Duck Pond Cellars

I’ve had several people tell me that their wine tour of the Willamette Valley consists of going to one winery — Duck Pond Cellars. I had to wonder, with all the amazing wineries to visit, why would people go to just one winery. I had to discover for myself.

I got my first taste of Duck Pond Cellars’ elegance when I turned into the entrance, conveniently located right off Highway 99W in Dundee, and beheld the beautiful tasting room beyond the decorative vineyard. The elongated patio wraps around the front of the building, beckoning visitors to relax and sip. I pulled my car into the generously sized parking lot and wondered what was in store for me inside.
I quickly learned that “tasting room” is a misnomer for Duck Pond Cellars’ interior. Offering what has to be a “best in class” in wine-related retail, this shop meets the needs of would-be shoppers, from holiday gifts to a souvenir for that hard-to-buy-for mother-in-law. Whoever is the buyer for Duck Pond Cellars clearly has an eye for merchandise worthy of Nordstrom.

However, lest I forget Duck Pond’s raison d’être, I was here for the wine tasting, and here I discovered its secret for success. Essentially, the winery offers a complete buffet-style line-up of white, red, dessert, port, and sparkling wines to meet everyone’s palate. The reason for this wide selection of wines? How about 840 acres of premium wine grapes growing in the diverse climates of Washington’s Columbia Valley and Oregon’s Willamette Valley, owned by Doug and Jo Ann Fries. Since the late 1980s, Doug and Jo Ann have been building Duck Pond’s vineyard and winery properties (including their newest grand winery in Prosser, Washington, named Desert Wind). With such a diverse mixture of wines — from Bordeaux to Burgundy, sweet to dry, and red to white — Duck Pond has it all.

Another reason that WineTrail trekkers make a beeline to Duck Pond is its low prices. I snapped up a bottle of its white blend Clos d’Pond for $10. A bottle of its pinot noir reduced my wallet by only $20. It’s little wonder that Duck Pond Cellars enjoys an active wine club, with members who routinely share in wine tasting parties and other events.

Great value, family history, an amazing gift shop, splendid patio sitting: These attributes explain why many visitors simply go to one winery for their Willamette Valley getaway — Duck Pond Cellars.