We had a good wine tasting at Rain Dance Vineyards in Newburg, Oregon. Rain Dance was one of a few…read morewineries that we selected for our Willamette Valley wine tour (Oregon Wine Country). The staff was polite, welcoming, and friendly and the atmosphere was relaxing. The experience was like going into a nice home, next to a vineyard, for wine and cheese. Lovely atmosphere.
Our group of eight had a Saturday afternoon reservation. We arrived and were seated before 12:30pm and left by around 1:45pm. This did not appear to be a big operation. During our visit, I saw only two lady employees tending to all the customers. Rain Dance has indoor and outdoor seating. We were seated inside. Regardless of where you sit, there are good views of the property's vineyard and garden. It's beautiful and serene. Shortly after our tasting began, a bachelorette party left. Therefore, we had the inside all to ourselves save for a couple seated by the window. The weather was pleasant so several doors to the house were left open, creating a calm, gentle breeze.
We had the wines listed below. Individual bottle prices are from the time of our tasting and descriptions are from Rain Dance's website at the time of writing this review ( https://raindancevineyards.com/shop/ ).
* 2022 Grand Oak Vineyard Riesling. $32 for 750-mL bottle. "Classic aromas and flavors of stone fruit and tropical flowers are lifted by vibrant acidity on the palate. This drier-style Riesling allows for so much versatility at the dinner table, but fish dishes are our favorites."
* 2023 Grand Oak Gewurztraminer. $32 for 750-mL bottle. "A Rain Dance favorite! Gewurztraminer is a rare find in Oregon, especially in such a dry style. Its lively notes of jasmine, peach and spice box are perfect for Asian and Indian dishes loaded with their own exotic spices."
* 2022 Estate Pinot Noir Cuvee. $45 for 750-mL bottle. "Fresh notes of cherries, pomegranate, plums, black pepper, pipe tobacco, and cinnamon."
* 2021 Grand Oak Vineyard Pinot Noir. $60 for 750-mL bottle. "Bright and fresh with a complex assortment of dark cherries, raspberries, cranberries, intermingled with thyme, sage, and cinnamon."
Since the time of our visit, I think the 2022 Grand Oak Vineyard Riesling and the 2021 Grand Oak Vineyard Pinot Noir have been replaced by 2023 and 2022 vintages, respectively.
We also had at least two charcuterie boards ($35 each) that included crackers, roasted hazelnuts, onion jam, pork rillettes, raisins, and three kinds of cheese. The total cost for our group for everything was $336, which worked out to $42 per person.
While I've been to a lot of wineries/vineyards and done a lot of wine tastings (just search my reviews), I'm still by no means a wine connoisseur. All I can say about Rain Dance is I thought all of the wines were enjoyable. All four, from the riesling to the pinot noirs, were delectable. They smelled and tasted well made and high quality.
In short, I enjoyed our visit to Rain Dance and thought it was worth the visit.
Rain Dance Vineyards is named after owners and founders Celia and Ken Austin's Rain Dance Ranch. The ranch was established in 1991 and the vineyard was established in 2009.