A visit to Varnum Vintners is like catching up with old friends over a good glass of bubbly.
You may think you’re pulling into someone’s house, but in reality it’s Varnum Vintners; one of the most unique wineries you will ever visit.
Small Production Wine
Varnum Vintners focuses on small production wine and creates the a one-of-a-kind wine tasting experience for all of its guests. They are not afraid to experiment with different kinds of grapes and styles in order to create the perfect bottle of wine.
Owned and operated by Taralyn and Cyler, when you pay their winery a visit, you will be talking to and hanging out with them. You will walk away from your tasting with so much knowledge and a case of bubbly too.
The Tasting Room
A small, family owned winery that feels more like a boutique winery. It’s so comfortable and inviting and if you’re anything like us, you will spend hours enjoying the bubbly, the views and the coziness.
With so many areas to enjoy your tasting, it can be really hard to choose, especially in the nicer months. Reservations are recommended and so easy to make directly on their website. And they are so flexible and willing to accommodate, if the time and space allows, of course.
They have 3 of the cutest front porch areas that make for perfect private space for your group. During the nice weather, this space is a no brainer, book a porch spot for sure.
Inside their tasting room, they have cozy areas for a private tasting for your group. Obviously ideal when the weather is not cooperating.
And then if you look throughout the grounds, there are Adirondack chairs and picnic tables to enjoy the views and your tasting.
The Bubbly
With a tag line like, Made to Drink, Don’t Over Think, you know this bubbly is going to be good.
Of course, you know we only tasted the bubbly and my favorite of all of them was even a surprise to me.
Here’s the line-up
Sparkling Müller-Thurgau
We tasted this at Bubbles Fest so it was interesting to learn more about it. This bubbly is made using 75% of grapes from Anne Amie Vineyards and 25% from Kramer Vineyards. I was afraid this was going to be too sweet, but it wasn’t overpowering and had more tropical fruit flavors.
Varnum Brut | Porch Secco
When I first tasted this, my first thought was it tasted like a Prosecco and this brut is actually bubblier than your typical Prosecco. It’s a true brut with 10-15 g of residual sugar. It’s crisp and zesty with citrus flavors and definitely easy to drink and would make a great bubbly cocktail as well.
Varnum Brut Rosé | Porch Pink
This was one of my favorites. So enjoyable, easy to drink with great strawberry fruit flavor. In order to explain how this is made, I pulled this description straight from their website:
This wine is a unique blend of grapes from old vines. This wine underwent spontaneous fermentation and was then aged on its lees in stainless and neutral oak barrels. To make it sparkle, this wine was carbonated using the force. The bubbles are fine, the texture is rich and the palate explodes with strawberries, tropical fruit and minerality.
Porch Party
I love a good sparkling red. I love that they are not the norm, they’re unique and sometimes hard to find. This sparkling red might be my favorite of all I tasted today. It’s fruity and delicious with a hint of spices that remind me of colder weather.
Porch Secco, Porch Pink and Porch Party are half bottles and seriously would make the greatest stocking stuffers. Or if you’re creating your own 12 days of Christmas bubbly (or wine) box or advent calendar, you definitely need to include these bottles. They are fun and different than anything else you will find.
Sabering Bubbly
When I say Cyler made my dreams come true, I mean it. I have always wanted to saber a bottle of bubbly and he offers that during a visit! All you have to do is make a reservation for it and buy the bottle of bubbly and he’ll teach you how. Seriously, one of my most favorite and memorable bubbly tasting experiences by far.
And not to brag, but he did say it was the cleanest sabering he’s ever seen. Not a drop was spilled. Clearly, I am meant to do this.
Flight Club
If you can’t make it out to the vineyard, they are offering virtual wine tastings as well. Gather your friends, pick your flights and hop on a Zoom with the winemaker…it’s almost as good as being there. And what’s more amazing, they deliver within 2 hours of their tasting room! And of course, they ship as well.
A great way to experience the bubbly, learn all about and connect with friends, if it can’t be in person.
Wine Club
Going along with their theme of small production, they do have a wine club you can join, but they are keeping it small which is really awesome because you will get exactly what you want. Each membership is completely customizable too, so if you’re like me and only want bubbly, you can create that as your 6 or 12 bottle package.
Varnum Vintners Report Card
It’s no surprise that Varnum Vintners earned a grade of an A. Because of the intimate nature of this winery, the experience is something you won’t have anywhere else.
They offer experiences, such as the sabering, that I have not seen elsewhere that make this truly memorable. Prior to the pandemic, they offered other unique experiences as well and are anxious to be able to offer those again.
They are so passionate that it truly comes thru when you’re tasting. Not only is the bubbly enjoyable, but you just want to sit and learn as much as you possibly can.
Varnum Vintners is truly a 1 of a Kind wine tasting experience. And then next time you’re in Oregon Wine Country, make it a must stop.
An Honest Review
I was not compensated in any way to write this review. All of these opinions are those of Bubbly Side of Life team members who experienced the tasting first hand.
For more information on our informal review process, please check out this post that covers all the details.
And if you are a winery or know of one that we should visit, don’t hesitate to reach out and we’ll get there as soon as we can.
