Soléna Estate

Fantastic hosts, good selections of red and white wines, with a late harvest Riesling dessert wine. Recommended.

In partnership with Grand Cru Estates, manager Claire Moore and winemaker Bruno Corneaux helped me with my wedding proposal. In addition to setting up a winery tour and surprise video, they helped us select wine that would become part of the engagement!
We purchased a quarter barrel, and were allowed to pick three different Pinots. They helped us from to labeling, to bottling, to TTB approvals, to shipping, and made it very approachable. The process took a year, but we had our own very own wine! The wine for our wedding was a hit, and we thank you for making it so special!

A wonderful drive through the countryside brings you to a beautiful and sustainable structure that frames an epic Oregon vineyard view and houses Solena’s tasting room, where we enjoyed some of the best wines in the Northwest.
After plugging in our Tesla at the charging station in the Solena parking lot, we ventured inside and began with a 2014 Willamette Valley Chardonnay (I can still recall the cantaloup and vanilla) and ventured to Pinot Noirs from 2012 and 2013. The 2012 Grande Cuvee Pinot Noir was delicious, deep and creamy, with strawberry and coffee notes. Excited to join the wine club!

This place has a new tasting room! This is a classic wine tasting experience with a big, open hospitality space and an awesome view of vineyards and rolling hills.
The tasting fee is $ 15 but they waive it when you buy enough wine. It’s easy to like the wines here. I came in the late afternoon on a weekday. The staff was eager to pour wine and educate me on all things Solena.
The tasting had a wide variety of wine, not strictly Pinot Noir. The zinfandel and cabernet are a nice addition to the chardonnay and multiple pinot noirs.

I didn’t love the white wines but the reds were pretty good, especially their Zinfadel and Washington sourced wines. Their Pinots were okay but not great. The view was incredible, overlooking the lake. The host, I forgot his name, was awesome. He opened several other, off the menu wines, which were the ones we ended up buying.

Really great ’06 Cabernet! Friendly staff… they even gave us recommendations and coupons to other wineries!

Visited again in 2014, Solena has split from Grand Cru. The wine selections were very good and we purchased 3 bottles. I glad we revisited. Lovely setting.

I went here today to try out their wines. I really liked their Pinot Noirs and their Merlot wasn’t bad either! I bought a Syrah, though I didn’t get to taste it, for I was curious! Beautiful winery. I guess that they will be moving up the hill in April, so I’ll be curious to see their new digs at some point. Dede was really friendly and personable and it was overall just a lovely experience. :) Thanks!
Selena

Lovely people! Delicious pinots, and the best pinot gris I’ve had. It actually changed my opinion of the varietal. The staff were more chatty and engaged than at other estate wineries (where staff seem more reserved). Their display of companion plants for pest control was interesting, though it could be expanded. I am still unclear about biodynamic practices, but the final «proof» is in the glass. They are doing something special here.

We were driving through wine country last weekend, and passed Solena, but then decided to go back and give it a try. We always like going to new wineries, not just our tried and true ones. Maybe there is a gem out there we know nothing about. Solena was having a pre Memorial Day weekend, and having free wine tastings, always a treat. We started outside with a taste of very chilled and delicious Pinot Gris. While we were drinking that we got an introduction to the winery, and then we went downstairs for some barrel tasting. All very yummy.
After barrel tasting, we went upstairs to the actual tasting area, where they had more of their yummy wines, and also some food pairings, which were delicious, also. They had homemade meatballs and some seared ahi tuna, still free. I feel fortunate to have been able to taste their wines and see the beautiful countryside and facility, and would definitely go back.

In case you weren’t in the know, pre-​Memorial Day weekend is the new Memorial Day weekend in wine country. All the wineries seem to have something special going on to make the locals/​regulars/​members happy.
We stopped by Solena after leaving Willakenzie on our way to Dundee, as it looked like it was calling our name. And it was indeed. Because it was a special weekend they had tons of staff on-​hand talking about wine in not only the tasting room, but they had barrel tastings and let you sip wine while you went through the area where they sort the harvest. Very informative, up until you couldn’t process the intricacies of winemaking because you’d had too much wine. I say that for a friend, of course.
The service was spectacular, the wine was damn good, and I really dig that they are committed to being organic and biodynamic. The bottle prices ranged from average to above. BUT the best part was, and I hate to let this out… the tasting (at least on this special weekend) was free. Are you kidding?! Nothing in wine country is free, my friends! Not only were the over a dozen tastes free, but they had delicious nibbles being cooked in their own kitchen for patrons to eat.
Blown away by the whole experience, really. We will be back. With friends.

Great wines across the board. My wife was really impressed with this stop. Our third of the day. We will be back. The Chardonnay was incredible! Beautiful tasting room and the staff was very professional.

Beautful set up! The tasting room was very nicely done, felt very homey yet upscale.
The wines were really nice — definitely tasty — price wise in line with all the others that we tried in the area.
Tastings are $ 15 — we got a comp tasting since we had stopped in a Willakenzie previous to this.

First of all Grand Cru Estates is not to be confused with Solena’s Estate tasting room located in downtown Carlton, this is their new production facility located in the Yamhill-​Carlton AVA. The property is visually stunning; whenever I go it seems they have taken every measure to have the grounds manicured upon your arrival. The winery is surrounded by over 80 acres of vineyards most of which are Pinot Noir. One of the first things you may notice are large solar panels situated out front as this green winery utilizes many natural resources. The building itself is artfully constructed using natural textures of wood and stone. Inside they have taken a more rustic approach using beamed ceilings, iron work and touches of marble. The tasting room adjoins the banquet area and production facility featuring floor to ceiling windows and 360 views of the property. The banquet hall is surrounded by French doors which look out to an outside patio and accented by a large stone fireplace. You may even get a chance to tour their production room which has an almost see-​through mesh screen and large polished stainless steel fermentation tanks. The place is spotless every time I go!
Solena produces some great wines with an incredible attention to detail and small yields. They specialize in Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, I just tasted the new 2010 release of Gris and was surprised by the amount of fruit it showed. Sometimes this varietal can feel very acidic or tart but this vintage was more luscious with apple, pear and white peach fruits and while still acidic it complimented the fruit well. Solena features many different types of Pinot Noir each sourced from a different vineyard and with its own character but solid price points. Bolder wine drinkers will be happy to know they also produce a Merlot, Zinfandel, Cabernet and Syrah. They source this fruit from Applegate Valley which is a much hotter and drier climate therefore producing sharper more pronounced fruits with added complexity. Unfortunately these are often not sampled in the tasting room but I splurged on a glass of Zin which was soon followed by a bottle purchase. It had an explosion of fruit filling your mouth with ripe blueberries; a slight tartness from black cherry, anise and finally black pepper, the mouth feel was nicely weighted and smooth. Oh and I almost forgot, they have a fabulous late harvest Riesling which finishes spicy like a Gewürztraminer.
So even if you’re familiar with their Carlton tasting room I suggest you go visit the Grand Cru Estate to get the full Solena Winery experience