Eugene, OR wineries are the perfect place to taste if you like experiences off the tourist path. Nearly 7 million people visit Oregon’s Willamette Valley annually. But many of them stay in the northern part just outside of Portland. This is a shame, since the valley stretches for ~150 miles all the way to Eugene.
You’ll find more than 25 wineries in and around Eugene, each with their own personality. For example, some are urban tasting rooms right in Downtown Eugene while others are expansive vineyards dotting the hills around the city.
If you’re ready to try a more casual and affordable wine tasting experience than what’s available outside of Portland, head to the wineries in Eugene. Once there, make sure not to miss these hidden gems of the Southern Willamette Valley.
The Gordon Hotel and Eugene Cascades and Coast sponsored this article. They paid me to visit Eugene and provided complimentary tastings at some wineries on this list. As always, only wineries I truly enjoyed are included and some I found on my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make The Emerald palate possible!
Eugene, OR Wineries
Here are my favorite Eugene, Oregon, organized by downtown tasting rooms vs. vineyards. Pin this for later because I’ll add more tasting rooms to my list as I discover them!
Downtown tasting rooms
One of the benefits of visiting downtown Eugene wineries is that they are in walking distance of hotels and restaurants. That means you can typically fit in more wine tastings and don’t need to fight over who will be the designated driver.
Iris Vineyards
website | 322 Main St, Springfield, OR (get directions) | hours: 11:30 am – 8 pm Thurs – Sun | tasting fee: ~$12 pp, waived with $60 purchase | best for: affordable, consistently excellent wines + wine cocktails
Iris Vineyards is my favorite of the Eugene, OR wineries right now. I first visited their winery when it was nestled on a hill overlooking vineyards. They’ve since closed that location to the public and opened a casual wine bar in downtown Springfield, the town next to Eugene that inspired The Simpsons.
Iris’ new wine bar has a cute back patio perfect for sipping. Besides the ambiance, what I love about Iris is that they make ~10,000 cases a year of elegant, yet affordable wines using varietals you don’t often see at other Willamette Valley wineries. They’re able to do this by supplementing their grapes with those from South Oregon’s Umpqua Valley and Rogue Valley wine regions (that’s another reason to visit Eugene, Oregon wineries: it’s only ~1 hour away from other wine areas!).
This means you’ll find warmer-climate varietals like tempranillo and syrah in addition to their sustainably estate-grown pinots and chardonnay. You’ll also find brut, which they make by fermenting in the bottle to produce smaller bubbles. Why does this matter? It provides less fizz to please even the self-acclaimed sparking wine hater (for example, me).
Another reason Iris should be on your list of Eugene wineries to visit is that they make wine cocktails.
You’d think these drinks include actual spirits. But instead they mimic the base spirit of popular cocktails using just their wines.
For example, the last time I went I got a Negroni created by infusing their chardonnay with botanicals so that it tastes like gin. I was super impressed with how much it tasted like the classic. But with less of that puckering boozy taste you often get with spirits.
All in all, if you’re rolling with a party that has a varied wine palate and want to enjoy crowd-pleasing wines that won’t break the bank, Iris Vineyards is the best winery in Eugene for you.
Oregon Wine LAB
website | 488 Lincoln St, Eugene, OR (get directions) | hours: 12 pm – 9 pm Mon – Sat, 12 pm – 5 pm Sun | tasting fee: varies depending on flight | best for: wines from multiple labels under one roof
Oregon Wine LAB is another excellent Downtown Eugene tasting room. It has a casual vibe with a ton of local art, live music, outdoor picnic tables. And the Da Nang Vietnamese Eatery food truck.
What I love most about this place is the fact that you can try wine from a bunch of different winemakers. The largest label is the house brand, William Rose Wines, created by owner Mark Nicholls. However “LAB” stands for “Local Artisan Brands”, so you’ll also find a curated list of wine, beer, and cider from small-batch producers around Oregon.
Nicholls was a winemaker in Australia, France, Italy, and California before settling in Oregon. He spent 9 years at Eugene-area winery Sweet Cheeks before realizing he wanted to venture on his own and produce unconventional wines.
He sources grapes from all over Oregon to create William Rose Wines. You’ll find a lot of wine styles, ranging from Rhône-style, syrah-based red blends to dry riesling. Regardless of what each vintage brings, you can expect structured, food-friendly wines.
Terra Pacem Winery
website | 590 Pearl St, Ste 103, Eugene, OR (get directions) | hours: 12 pm – 8 pm daily (10 pm Fri & Sat) | tasting fee: ~$12, waived with 2 bottle purchase | best for: dry, acidic wines with a mission
Terra Pacem Winery has one of my favorite stories of all the Eugene, OR wineries. You see, they’re more than just a winery. They’re a working, learning, and social community by and for people with disabilities.
Owners Dr. Amy Lobben and Dr. Andrew Marcus used to be science professors at the University of Oregon. Their son, Jeffrey, has intellectual disabilities and as he aged out of the system, they realized how difficult it is for adults with disabilities to navigate available resources.
Amy and Andrew wanted to provide a community for adults with disabilities, so they created a winery that could provide them jobs and an opportunity to connect with others going through the same challenges. They also work with local organizations like the Special Olympics and Oregon Supported Living Program (OSLP).
For example, you can skip the bag when you purchase wine and instead donate $1 to one of the nonprofits. Or you can purchase art from one of the OSLP members that adorns the tasting room walls.
Terra Pacem doesn’t produce enough of its own grapes right now, so it sources from local vineyards and sells their wine out of their Downtown Eugene tasting room inside the 5th Street Public Market. In fact, they’re right next door to Pfeiffer Winery’s Eugene location, so you can hit up both spots in one visit!
J. Scott Cellars
website | 207 E 5th Ave Ste 105, Eugene, OR (get directions) | hours: Tues – Thurs 1 – 8 pm, Fri 1 – 9 pm, Sat 12 – 9 pm, Sun 12 – 8 pm | tasting fee: ~$15 pp, waived with 2 bottle purchase | best for: a large selection of wine styles
J. Scott Cellars is another tasting room inside Eugene’s 5th Street Public Market. It’s a modern space with a ton of art and windows, giving it a fun and casual atmosphere. You’ll find a pretty extensive food menu for a winery, including a weekend brunch.
J. Scott was founded around 2013 by Jonathan Scott Oberlander when he was working as the assistant winemaker of Silvan Ridge Winery. He always had a background in wine, first selling wine with his business degree after college and then as a winemaker in California after getting a Master’s degree in enology.
All of this experience has made a distinct wine style that blends Old World traditions with New World winemaking techniques. You’ll find around 38 different varietals to try, about 18 of which scored 90 points or more from Wine Enthusiast. So if you want to try award-winning wines leveraging varietals you don’t see at many other area wineries, J. Scott is worth a try.
Pfeiffer Winery
website | Eugene, OR (get directions) and Junction City, OR (get directions) | hours: 11 am daily at both locations, closes 5 or 6 pm at the winery and 8 or 10 pm at the downtown tasting room | tasting fee: ~$12 pp | best for: pinot noir loved by the Obamas
You read that right: Michelle and Barack Obama love Pfeiffer Winery. In fact, they chose Pfeiffer’s Blue Dot Pinot Noir to be served at their inauguration dinner. Try their wines and you’ll see why. They’re earthy, silky, and alive thanks to low-intervention techniques that let the wines tell the story of the land.
That land is 70 acres and dates back to 1947 when the Pfeiffer family purchased it to create a chicken and sheep farm. They ran that farm successfully for 25 years, when suddenly the French pushed the Pfeiffers to sell their property.
Wondering what the French wanted with a south-facing sheep meadow, Robin Pfeiffer started looking into it. He learned they wanted it not to make cheese, but rather to plant pinot noir grapes.
Robin convinced his father that wine would be a better long-term bet than sheep farming.
Once he was able to win him over, Robin planted pinot noir, pinot gris, chardonnay, muscat, and merlot, establishing one of the first vineyards in the South Willamette Valley.
Ten years later Robin met his now-wife, Danuta, through a newspaper ad. It was love at first site: they decided to marry after just 12 days of knowing each other. Now, 26 years later, they’re still together finishing each others’ sentences and marveling at the stunning solar-powered winery they grew together.
You can visit their gorgeous vineyard property or experience their wines at their Downtown Eugene tasting room inside 5th Street Public Market. If you choose to visit the vineyard, you’ll immediately notice the lush landscaping surrounding the brick red tasting room.
Robin and Danuta designed a 4-tier water garden surrounding a pond, planting everything you see a decade ago from 6″ planters. The space is perfect for grabbing a bottle and sipping while surrounded by verdant landscaping, wind chimes, garden sculptures, and an outdoor tiki hut that serves guests during music events.
Inside the tasting room you’ll be met with a Tuscan vibe.
You walk through the Fireplace Pavilion first, a large space with vaulted ceilings and a huge stone fireplace. It’s the perfect spot for weddings and events.
Toward the back of the Fireplace Pavillion is a small hallway that leads you to the intimate tasting room. You’ll notice you’re headed to something special thanks to the stone hallway lit by twinkling lights. On the other side you’ll be met with cozy chairs scattered around a dimly lit room that reminded me of a more feminine gentlemen’s cigar lounge.
It’s here that you can grab a flight or take a Pinot Clinic for ~$45 where Robin will take you through their Blue Dot pinot series and teach you everything you ever wanted to know about wine tasting. When I last went he gave us the cliff notes version and I was impressed with how much I learned in just 5 minutes! One thing he said stuck with me:
“Pinot is the wine of kings,” Robin said. “It’s delicate and changes everywhere it touches your palate. It can be different from winery to winery, whereas most other varietals taste alike no matter where you get them.”
If you’re curious about pinots and love good ambiance, definitely make a visit to Pfeiffer Winery. They only produce ~2,500 cases a year so you can only find their wines at their winery or Downtown Eugene tasting room. The rest of their grapes are sold to the larger King Estate Winery nearby.
Vineyards just outside Eugene
If you love the quintessential winery vibe with gorgeous views and expansive grounds, you can get that just a short drive from Downtown Eugene. Here are some of my favorites you shouldn’t miss.
Pro tip: If you’re staying in Downtown Eugene, stop at Provisions Market Hall in 5th Street Public Market to grab goodies for a picnic.
Brigadoon Wine Co.
website | 25167 Ferguson Rd, Junction City, OR (get directions) | hours: 12 pm – 5 pm Wed – Sun by appointment only (Sat & Sun only Dec – March) | tasting fee: ~$10 pp | best for: small batch, family-made sustainable wines
If you’re looking for Eugene, OR wineries with more of that vineyard feel, Brigadoon is the perfect place. It’s an under-the-radar, family-owned winery just north of Eugene. You’ll find husband Chris, wife Sheree, and son Matt on the property any given day, each playing an important role in bringing the winery to life.
Chris and Sheree Shown purchased the land in 1991.
Chris tended it, planting an additional 1/2 acre each year while they raised Matt. Now it’s a 66-acre vineyard with apple orchards that they hope to start turning into cider soon.
As soon as Matt was old enough, he started working in the cellar. He’s now the lead winemaker and creates ~2,000 cases a year of acidic, not-too-sweet wines. His philosophy is to coax the best out of each vintage, which means he uses minimal-intervention techniques so that each year’s production gives tasters a true sense of the terroir.
Sheree heads up the food menu at Brigadoon. While small, you’ll find a focused selection of charcuterie boards featuring local cheese, jam, hazelnuts, and her homemade rosemary Parmesan crisps. Word on the street is she sells these during the holidays. Let’s just say they’re lucky I don’t live too close or else I’d buy up the whole production before anyone else could snag any. They’re that good!
Besides excellent wine and snacks, the thing I love most about Brigadoon is the casual, inviting atmosphere. The Shown’s created a gorgeous outdoor seating area overlooking their vineyards. You’ll find little nooks with seating nestled among wildflowers they planted themselves. Chances are one of the Showns will be pouring for you, which makes the ambiance all the more special.
Antiquum Farm
website | 25075 Jaeg Rd, Junction City, OR (get directions) | hours: typically Sat & Sun by appointment only, but they often run out of wine and close for tastings | best for: sustainable wines
A short drive away from Brigadoon is one the most famous sustainable wineries in Oregon: Antiquum Farm. They’re often interviewed in local and national publications about their grazing-based viniculture approach to winemaking, which is said to be better than organic.
The gist of it is that they strategically rotate farm animals throughout the vineyard instead of relying on tilling, fertilizers, or pesticides. This naturally supports the grapes and soil, which makes not only for excellent wines but also a great view of adorable farm animals meandering through the vineyards.
Antiquum is so popular that it can be difficult to get a tasting reservation. Not only do they book up, but they often run out of wine and have to close the tasting room altogether. This is due to their small production, so don’t worry, you won’t be met with throngs of people if you’re able to snag a spot.
If you’re able to try their wines, you’ll be met with characteristics that don’t taste anything like the flavor profile that turns many people away from natty wines: fermented funkiness.
I often avoid natural wines at restaurants because they can taste sour and kombucha-like, but all of the ones I’ve tried at Antiquum are smooth and zippy…never sour. I love this because it means you can feel good about your wine without having to sacrifice taste. So if you are curious about natural wines, Antiquum Farm is a great place to start.
King Estate Winery
website | 80854 Territorial Hwy, Eugene, OR (get directions) | hours: open daily at 12 pm by reservation only | best for: grand estate ambiance
I’m typically one to shy away from large wineries because I find they typically favor mass production over quality or stewardship for the land. However, King Estate Winery is where I make an exception.
King Estate produces more than 300,000 cases of wine a year, making it the third largest winery in Oregon. Yet despite their size, they are doing some really impressive things to give back to the land and produce premium wine.
For example, in addition to being organic and Salmon Safe, King Estate is North America’s largest certified biodynamic vineyard at 1,033 acres. Biodynamic is an approach to agriculture that treats the entire property like a living organism, helping keep the soil healthy through composting and crop rotation instead of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides.
This means the estate needs to host more than just grapes in order to keep the land fertile and healthy.
So in addition to 470 acres of vines, King Estate also has orchards, gardens, lavender, and beehives. They use these crops in their restaurant and donate to nonprofits like FOOD for Lane County to provide hunger relief to the community.
The winemakers also like to produce a cider using pears and apples from the orchard. And if that’s not cool enough, King Estate has a hawk program as a pesticide-free form of rodent control.
In addition to their sustainable growing practices, King Estate doesn’t skimp corners when it comes to winemaking. Their process includes keeping all vineyard lots, blocks, and clones separate throughout the entire winemaking process up until blending. This is uncommon for wineries of their size, but they do it in order to be very precise with the harvest. Doing it this way allows them to optimize for grape ripeness and, therefore, flavor development in every block.
When you visit the tasting room, you’ll be able to try these painstakingly-made wines in addition to their North by Northwest label. These wines honor the high quality grapes available in other regions of the Pacific Northwest, with a focus on the Columbia Valley and Walla Walla AVAs and their superior cabernet sauvignon, syrah, chardonnay, and riesling.
More wineries in Eugene to try
Here are a few more Eugene, OR wineries on my short list to try:
- Sweet Cheeks Winery – Recommended by multiple winemakers for views
- Sarver Winery – Another spot with supposedly great views
- Territorial Vineyards – Eugene urban winery recommended by Brigadoon
- Silvan Ridge Winery – One of Eugene’s oldest wineries
- Civic Wines – Another Eugene urban winery in a historic building
- Capitello Wines – Another Eugene urban winery with New Zealand roots
Where to stay near Eugene wineries
Since there are a lot of tasting rooms in Downtown Eugene and any outside the city are quite close, I always recommend staying in Eugene proper. Here are some of my favorite picks.
The Gordon Hotel
website | directions | best for: artsy vibes and onsite dining | prices: ~$185/night | pet friendly
The Gordon Hotel is my favorite place to stay when visiting Eugene. First, it’s right inside 5th Street Public Market, steps away from Pfeiffer Winery, Terra Pacem, and J.Scott Cellars. That means you can hit up a bunch of tasting rooms boom, boom, boom without having to drive anywhere.
In addition to a super convenient location, it just has a really fun vibe. You’ll see art all over the hotel, most of it created by employees. The lobby has a stunning chandelier made of mason jars spanning the whole ceiling, plus there’s an art supplies bar where you can flex your own artistic skills.
The creative design is fitting since the common spaces are always buzzing with energy. The Gordon Tavern restaurant is open to the lobby and market just outside, so you can people watch while enjoying one of their excellent steaks. Or you can enjoy the views of Eugene from above at their Mexican-style rooftop restaurant, Carlitas, which has the most addictive queso.
But the best part about The Gordon Hotel? The hidden speakeasy accessed via what looks like a janitor’s closet door! It has excellent drinks and is such a hidden gem unlike anything you typically find in hotels.
Inn at the 5th
website | directions | best for: luxury and comfort | prices: ~$250/night | pet friendly
If you want a more luxurious, calming ambiance that’s still close to the wineries, consider Inn at the 5th. It’s also in 5th Street Public Market a short walk from wineries, but it has more intimate common spaces. This makes it perfect for those who want a quiet respite after a day of wine tasting.
While The Gordon is all about bright colors, Inn at the 5th is full of neutral colors and amenities to aid in relaxation. You’ll find a large fireplace in the bedrooms and one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in.
The best part about Inn at the 5th, though? The balconies off each room. They’re all adorned with flower boxes on the banisters and a bistro table. It makes you feel as if you’ve been whisked away to France as you sip your coffee overlooking the quieter part of the market.
Inn at the 5th is also next to one of the best fine dining restaurants in the market, Marché. So while it doesn’t have its own onsite dining, it’s just steps away from some amazing eats. And unlike The Gordon Hotel, it has an onsite spa perfect for unwinding after exploring the city and Southern Willamette Valley wineries.
Best time to visit wineries in Eugene
Many people visit Willamette Valley in the summer, which is perfect for enjoying the outdoor winery patios. However, it also means you’re met with more crowds and heat.
If you’d prefer to have the winery more to yourself, head to the Eugene, OR wineries during the cellar season from October through February. The year’s grapes will have all been harvested, with young wines starting to age and winemakers finally able to breathe after the hectic season. This means they may be in the tasting room pouring your flight, ready to answer any questions you may have about their wines.
Cellar season is also a great time to visit if you’re interested in stocking up your wine collection. This is when many wineries are releasing their next vintage, so you’ll be among the first to try it.
And you don’t have to worry about over buying if you’re flying: Alaska Airlines lets you check a case of wine for free when you fly out of the Eugene Airport.
More to explore near Eugene, Oregon
After you taste your way through the best Eugene, OR wineries, fill the rest of your itinerary with these activities and places to stay:
- Best Boutique Hotels in Eugene
- Everything You Must Do at 5th Street Public Market
- Willamette Valley Wineries to Try in Your Lifetime
- Best Willamette Valley Restaurants
- Things to Do in Oregon Besides Drink Wine
- Where to Go Glamping in Oregon Wine Country
- The Perfect Portland Itinerary
- Fun Places to Eat in Portland, OR
