Oak Knoll Winery

WineTrail trekkers living in and around Portland have a jewel of a winery in their own backyard. Located west of Portland in Hillsboro (where high tech meets family-run farms), Oak Knoll Winery sits ensconced in rural splendor. An über-lawn that would make John Deer nervous invites would-be picnickers and bocce enthusiasts alike to relax with a glass of wine and enjoy the setting. Yes, those are the Chehalem Mountains in the distance — Oregon’s newest designated American Viticultural Area.

Founded in 1970 by Ron and Marj Vuylsteke, Oak Knoll Winery is Oregon’s third-oldest winery. It was an abundance of blackberries that led Ron, an Oregon native, to break out an old family recipe and create a blackberry wine that friends and family came to relish. This gave birth to Oak Knoll Winery. One in three bottles of wine sold in Oregon in the late ’70s had the Oak Knoll label. Oak Knoll Winery is a survivor. If there were a reality TV series featuring wineries, Oak Knoll Winery would be a finalist.

Fast-forward nearly 40 years. Although Ron is no longer in the picture, Marj still works the tasting room on a part-time basis. She still has that passion in her eyes when it comes to Oak Knoll’s portfolio of wines and to the success of her six children. With good reason, she happily remarks that all five sons are in the wine business up and down the West Coast.

Oak Knoll’s winemaker, Jeff Herinckx, cranks out a full array of wines, including an assortment of Burgundian pinots, chardonnay, and other cool-climate varietals, such as Müller-Thurgau, as well as raspberry wine. (WineTrail note: A full pound of raspberries goes into the production of each 375 ml bottle of Oak Knoll’s Frambrosia raspberry wine.) As Marj notes, “From the beginning our motto was ‘Make a wine for every palate, taste and occasion.’” For a mere $5, visitors can sample as many as 12 wines, from bone dry to semi-sweet pours. Better yet, purchase a glass of wine as I did and retreat to a picnic table on the manicured lawn. The hustle and bustle of nearby Portland is but a distant memory.