Sienna Ridge Estate

The typical tasting-room experience usually involves visitors nibbling on tiny crackers between sips. That’s not the case at Sienna Ridge Estate winery. Here, visitors enjoy hors d’oeuvres as part of their tasting journey. However, I am not suggesting that you visit Sienna Ridge for the food. Rather, go with the wine in mind, but if your tummy starts making demands, partake in the snacks.

Sienna Ridge Estate’s tasting room has some history. Located on John Long Road right off I-5 near Oakland, the structure housing the tasting room was built by John Long’s son Robert in 1906. John Long himself had obtained a land grant in the Oregon Territory in 1847, which established the farm. Featuring plenty of windows to create a light-filled atmosphere, hardwood floors, large porch, and an expansive deck big enough to host music concerts (which it does), Sienna Ridge Estate’s tasting room is more like a field trip than a simple tasting foray.

The owner of Sienna Ridge Estate winery is Anchorage resident Wayne Hitchings. Despite the distance, he is anything but a remote landlord. Although his successful architectural supply business keeps him in Alaska for much of the year, he often commutes south to attend to the myriad details of running a winery. Not only is there the winery business to manage, but there’s also his 267-acre vineyard, one of only three individual vineyards designated as American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in the United States. That’s right, his vineyard is its own viticultural area, featuring red Jory soil (hence the winery name’s reference to sienna). But it’s the taste that matters, and according to Sienna Ridge literature, the microclimate and soil work together to create “small, tight clusters of grapes bursting with flavor.” The name of this single-vineyard AVA is Red Hill Vineyard, and visitors can view the vineyard, across the road from the winery, by climbing up the hillside.

Sienna Ridge offers a number of varietals: pinot noir, pinot gris, pinot blanc, chardonnay, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, riesling, gewürztraminer, along with a late-harvest riesling and late-harvest gewürztraminer. For a nominal tasting fee, visitors can opt for a white wine flight or a red wine flight. But if you are like this WineTrail trekker, you can double the tasting fee and enjoy both flights. Fortunately, there’s more than Ritz crackers to nibble between swirls and sips. At Sienna Ridge Estate, your biggest challenge may be discovering which wine pairs best with which appetizer. It’s a delicious adventure!