as famous and successful as it is today. But enough of history, how about the wines? The estate Pinot Noir, year in and year out is good, the benchmark for Burgundian style red wine, the Reserve Pinot Noir is worth the few extra bucks and my favorite with Lamb, the pinot gris is soft, restrained and easy on the palate, the estate chardonnay is good, but for a few extra bucks, get a bottle of reserve chard, lay it down for a few years and taste what Mother nature can really do with grapes and a little bit of Oak-Stunningly delicious, I like mine with wild mushroom soup. The tasting room is modest by any standard and cozy. The people here are all knowledgeable of the wine and wine-making process and happy to share that knowledge. Prices are reasonable and I would suggest asking about the wine club, it's a very good value.

If you want some great pinot noir and don't want to go to a pretentious winery, you should definitely come here. The tasting room is not very big but it has a very homey feeling. They normally close at 5pm and we arrived at 4:30 and were the only ones there. We stayed til 5:45pm and Mike didn't rush us out at all. Jason Lett, the winemaker, showed up just when we were about to leave. Jason signed 4 bottles (1 for each of us). How cool is that! We had such a great time talking with Mike and getting our education in wine. He recommended a few great places which we tried the next day too. We will definitely come back here the next time we're back at the Willamette Valley. Of the 7 wineries we visited in our 2 day trip, this was definitely the best winery!!! Their wine is quite reasonably priced too! Buy a case and get 10% off with the tasting fee waived.

This is my favorite winery we've visited, because not only is the wine delicious, and some bottles accessibly priced, but they teach you so much about the history of wine making in the Willamette Valley - Eyrie is where it all started. And they're not pretentious at all - they treated us (2 twenty somethings looking for good buys) with the same level of respect and enthusiasm as the spendy vinophile seniors in the room. If you're touring the Willamette Valley, this is a must.

As a disclosure, my parent's next door neighbor works for them. However, Eyrie makes some really excellent wines. Again, it is the Willamette Valley-they make pinot noir and pinot gris. But it tastes really good and they do not overprice their wines. Their wine is really drinkable but it is worth it to pay more for the reserves. Their reserves are much much better and not a huge amount more in price.

Not a great experience unless you bring a solid gloss of pretense. The wine is nice, but there's a lot of great wine in Oregon. Was charged $10 for three tastings of current release despite their tasting menu listing it at $5. Tacky. Especially when I purchased bottles.

So it could have been that because this place was so hyped up, I was a tad disappointed. I opted for the Pinot flight, because mainly because tey were the first ones to plant Pinot in the area, I just HAD to experience that. I wasn't overall crazy about the wines, to be quite blunt. They were good, but I had many more great Pinots on this trip. The tasting room ws nice and the service good, but I have to say I was a tad disappointed in the wines.

I'll admit I was skeptical of Eyrie based on the reviews, but I had a nice time! The tasting room is off the main strip in McMinnville, and it's small but cozy. It wasn't too busy on a Saturday afternoon, and we were greeted right away. My husband and I shared an exploration flight, which was a nice option to have since we were driving. The girl helping us (I think her name was Taylor?) was very friendly and great at explaining all the wines. Their whites weren't my favorite, but the reds were very good. They were a bit different of a flavor than other wineries in the area so it was a nice change. Something I loved about this tasting is that it included a taste of a reserve chardonnay, I think 1995, and a 1985 reserve pinot noir--a $400+ bottle. Both were great to try and delicious. I thought the entire experience was nice and welcoming despite what other people have said. We ended up buying a bottle of pinot to take home with us as well.

The absolute most rude man or person for that matter working at a winery I have ever met, joined club a few weeks ago, try to tell me I was not allowed with my German Shepherd and than said if I joined wine club a few weeks ago there was nothing new to taste! I am canceling my membership!

Fantastic service, great stories and a personal family touch. You could tell there was a real passion behind their work. Pinot Gris was very good, I had to bring a few bottles home.

Inviting tasting room in what felt like the outskirts of a small town. The wines were okay, but not my favorite in the area. Our experience was probably hampered by a crowded tasting room that day. The staff appeared a bit overwhelmed, and I felt a little overlooked. Pass!

We've been to Oregon once before, as well as to Napa and to Washington for annual wine tasting weekends. So we've visited dozens of wineries and experienced all sorts of service levels. With that being said, most wineries are generous with their pours -- not to say they pour large glasses, but if you want to try something they have open, or have a second taste before you purchase, they accommodate you. The employee helping us (I didn't get her name, but she was working 10/23/15) actually forgot one of our wines. And before you ask, no, we had not been tasting anywhere else that day, we were in full control of our faculties. And it was an easy catch - she was serving us in order and we were tasting I believe chardonnays of consecutive vintage, so we were looking forward to attempting to distinguish between the two, as one does. Well much to our surprise we skipped the second and went right on to the next one. When we mentioned this to the employee (did not try to embarrass her) she denied that she had missed the pour, multiple times, but basically treated us like "the customer is always right I guess". We got the pour anyway, why give us the side of attitude too? They had been very busy with a loud group when we walked in so mistakes happen, it really wasn't a big deal but she definitely made us feel like liars. I can't overstate how damaging this can be when typically those visiting wineries have their first experience with you in the tasting room, and you're contesting customers over a one ounce pour just because you've never made a mistake in your entire life. There are plenty of amazing experiences to be had even just in downtown McMinnville, so at least you won't be surprised if your service is subpar here -- you've been warned. Their wine is quite good and it's interesting to try some of their vintage pours, much older than most wineries, so I'm purely dinging them on service but it was a very unsettling experience.