About Drink With Us
My name is Lauren.
And I built this for you.
This is a local's guide to Oregon Wine Country from someone who grew up here. I'm a native Oregonian, a mom of two littles, married to a chef, and the owner of Minthorn Mercantile in downtown Newberg. Most days that means someone walks into the shop and asks where to go, and I tell them. This is that, written down. Locals use it too. There's no off-season here, only different reasons to come.
Why you can trust what's here
I grew up on our family's apple orchard in St. Paul, with the Dundee Hills on the horizon, and worked the farms out on the French Prairie. I left for college and came back in 2007 to run the Lions Gate Inn, in Newberg. For three years I built guests' days here: where to eat, which winery would suit them, what they'd regret missing. A few thousand people later, that part never wore off.
Since 2024, I've done the same thing from behind the counter at Minthorn, my shop in downtown Newberg. Thirty years of conversations, hands I've shaken, harvests I've watched come and go. This site is where all of it lives now.
How I judge things
Food. I'm married to an ex fine-dining chef out of Austin, Teas. It has made me hard to please. Nothing lands on this site because it's simply fine.
Wine. I care more about the afternoon than the palate. Everyone's taste is different, and I'd rather send you somewhere you'll have a good time than insist you love what I love. When real wine knowledge is needed, it comes from friends in the industry who know far more than I do, and I'll say so.
Kids. I'm a mom of two littles. I know which places work with them and which don't. There are more of the first kind than you'd think.
The region. We're more than a bottle of wine. The growers here planted the most fickle grape on the planet in a place known for difficult weather, against every reasonable piece of advice, and then did it again the next year. That devotion is everywhere in the northern Willamette Valley if you know where to look.
How to use this guide
The question I get every week is "where should I go wine tasting?" My answer is a question back: what kind of trip are you having? An afternoon, a weekend, a big group, a birthday. Pick one and I'll fill in the rest.
Let's plan your trip
Start a chat in the top right of your screen or reach out anytime:
Email: lauren@drinkwithus.com
Call or text: (503) 308-8823
I answer chats and texts faster than email, and I'd rather hear what you're planning than have you guess from a website. Want thirty minutes on the phone to build the whole thing? Book a planning session.
In good spirits,
Lauren