Eola Hills Wine Cellars

On my “1,000 Things to Do Before I Die” list is to cycle the Eola Hills Wine Cellars bike tour. It just seems to me that pinot noir and bike riding are a perfect pair — like peas and carrots.. Rolling hills, vineyards, and an occasional stop at a roadside winery for a taste of pinot noir; what could be better than that?

Tom Huggins, the owner of Eola Hills Wine Cellars, had the idea for a Sunday ride in wine country back in the mid-’90s. A number of friends and family participated and had a great time. Since then, every Sunday during the month of August, Eola Hills Wine Cellars sponsors bike touring through the Eola Hills wine country. With stops at a number of nearby wineries, you might wonder what to do with your purchases. It would be hard shifting gears while juggling a bottle of pinot noir. No worries, there is a SAG wagon in which to store your wine purchases along the way. As far as the pace and difficulty of the tour, Huggins and his team offer different routes for novice and hardcore cyclists. At the end of the day, you all meet back at Eola Hills Wine Cellars to enjoy a barbecue and wine.

A visit to Eola Hills Wine Cellars sans bicycle is also amazing. Just working your way through the gift shop is an exercise in restraint (or not!), because there are just so many goodies to purchase. The wine bar itself is like an oasis in a relatively large production room complete with aging barrels, bottling operations, and a full-size kitchen. At the oversized wine bar, visitors taste award-winning red and white wines including pinot noir, chardonnay, merlot, sangiovese, Maréchal Foch, zinfandel, syrah, pinot gris, sauvignon blanc, late-harvest Gewürztraminer, and port. With a case production of 60,000 annually, the winery must be doing something right, to say nothing of keeping winemaker Steve Anderson on his toes.

Be sure to take a glass of wine outside to enjoy on the picnic grounds. Stroll around and check out the artificial waterfall and koi pond. As you’re snapping shots of this picturesque landscape, don’t be surprised if you’re overcome by an irresistible urge to reserve a spot on Huggins’ next bike tour.