Oregon’s King Estate an Incredible, Highly Recommended Winery
As Oregon’s largest winery, King Estate Winery is a full of dichotomies. The spacious 1,033-acre estate and vineyards have been carefully planned with exceptional environmental awareness; dozens of scurrying worker-bee employees treat everyone as if they’re a guest of honor; annual production is huge and yet each wine tastes like a hand-crafted gem.
In short, despite its size, this is a winery that has paid attention to the smallest of details.
King Estate is virtually self-sustaining, and because of its somewhat isolated location, it has to be. Situated about 30 minutes from Eugene near the south end of the Willamette Valley amidst a sea of undulating grassy-green hills, it’s home to 470-acres of certified organic vineyards, a 170,000 case-per-year production facility, tasting room, restaurant, fruit and vegetable gardens, bakery, and charcuterie.
Although the 431,000 vines are meticulously groomed by Vineyard Manager Meliton Martinez and staff, you won’t find weed-free, perfectly landscaped vineyards here. That’s because the winery practices sustainable farming methods without the use of herbicides or toxic chemicals and every other row is planted with crop cover such as clover, wheat and oats to supply nitrogen to the soil.
Fertilization comes from the estate’s huge composting system and pests are controlled naturally through the set-up of on-site raptor boxes that house hawks, owls and kestrels.
I paid a visit to King Estate over the Memorial Day weekend, and Sales and Marketing/Brand Ambassador Quentin Ransone did a first-class job as my tour guide, question answerer, and pourer of tastes from the winery’s extensive and impressive wine list.
Our first stop was the winery restaurant, located adjacent to the tasting bar. Ransone informed me that the menu includes vegetables that are either grown organically on the estate or supplied by local farmers. Sauces are made from scratch, breads are baked fresh daily, and some of the meats are cured at the charcuterie.
A few of the many notable menu items: the poached egg and asparagus appetizer, served on toasted brioche and truffle greens, and the melt-in-your-mouth, slightly smoky, estate-made pastrami with sauerkraut and Gruyere cheese on rye, which was nothing short of gastronomic bliss.
Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have world-class wines on hand to pair with your meal, and King Estate has this more than covered. As you might suspect with most Oregon wineries, pinot noir and pinot gris are the primary focus, but the winery also produces an outstanding chardonnay and several red wines sourced from Washington vineyards.
Next week: some wine recommendations from King Estate.