Phelps Creek Vineyards

South of Hood River and a dogleg to the right lies Phelps Creek Vineyards. How Phelps Creek Vineyards’ tasting room ended up in the middle of Hood River Golf Course is a question for Phelps Creek owner Bob Morus to answer. However, we do have him to thank for its gorgeous setting and inviting ambiance. By design, the tasting room has a lot of windows for easy viewing of the greens and the fairway tees just an easy 9-iron shot away. Another marvelous surprise is the Phelps Creek tasting room’s location right next door to the Oak Grove Restaurant. It’s a perfect spot for satisfying the appetite you’ll work up while touring wine country.

Those who bicycle here from the town of Hood River appreciate more than most the fact that Phelps Creek is at a higher elevation — around 900 to 1,000 feet. In the wintertime, the area often gets snow, which, for the tasting-room staff, can make for an interesting drive just getting to work. But when you visit in the summer, snow is the furthest thing from your mind, and the sight of nearby Phelps Creek Vineyards is a beautiful spectacle. Snap a picture or two of the vineyards, of which about 30 acres are under production.

Make a point of tasting winemaker Rich Cushman’s red and white blends, called Brimstone and Hellfire, respectively. These wines are named for local “celebrity” Billy Sunday, who maintained an orchard in Hood River in the early 1900s. Sunday is best known for his storied evangelical career (following a professional baseball career in the National League), during which he toured the country spreading the gospel to throngs of people coming to the “kerosene lamp tour.” Check out the labels for Brimstone and Hellfire, with their caricatures of an animated Billy Sunday.

Besides Hellfire and Brimstone, visitors have the opportunity to sample Phelps Creek’s other beauties, such as Le Petit Pinot Noir, Becky’s Cuvée, and Judith’s Reserve Pinot Noir. The philosophy at Phelps Creek Vineyards is “quality over quantity.” The fact that they harvest a relatively low tonnage of premium wine grapes per acre translates into intense flavor. (WineTrail tip: While you’re visiting, ask if any wines made by a guest winemaker are available to taste. In 2007, for example, Bob Morus invited Alexandrine Roy from France-based Domaine Marc Roy to produce pinot noir cuvée.) Don’t resist this temptation to experience the wines of the Columbia River Gorge!

• 

  Order the book!

  Phelps Creek Vineyards was featured in WineTrails of Oregon as part of the Columbia Gorge WineTrail on page !