Treated like Kings…err…well, actually Queens… – A Visit to King Estate Winery

So after indulging us at the Wine Bloggers Conference with a delicious meal, King Estate provided us with the opportunity to come visit.

I took them up on their offer and convinced my Mom, my good friend Sharon and my grandmother to come along on the 2.5 hour drive to Eugene to visit the beautiful grounds of King Estate.

The view from the entrance to King Estate's tasting room
The view from the entrance to King Estate’s tasting room

Upon arrival, we were greeted warmly by the staff, even though they were busy! Kudos to them for keeping up the positive attitude and being so awesome!

We tasted through a lot of their wines. My standouts were the King Estate Domaine Pinot Gris and their “Backbone” series.

The Backbone series comes from the same vineyards that they use for their Signature Pinot Gris and Signature Pinot Noir, but instead of finding a similar balance like they do vintage after vintage with the Signature series, they let the geographic diversity shine through in the Backbone series.

Backbone Pinot Noir
Backbone Pinot Noir
Backbone Pinot Gris
Backbone Pinot Gris

After a thorough tasting, we were given the option of a full glass to take with us while we went on a tour of the winery. Even though it was nowhere near Rosé weather, I had to pick the Signature Vin Gris because it’s so danged pretty!

King Estate Signature Vin Gris
King Estate Signature Vin Gris

During the tour, we learned about the history of King Estate and the process of making wine. The harvest was in the wrap-up stages while we were there and the winemaking process for the 2012 vintage had begun, so the fermentation room had all kinds of scents going on (all of them good!!)!

We then proceeded into the barrel room, which is, in my opinion, the prettiest barrel room I’ve seen!

King Estate Barrel Room...isn't it pretty?
King Estate Barrel Room…isn’t it pretty?

We ended the tour in the original tasting room for King Estate…which was a very, very small room. They now use it as a library and extra storage space!

After the tour, we proceeded back into the tasting room to have lunch at the restaurant on site. The verdict? The lunch we had was just as scrumptious as the dinner I was treated to at WBC 12!!

Lunch!  I can't remember the sandwich (something with buffalo milk mozzarella & tomatoes, though), beet chips and a salad
Lunch! I can’t remember the sandwich (something with buffalo milk mozzarella & tomatoes, though), beet chips and a salad

All in all, this was a fun day and King Estate is definitely on my go-to list again when I’m in the Eugene area!!

Thank you to Sasha & Autumn from King Estate for the opportunity to come visit and share my experiences here! I’m looking forward to my next visit!

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