Perched high above Oregon’s Willamette Valley, Grange Estate is the famed wine region’s newest luxury lodging option.

 by Bridget Williams

 Jet lag has its benefits.

Already an early riser, on the first morning of my trip to Oregon's Willamette Valley, I was surprised to see dawn's first light peeking through the drapery in my suite at Grange Estate, a charming nine-room inn that opened in late June. Always down to catch the sunrise, I decamped to the sectional in the living room, where I sat gob-smacked for the next twenty minutes as the sun slowly emerged from behind the Cascade Range, illuminating the snow-capped peak of Mount Hood. 

A primo location nearly 1,000 feet above 100 acres of vineyards is just one of the many covetable attributes of Dundee Hill's newest lodging option, available exclusively to members of the Foley Food & Wine Society (free to join at foleyfoodandwinesociety.com). As a "serial acquirer," billionaire businessman Bill Foley's foray into the wine world began in 1996 when he and his wife Carol purchased 1,000 acres in Santa Barbara County, California, and established Foley Family Wines. Since then, the industry dabblers have become dominant, acquiring more than 20 prestige wineries from the West Coast to New Zealand and quickly closing in on a company goal of reaching a cumulative volume of 2 million cases. 

Also under the Foley Entertainment Group umbrella is a growing portfolio of hotels and restaurants, including Hotel Les Mars in Healdsburg, CA; Farmhouse Inn in Forestville, CA; Hotel Californian and Blackbird restaurant in Santa Barbara, CA; Whitefish Mountain in Whitefish, MT; Wharekauhau Country Estate in Palliser Bay, New Zealand; and MacArthur Place in Sonoma, CA. Members of the company's Food & Wine Society can use loyalty points to access exclusive experiences and special events.

Grange Estate shares the hilltop with a handsome multi-purpose building in the same architectural style, which houses the tasting room for The Four Graces Winery, Anthology tasting experience, and multiple private event spaces. It is also home to the well-established and Tuscan-inspired Black Walnut Inn & Vineyard, whose breakfast room, gym, and public spaces are available to guests of Grange Estate.

Designed by Portland-based architecture firm Urban Patterns and boasting a modern farmhouse vibe, each of Grange Estate's guestrooms presents a unique melding of contemporary styling, artisan-made furniture, artwork with a sense of place, and a healthy dose of nostalgia.   The cumulative effect creates a homelike appeal, beginning in the first-floor common area with its plethora of intentional coffee table books, board games, and seating areas that inspire an atmosphere of conviviality. 

If your stay occurs Thursday through Sunday, don't miss the communal culinary extravaganza offered twice nightly at Anthology. We were offered a glass of Foley Family Brut, made following the Méthode Champenoise, at arrival. As a warmup to Executive Chef Chase Williams' hyper-seasonal menu, a server presented a silver tray laden with carrots appearing as if they'd been dipped in white chocolate. The deceptively simple presentation belied a complex layering of ingredients that packed a punch. We couldn't wait for the eight courses comprising the "Gather & Preserve" menu to follow.

With just 14 seats and an open kitchen, Anthology is the realization of the affable Williams' long-held dream. The James Beard-nominated chef, who joined the Black Walnut team in 2018, works in tandem with long-time collaborator Zack Ehrlich. They take turns explaining each dish, accompanied by a hand-drawn menu card created by Williams. At the end of the meal, the cards are gathered into a little folio that becomes a unique keepsake of the evening. 

The duo changes the menu at Anthology every two months. Perfectly paced and expertly accompanied by wines culled from the Foley portfolio and beyond, course after beautiful course showcased what happens when culinary prowess intersects with fond childhood memories. While my husband gushed over the "Cherries and Duck," I was partial to "Farmer's Choice." A throwback to the first item Chef Chase put on the breakfast menu at Black Walnut, I found it hard to believe that so much flavor—truffled bearnaise, maple lardon bacon, Fresno chili, and chives— could be so harmoniously contained within the confines of a hollowed out eggshell. Every detail, from river rock vessels sourced in Denmark to substantial wineglass bowls seeming to defy physics perched atop delicate, slim stems, contributed to the specialness of the evening, making it much more than just a meal.

Outside of Anthology, guests of Grange Estate, Black Walnut, and The Four Graces can experience Williams and Ehrlich's cuisine. Our farm-fresh breakfast each morning provided an ideal way to fortify ourselves for busy days spent hiking and wine tasting. In the Four Graces tasting room, akin to a modern cathedral for oenophiles, the Sip & Savor Experience offers a generous board of seasonal bites to explore The Four Graces' Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs. While you're there, check out the covetable walnut wine shelving in the private tasting room, a stunning handmade table of locally sourced black walnut surrounded by refurbished chairs from Princeton Law School in a "crow's nest" event room, and a wine wall that serves as a "greatest hits" display from the entirety of the Foley portfolio.

The Dundee Hills AVA is regarded as the epicenter of Oregon Pinot Noir. It's one of 12 American Viticultural Areas in the Willamette Valley, boasting over 900 wineries. Our summertime visit was perfectly (or imperfectly) timed with an extreme heatwave, meaning that we couldn't use Grange Estate's cozy fire pits and woolen blankets, and making tasting copious amounts of pinot less palatable. However, we're not that easily discouraged, so in addition to our tasting at The Four Graces, we made time to visit a few of our favorite winemakers, including the living room tasting room in the home of Scott and Denise Flora at Native Flora (nativeflora.com); the "urban" tasting room at Purple Hands (purplehandswine.com) and the iconic Red Barn tasting room at Arterberry Maresh (mareshredbarn.com).

We headed a little over an hour west to Cannon Beach to find respite from the heat. After a long and slightly chilly stroll on the broad four-mile-long beach, which took us past the iconic Haystack Rock where Tufted Puffins were nesting, we perused the art galleries and farmer's market in the small beachfront town before tackling the Clatsop Loop Trail in Ecola State Park. Further south, Depoe Bay is a hotspot for whale watching, with a designated Whale Watching Center equipped with binoculars and volunteers on hand to answer questions. Also roughly an hour away southeast of Dundee is Silver Falls State Park, Oregon's largest state park. At just under nine miles, its Trail of Ten Falls passes ten waterfalls, four of which you can walk behind. Every direction we traveled offered super scenic drives (and ample roadside stands to pick up seasonal produce, including hazelnuts, marionberries, and lavender ), making Grange Estate an ideal homebase for exploring Oregon's diverse landscapes.

For more information about The Grange Dundee Hills visit foleywinesdundeehills.com.