Emerson Vineyards

The best part about this vineyard is their Friday summer concert series. Great music, wine, and an awesome setting. If you live around here you must take advantage of this!

Emerson is one of my favorite wineries. I visit at least one winery a week, and I wish I was in Emerson’s area more so that I could stop by much more than I get to!
My favorite wine is the Avelina. And their Pinot 2013 just won best in show at the Newport Seafood and Wine festival. I am proud of them!

I love this winery. I had the opportunity to perform in their Friday night concert series, and the whole evening was absolutely magical. Wine was served outside, people were encouraged to bring picnics. I played on a large deck where tables and chairs were set up, and people also relaxed nearby on the grass. The setting was gorgeous. Tom was the perfect host. The wine was amazing! And there was a super moon above us! I highly recommend Emerson Winery. Stop by their tasting room anytime and especially on Friday evenings (6−9pm) for their concert series.

I think for all four of us, Emerson Vineyards is one of our favorite stops. Located in heart of the Willamette Valley, this family venture creates some wonderful wines and are truly some of the nicest people we’ve met in our wine travels.
Your typical visit to Emerson will begin in the tasting room and a talk with Emerson founder Tom Johns. A fun loving, witty and sarcastic character, we love the banter that he creates with patrons. Every once in a while you’ll also get to meet Elliott Johns, his son and winemaker. He offers a very enjoyable and educational conversation on how the wines are made, how the vineyards are maintained, etc.
There are two wine club options at the winery. The first is called the Waldo Society, basically the wineries mailing list but «membership» does afford you a 5% discount on all wine purchases. Under pressure from certain patrons who shall remain nameless here (I might… just might be in this category), they have recently announced the Super Duper Wine Club which will offer 2 bottles of their choosing, twice a year, to be shipped or picked up at the winery. I can’t wait for the announcement for the first date in October of this year, I’ll revisit the post after that visit.
Emerson ALWAYS produces some great Pinot Noir wines but don’t fool yourself in to thinking that this is all they offer you on a visit. In past years they have made a wonderful Riesling (admittedly not typically my favorite variety of wine but my wife’s FAV!), they are making a Syrah from grapes sourced from the Columbia Valley, Pinot Gris and an awesome red blend called Brother Red.
This wine is a bit of a swerve in the proverbial road from some of their other red wines. A big, bold, deep purple bomb of flavor in your mouth. I can’t for the life of me remember all the varieties that make up the wine but I do know that there are at least five and they are blended with an expert hand by Elliott. At $ 16.00 a bottle, a serious value and I can just about promise that you won’t be disappointed. Of course, you’ll be there so for goodness sake, try it yourself and see if you agree with me. If you love it like I do, you might just leave with a Brother Red logo tee shirt as well as what’s in your wine bag.
To top all of this off, Tom is nothing if not a music lover! Every Friday evening in the summer months, there is live music out on the deck (or moved in to the barrel room should the NW weather not cooperate). He signs acts to come out and play original tunes, a nice varied lineup and if that wasn’t enough he’ll grill up a hot dog for you while you watch. The cost of attendance for these Friday nights is $ 5.00 and a can of food which supports local food banks.

Low-​key setting for tasting in a large barrel room, which we enjoy. My husband and I didn’t find a wine we both liked, so we left without purchasing. As we were leaving, we said «thank you», and then were told to come back when we were ready to buy. Seriously?! How rude! All the other wineries we have been to in this «heart of Williamette» region have been so nice (especially Sweet Earth), even if we haven’t wanted to buy. (We buy a lot, but not at each place or each time).

This is a family run business which as the gentlemen serving our wine yesterday said, is run off of my son’s dream and my money.
This place has been in business since 2005. So, while somewhat new in the scheme of things they are nonetheless seasoned veterans with regard to their customer service and product.
We were able to tasty five wines for $ 5 and that fee was waived when we (can you say of course) purchase a couple of bottles.
While there there were a couple of other groups also tasting, the server took us into the back and showed us how some of their harvest process work. Bins and bins of grapes in various stages of fermentation. Very exciting to see.
I have been tasting wines for many years but have never had the opportunity for this harvest time «show and tell». Kudos to Emerson for being an approachable vineyard.
I’ll be back again.

Brilliance in wine, incredible reds & stunning whites… waiting for their Viognier release in a few months… it promises to be EPIC!