Tualatin Estate (Willamette Valley Vineyards)

A 171-acre estate in the Tualatin Hills AVA, established in 1973 by Bill Fuller and Bill Malkmus. Fuller had spent nine years at Louis M. Martini in Napa before partnering with Malkmus, a San Francisco investment banker, to buy 160 acres near Forest Grove and plant 83 acres of vines. Both went on to hold leadership roles across the industry and played a central part in shaping Oregon’s wine labeling law — the strictest in the country, and widely credited to the standard Tualatin’s early wines set.

The record is remarkable. Fuller’s 1980 Pinot Noir and 1981 Chardonnay took Double Gold and Best in Show in London’s 1984 international judging, making Tualatin the only vineyard ever to win Best of Show in both red and white categories in the same year. That year it also became the first Oregon winery on Wine Spectator’s Top 100. Its Pinot Noir won the Governor’s Trophy, Oregon’s highest wine award, in both 1994 and 1995 — a back-to-back feat no other Oregon winery has matched.

The site sits in the foothills of the Coast Range on a south-facing slope between 250 and 530 feet, on Laurelwood soil with pisolites. Fuller and Malkmus merged the business with Willamette Valley Vineyards in 1997; Fuller stayed on as consulting winemaker and still produces the Vintage series of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay using his original techniques, now well into his eighties. The name comes from the local indigenous word meaning gentle and easy flowing, referring to the Tualatin River.

The tasting room offers indoor and outdoor seating under mature trees looking across the vineyard, with seasonal and reserve flights. A guided walking tour of the vineyard runs June through September at $35 per person, or $25 for members, including tastes along the way and a $15 bottle credit. Food truck evenings run on Fridays, and live music appears seasonally.