Hood River Vineyards
Hood River Vineyards
2.5
About
We are a small, family-owned and operated vineyard and winery in one of the grape-growing “sweet spots” of the Pacific Northwest, the Columbia River Gorge (now an official AVA), more specifically the Hood River Valley.
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
2.5
19 reviews
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Very good
1
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6
Jessica G
Spokane, WA243 contributions
Oct 2017 • Couples
As others have written, the couple seemed very sweet. The wine, however, was clearly flawed. The Pinot and other red were both a tawny brown at only two years old, clearly oxidized even from a freshly opened bottle. My husband likened one to a Flanders red ale which is soured by bacterial action. This operation has some sanitation or storage issues to address within their process. The port style wines seemed more stable, which makes sense. The whites were ok I guess.
Written October 1, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
FullerN
Spokane, WA1 contribution
Oct 2017 • Couples
My wife and I visited this small winery and we were initially impressed with all the fruit port. But it pretty much stopped there. I tried a Chardonnay and a Riesling and both seemed fine. But the pinot noir was sour. It was the sourest wine I have ever tried! It reminded me of a Belgian style Flemish sour beer. The Barbera tasted like port wine. You could tell a port barrel was used for this wine. And oxidized!!! Brownest wine I have ever seen. Look, I liked the people there, but it is a piss poor quality controlled setting. I still bought stuff, but I just opened the chardonnay and it had a pretty strong vinegar taste. Wow, how did these guys even get a sign from the local wine organization? Unless you want to try almost 10 different fruit ports don’t bother.
Written October 4, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Shaymur
Fremont, CA1,058 contributions
Jul 2015 • Couples
This isn't a fancy tasting room and the wines are decent and worth a taste. There are a number of fruit ports which are interesting.
Written July 19, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MTDave_11
Ennis, MT12 contributions
Sep 2011 • Couples
My wife and I love to try new wines and have a glass of wine with dinner most nights. We're not novices at tasting; we know our wines. Hood River Vineyards was recommended in local guide materials so we looked forward to a visit.
The woman in the tasting room could not have been nicer. It's not a fancy facility, but our experience is that some of these small wineries can be real gems. We tasted six wines for the $5 fee: Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Late Bottled Riesling, and Zinfandel Port. There were some sweet fruit wines that we did not taste.
There was virtually no taste difference between the Chardonnay and Riesling. Both were flabby and alcoholic. Frankly we've had "critter" wines that were better.
The Pinot Noir probably told the whole story. When poured into the glass it had clearly oxidized. The taste was off. Clearly this wine had been opened many days before. At that point we realized that the two white wines had probably also been left open for a few days.
The Cabernet Sauvignon was undrinkable. The Late Bottled Riesling tasted strongly of yeast. We desperately wanted to find something about this winery or the wines to appreciate, so we tried the Zinfandel Port. It had a classic port nose, but the taste was very thin with way too much alcohol.
The wines at Hood River Vineyards were just awful. We're sorry.
Our recommendation: Don't even drive in the road. Give these folks a few years to learn about storing and presenting their wines.
The woman in the tasting room could not have been nicer. It's not a fancy facility, but our experience is that some of these small wineries can be real gems. We tasted six wines for the $5 fee: Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Late Bottled Riesling, and Zinfandel Port. There were some sweet fruit wines that we did not taste.
There was virtually no taste difference between the Chardonnay and Riesling. Both were flabby and alcoholic. Frankly we've had "critter" wines that were better.
The Pinot Noir probably told the whole story. When poured into the glass it had clearly oxidized. The taste was off. Clearly this wine had been opened many days before. At that point we realized that the two white wines had probably also been left open for a few days.
The Cabernet Sauvignon was undrinkable. The Late Bottled Riesling tasted strongly of yeast. We desperately wanted to find something about this winery or the wines to appreciate, so we tried the Zinfandel Port. It had a classic port nose, but the taste was very thin with way too much alcohol.
The wines at Hood River Vineyards were just awful. We're sorry.
Our recommendation: Don't even drive in the road. Give these folks a few years to learn about storing and presenting their wines.
Written September 18, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RkyMtnHigh
Birmingham, AL15 contributions
On a recent trip (August, 2008) through the Columbia River Valley, my husband and I made a special effort to stop at the Hood River Vineyards - recommended in a Northwest Guidebook by Insight Guides. Our first red flag should have been that we were the only tourists there - and the tasting experience was so terrible - they should have paid us!
We tasted the Pinot Noir - and it was so astringent that we were a bit in disbelief. My husband asked if they fermented their grapes with the stems on (which can make a wine astringent) but the woman at the counter told us No, and the reason that their wine tasted different was that we were probably more familiar with drinking 'young' wines and their wines were 'aged'. (My husband and I are both wine connoisuers and most decent red wines will improve with age- not taste astringent.) We went on to taste their Zinfandel and their Cabernet Sauvignon and they were all terrible - and we concluded (after leaving) that they had all 'Turned' or gone rancid. This was mid-week, (July 31st ) and it appears they let their wines just sit on the counter, once they are opened.
After returning home, we spoke to some friends who were vacationing in the area the same time as us, and also stopped at the Hood River Tasting Room, and had the exact same experience. My suggestion is to take this one off your list - there are several Tasting Rooms and Wineries in this location, and had we known, we would certainly have chosen a different one.
We tasted the Pinot Noir - and it was so astringent that we were a bit in disbelief. My husband asked if they fermented their grapes with the stems on (which can make a wine astringent) but the woman at the counter told us No, and the reason that their wine tasted different was that we were probably more familiar with drinking 'young' wines and their wines were 'aged'. (My husband and I are both wine connoisuers and most decent red wines will improve with age- not taste astringent.) We went on to taste their Zinfandel and their Cabernet Sauvignon and they were all terrible - and we concluded (after leaving) that they had all 'Turned' or gone rancid. This was mid-week, (July 31st ) and it appears they let their wines just sit on the counter, once they are opened.
After returning home, we spoke to some friends who were vacationing in the area the same time as us, and also stopped at the Hood River Tasting Room, and had the exact same experience. My suggestion is to take this one off your list - there are several Tasting Rooms and Wineries in this location, and had we known, we would certainly have chosen a different one.
Written August 14, 2008
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RNB701
Portland, OR11 contributions
Aug 2015 • Couples
We visited several wineries in Hood River and this one was by far our favorite. The owner was so friendly and knowledgeable that we instantly felt at home here. Also her prices were so much better than the other places. We ended up with several bottles of wine and will definitely return on our next trip to the Hood River area!
Written August 21, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
heyps
chicago44 contributions
Jul 2015
Rather a sad little spot that disappoints immensely. That is, it's in a gorgeous location and surrounding vineyards are first-rate. However, the tasting room is virtually a hot shed, presided over by a grumpy gent who misleads about the offerings. All whites tasted like vinegar and the reds were scarcely better. I won't go on, as there's no reason to visit this spot.
Written July 16, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wyatt5
Beaverton, OR2 contributions
Mar 2013 • Couples
The unkept property and empty parking lot should have been clues that we were at the wrong place. Gamely, my wife and I entered in with the hope of finding a secret treasure. What ensued was probably the worst tasting experience out of the nearly 100 wineries we have visited. We began with what was supposed to be Pinot Noir, then Merlot, then Cabernet Sauvignon. The colors of each was some sort of tinged orange/brown mix (our hostest described it as "brickish") and the taste was simply awful (I would call it "brackish"). The funny thing is that the three "red" varietals all tasted the same - it was like they had the same wine in different bottles. We couldn't get out of there fast enough. Hard to believe anyone could give this place five stars, or four, or three. Perhaps their dessert wines tell another story - we were able to force one down after the table wines but our pallettes lay in waste at that point. Pass this place by and head to Marchesi - it was terrific and restored our faith in the local winemakers.
Written March 11, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
OGoneAgain2
Litchfield Park, AZ71 contributions
Jun 2012 • Family
Nice setting, friendly staff, and some of their wines are very nice. Try the Gewurz...it is special.
Written August 5, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MeganEDavis7
Columbus, GA22 contributions
My husband and I are in our mid-twenties. He's a junior officer in the Army (1LT) and I am a law student. We enjoy drinking wine and are attempting to learn more about it, but are far from being amateur sommeliers. We stopped in the Hood River tasting room, and had an excellent experience. The proprietors of the vineyard run the tasting room themselves and couldn't be more down to earth. Anne Lerch, the "winemaven" served us, and gave a thorough description of each wine. She quickly put us at ease, though we were obviously wine novices. All in all, it was a great experience.
Written June 22, 2009
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Claim your listingHood River Vineyards - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)
Frequently Asked Questions about Hood River Vineyards
- Hotels near Hood River Vineyards:
- (1.41 mi) Westcliff Lodge
- (1.62 mi) Columbia Cliff Villas Hotel
- (1.57 mi) Columbia Gorge Hotel
- (3.56 mi) Hampton Inn & Suites Hood River
- (8.30 mi) RubyJune Inn
- Restaurants near Hood River Vineyards:
- (3.24 mi) Bette's Place
- (1.70 mi) Stonehedge Gardens Wine Country Bistro
- (2.76 mi) Egg River Cafe
- (3.31 mi) Solstice Wood Fire Pizza - Cafe & Bar
- (3.29 mi) Double Mountain Brewery
Hood River Vineyards Information
Excellent Reviews | 5 |
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Very Good Reviews | 1 |
Hood River Vineyards Photos | 4 |