Chateau Bianca Winery

Opened seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Chateau Bianca is a convenient stop for wine tourists and people taking Highway 22 to and from the Pacific coast. Situated near the Van Duzer corridor, the winery and vineyard benefit from the cooling effects of the afternoon breeze. Simply turn into the winery’s ample parking lot and enter its tasting room, where a large selection of wines and wine-related accessories await you.

Winemaking is in large part about tradition. Sure, you can gain such knowledge through courses at an enology program or by volunteering as a cellar rat. However, if you have four generations of winemakers in your family, you have a leg up on the competition. Such is the case with winemaker Andreas Wetzel. Being tall and having a broad smile helps Andreas to work with his crew, but it’s the knowledge handed down from one generation to another that spells the difference — a difference with a German accent.

Andreas’ parents, Helmut and Liselotte (aka Opa and Oma), are of German descent, and the couple began Chateau Bianca Winery in the 1970s with the planting of 12 different grape varieties on 50 acres near the Van Duzer Corridor of the Coast Range. They brought with them the German winemaking know-how of their ancestors, along with a family recipe for Glühwein, a mulled hot spiced wine perfect for the hot tub — just add cinnamon sticks.

Glühwein may be a signature offering at Chateau Bianca, but most of its production centers on pinot noir, pinot gris, and pinot blanc. Other wines include riesling, Gewürztraminer, Marechal Foch, chardonnay, port, and vin de glace (a dessert wine made from chardonnay). The wines are priced to go for an “irresistible value,” ranging from the midteens to the high 20s for its estate pinot noir.

Interestingly, Opa and Oma are also proprietors and hosts of their estate bed and breakfast. Bearing the name Chateau Bianca Oregon Wine Country Bed & Breakfast, the establishment offers wine tourists a romantic getaway in the heart of wine country. Incredible views, a king- size bed, a private bath and a gourmet breakfast await visitors, all at an affordable rate. Can you name another place where you can brush up on your German language skills and sip a glass of Glühwein in the tub? Probably in the Rhine region of Germany, but nowhere else in Oregon!