Pheasant Valley Winery

For Scott and Gail Hagee, owners of Pheasant Valley Winery, it’s all about relationships. Their lives center on their relationships with family and friends, a nearby mountain, a thriving winery, and a dog named Lulu. It’s the bounty of the land that fuels their way of life, with acres of pear and apple orchards, thriving vineyards, and fields of lavender. With a straight-on view of spectacular Mount Hood, visitors catch a glimpse of Scott and Gail’s “earth-rich” lives, matched only by the taste of their earth-rich wines.

For years, Pheasant Valley orchards produced signature organic pear and apple crops. They still do. However, with the emergence of the Columbia Gorge wine country, it didn’t take long for Scott to replace some fruit trees with pinot gris, pinot noir, tempranillo, zinfandel, and gewürztraminer vines. Until the tasting room opened in 2004, fans of Pheasant Valley Winery were only familiar with the winery’s delectable off-dry pear wines. With the opening of the tasting room, however, they discovered Pheasant Valley’s portfolio of award-winning white and red wines.

Once inside Pheasant Hill’s spacious tasting room, be sure to admire the historic back bar (which traveled around Cape Horn to get here), the large rock fireplace with comfy furniture, wine-related merchandise, art on the wall, and breathtaking views. The Brittany spaniel vying for your attention is Lulu, and the original oil painting on the wall is by their good friend and local artist Dennis Wentworth Porter. His painting of Mount Hood with fall vineyards and flying pheasants in the foreground graces the wine bottles of Pheasant Valley Winery. (WineTrail tip: While vacationing in Hood River, consider staying at the Hagees’ roomy guesthouse, located on the winery’s property. Visit www.pheasantvalleyorchards.com for details.)

Because of its great variety of warm- and cool-weather grapes, Hood River provides the ultimate in convenient wine touring. To that end, Pheasant Valley Winery delights the taste buds, with samples of a wide assortment of reds and whites, from its award-winning pinot noir to its riesling. Yet, despite the many Old World wines to taste, I couldn’t help but relieve Scott and Gail of a bottle of their spicy semi-sweet pear wine. I had the perfect pasta chicken dish to “pear” with this beauty.

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  Pheasant Valley Winery was featured in WineTrails of Oregon as part of the Columbia Gorge WineTrail on page !