Beaux Frères Winery Overview
You know how sometimes when you are visiting a new place you aren’t sure what to expect? Beaux Frères was the first winery I ever visited in the Willamette Valley and I honestly had no idea what to expect on our trip. For those who are not aware, the Willamette Valley is basically only known for Pinot Noir. Nowadays, they are becoming more known for their Chardonnay as well, but if you are heading up to Oregon wine country, you are going for Pinot.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good Pinot, but it’s never my first choice.
I love a good bold wine. The bolder the better!
Or so I thought.
Tasting good Pinot is a whole different experience and Beaux Frères was the PERFECT intro into the world of Oregon Pinot Noirs.
Beaux Frères was founded by Michael Etzel in 1991. Converted from an old pig farm that Michael moved his family to after finding the farm I on a vacation, the property sits in Northern Willamette Valley and is still very much a family venture as Michael’s son Mike is the current winemaker.
The Wine
We tasted four Pinots and one Chardonnay during our visit. Each were very unique in their own ways. Some fruity, some smacked you in the face with earthiness and some had a nice balance of the two. All were excellent.
Beaux Frères wines are made with as little handling as possible. They create their wines using wild yeast and do punch overs by hand. They pride themselves in taking great care of their fragile Pinots in order to preserve and much of the delicate flavors as possible.
Wines are stored in oak barrels and not racked until they are transported into a settling tank just before bottling. They’ve been doing some really fun experimentations as well such as aging their wines in amphorae which are terra cotta pots from Italy.
My picks:
2016 Upper Terrace Vineyard Pinot Noir
2016 Beaux Frères Chardonnay
Atmosphere
Our tasting was lead by Chris who showed us around the barrel room and walked us through our wines.
The winery is attached to the barrel room which makes you feel like you are a part of the wine making experience. During our trip you could smell the grapes fermenting and had to fight fruit flies roaming around trying to steal our wines!
The tasting room is in an old barn and is basically the opposite of any tasting room in California. No showy buildings or rooms that are so packed you can’t even enjoy the wine. You work around the wine being made. It doesn’t work around you.
We had the opportunity to meet Mike, the winemaker during our visit which was a fun surprise and treat!!
Great For:
- Couples
- Intimate tasting room
- Smaller parties
Visit
15155 NE North Valley Road Newberg, Oregon 97132 | (503) 537-1137 | open by appointment only.
Tasting Fee: $25 – 4 tastings
