A visit to King Estate Winery

There are many day-trip destinations in Oregon (the Coast, Columbia Gorge, Mt. Hood, etc.), and King Estate Winery is among them. Located southwest of Eugene near the rural community of Lorane, the beautiful European-style winery was founded in 1991 by the King family. With a little over 1,000 certified organic acres, the estate produces Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines. Thirty of these acres are used for growing fruit, vegetables and flowers that the estate restaurant and catering venues utilize, while some of the produce is also contributed to hunger relief organizations in the area (very cool!).

Each day the estate provides afternoon tours of the wine production facility (wheelchair accessible), as well as wine tasting and fine dining. The restaurant offers lunch and dinner daily, and brunch on the weekends. They even have a kid's menu for the little ones (bonus!). We sat outside on the gorgeous patio for lunch, which overlooks the vineyard property and valley. Unable to decide on a single glass of wine (they all looked good!), I decided to order the Signature Wine Flight, a sampling of King Estate Signature wines (Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Vin Gris, Pinot Noir). The wines were a delicious compliment to my meal of roasted smoked chicken, local mushrooms, roasted fingerling potatoes and braised greens (YUMM!).

Much too soon, the kids were getting squirrely so it was time to hit the road. Next time I visit King Estate Winery, I'd like to go on the wine tour again (it's been about 10 years), then relax and leisurely sip a glass of wine in the Wine Bar courtyard (sans the kiddos). I must say, I LOVE living in Oregon!