Elite Wine Tasting Event @ Domaine Serene

Fancy. That’s how I felt strolling through the grounds of the winery. The day was perfect for treating elites like… well elite. The weather was perfect, the winery grounds beautiful, and the elites were ready for tours and tastings.
We were treated to a tour of the winery and then we were set free on the winery grounds. Down in the barrel room was a delicious spread of olives, cheeses, nuts, and bread which helped mellow the flavors of the wines being tasted. They had a few wines that I wanted to carry a bottle away at that moment, then they said there was a discount! Score! Rose I’m coming for you. We even took advantage of the half price glass discounts.
This was a great event and lead us to taking a tour of wine country later in the year. Thanks to Unilocal and domaine serene for opening my tastebuds.

Holy barrels of monkeys, this place was swank! As a wine tasting newbie there seemed to be no better place to try my first first foray into attempted sophistication.
The weather decided to cooperate and granted us a gorgeous sunny (and mostly warm) day. There’s a long windy road to the vineyard which shows how expansive and swanky this place was. We were greeted by the lovely Ana and Jenni and were sent downstairs to the main event. We were given tasting glasses and let loose on the samples. Our hosts did a good job explaining the wines & giving up plenty of pours. Also did a little tour and learned a lot about wine making.
This was quite the swank event & great thanks to DS for the invite, Don and the ladies for throwing quite the tasting!

Solid event. I would have gladly thrown down a few bucks to taste some of the higher end stuff as part of the event. As it was, they kept us a cuvee level on the Pinots (which, for those not in the know is French for schwag).
The plus? We got to see a cool part of a cool winery on an awesome day, which alone was worth the price of admission.

I was very much prepared for a staff full of stuffy wine connoisseurs who don’t care about the customer… we got the complete opposite! It was a beautiful day coupled with an architecturally pleasing venue. The cheese options were limitless, and I appreciated the various pairings. I will NEVER turn down cheese and wine, so I was in heaven.
The woman pouring our wine was knowledgeable and friendly. My hubby usually gets a little anxious at these events, wanting to leave well before I do (clearly he is a «+1» and not Elite, but he didn’t this time! It was really nice that he was so engaged with the tasting, and he enjoyed learning about the winery from staff who were eager to share.
I would definitely go back, with only one caveat… we stayed a little longer to enjoy a glass of wine upstairs — it was $ 20 just for a glass. I would probably stick with a tasting or just buy a bottle next time.

Can I give it 6 stars?
So much fun. My first real wine-​tasting at a winery, though I worked at a B&B/winery many moons ago. I thought I didn’t like Pinot Noir. I was wrong, evidently. And the wonderful wine hostess explained to me what I want and why. Means more research before I buy pinot, but I will do it. The cheese and fruit and break MOUND was amazing. Such a great spread. And thanks, Eric, for the tour! So informative, very friendly, loved it. Thanks so much, we will be back!

Having been national wine day earlier in the week, could not have asked for a more beautiful sun filled, summeresque day in the middle of February. Breathtaking in views, the winery hosted a fabulous tasting including a 09 and 10 pinot noir, syrah and rose. So interesting to see the tasting notes between the years of 09 and 10 due to the scientific explanation I was so into during the tour of the nature vs. nurture heat and gravity fermenting process (I know I am a science nerd). The catered cheese, nuts, olives and dried fruits were delectable and thanks for the tip Don that they were from RedRidge Market.

This was the first Elite event we have attended and were genuinely impressed. The weather couldn’t have better for the beautiful drive thru the valley and up the hill to the wonderful view of the valley below.
The Domaine Serene winery has a beautiful tasting room and the wines were fantastic, our favorite was the 2009 Pinot Noir. They also had a delicous cheese tray provided by the Red Hills Market in Dundee.
Thank you Unilocal for the wonderful event!!!

Every so often all the planets align and everything comes together like a cheesy movie. The clouds blow away, the sun comes, shine the rolling hills of wine country… This event couldn’t have been scripted any better. After a frantic start, leaving the apartment later than planned and hitting traffic into the «country», we arrived at Domaine Serene and were greeted with the incredible scene of rows of vines on the hills and a building that reminded me of the California missions.
I always enjoy Unilocal events by Don but this one stood out — I love wine, I love cheese (which were presented to accompany the lovely wine) and I love learning about the process. The guide and DS was both delightful and informative; I couldn’t help but be amazed at their production facility.
Another success with some of my favorite people in Portland.

It was our first Elite event and what a perfect venue a winery! Beautiful location and wonderful hosts. Great to finally meet Don B too.
The 09 Pinot was very good as that was a warmer year and you could tell as it was more full bodied. Our favorite was the Syrah which was made from Walla Walla fruit. I think our host Eric said Seven Hills which I am very familiar with as my wife and I belong to quite a few wineries in Eastern Washington.
The tour was nice too and we learned a little of their process to make great wines.
We had a blast and plan on bringing some friends back to taste more wines.
Also great to meet other Elite members. Until next time, Cheers!

A big shout out to Don and the wonderful people at Domaine Serene for making this spectacular (yet simple) event come together.
I’ll save my gushing about Domaine Serene for my review of… well, Domaine Serene. Here, I’ll try to limit my gushing to the service, the experience, and the event itself.
I’ve tasted a lot of wine in my day, and I’ve even had people try to teach me how to sound knowledgeable about wine. Prior to this event, my wine describing arsenal was limited to comments like «sweet» or «not sweet» or «bad.» Here, I learned about the differences between what a hot summer and a cool summer will do to Pinot Noir grapes (and subsequently how that affects the wine). Turns out, I’m a huge fan of hot summer Pinots… so look out, local wine sellers: I’m coming for all your ’09 Oregon Pinot Noirs. So shout out to the excellent servers for not only keeping my glass full, but teaching me something in the process.
Slava’s tour was great. The behind the scenes tour is typically more characteristic of a brewery or distillery tour, so it was super cool to see the unique elements in the wine-​making process.
If given the chance, I’d certainly do it again.

I had a small hiccup in the morning when I found out I had a flat tire. After fiddling around in the car shop getting fixed, time was ticking and I was getting very ancy. Finally after the lazy workers decided to give me my key back once the job was done, it was time for wine country. Traffic was backed on 99, but finally loosened up after passing Tigard. The scenery was pretty amazing since it was surprisingly sunny and a little warm. Once I arrived at the vineyard, it was time to relax.
The staff greeted me warmly and gave me a wine glass to start the tasting. A lady brought over a new tray of cheese and dried fruit that definitely called my name. The event has been going on for a while so it wasn’t crowded at all when I started the wine taste. After sampling the first 2 wines, I savored the various cheeses and fruit that was provided. For the wine taste, The Rose’ blush was my favorite. A tour guide arrived shortly after so we got to embark on the wine journey.
The tour lasted quite a while and I learned a lot during that presentation. The wines they make take a long time from the barreling process right down to when they bottle. I think it was estimated about 3 years for the whole production. We thanked the tour guide once it ended and we enjoyed more of the cheese plate. I took a walk outside and enjoyed the epic scenery that was present. Thanks again Don and the staff from Domaine Serene for the privilege of attending this event!

What a fun way to explore Oregon’s underrated and beautiful wine country!
As new Oregonians, we had not made our way south to Oregon’s wine producing region, just an hour from central Portland, and this was the perfect way to start our explorations of the region.
Domaine Serene is appropriately named, as the beautiful, rolling hills of this off-​the-​beaten-​path winery is amazing on the eyes and the taste buds. I have an inkling I’ll be back.

Thanks for the fun Unilocal event Domaine Serene, Don and Team!!!
The drive up was breath taking. Domaine Serene was beautiful, just being there made me feel fancy: p My boyfriend is a wine drinker and I know nothing about wine. I can’t speak too much to the wine because I didn’t like the more robust pinot (I can’t remember the year, but it was the one with the hotter summer…) or the syrah. I either have an underdeveloped palate or my taste buds are broken. Wish I could enjoy reds more. I thoroughly enjoyed the cheeses though. They were delicious.
The tour on wine making was informative and interesting. I didn’t catch our tour guide’s name, but he was great and very friendly.

What a fantastic event!
Boyf and I have never been to a winery or the Oregon wine country in general, so this event was a great one for us! The whole place looked like what I imagine the vineyards in Tuscany would look like. Of course, the super gorgeous weather didn’t hurt at all.
The wines we sampled (two Pinot Noirs, a Syrah, and a Rosé) were all great! We liked the Rosé so much that we picked up a bottle. And those cheeses! They were so good and addicting, and definitely the perfect snack with the wine.
We also got to do a wine tour, which was fun. It’s cool to see how wine is made from start to finish. Our tour guide was engaging and enthusiastic, which made the tour even more fun.
Overall, it was a lovely way to spend the day. Thanks Don, Ana, Jenni, and the people at Domaine Serene! Definitely one of my favorite elite events I’ve been to!

What a gorgeous winery, truly a five star venue. The wines that we were privileged to taste were all fantastic. If I had to pick a favorite though, I was enamored by the rosé: it was crisp, tart and oh so refreshing.
The cheese, nut and olive spread was a lovely gesture and went nicely with the delicious wines. The folks at Domaine Serene really rolled out the red carpet for us. I took full advantage of the half price for a glass of wine they offered to us. I got the rosé of course thanks to having a designated driver chaperoning.
We are truly spoiled as Portland Elites getting to go to amazing parties in beautiful wine country. Thanks a million Don B., for yet another fantastic event, thanks also to Ana B., Jenni L. and of course merci to the gracious folks at Domaine Serene for hosting us.
2014 — review # 11

Set in the picturesque Dundee Hills, Domaine Serene is truly a spectacular sight. It was the ideal place for another fantastic Unilocal event! I’m always a sucker for any function at a winery so this was right up my alley. Having never been to Domaine Serene before, I was really looking forward to sampling their wine. Everything went perfectly. The staff was super friendly. The tour lead by Eric was very informative. The cheese and fruit were excellent. Even the weather was sunny.
And then there were the wines. Four choices: a Rosé, a Syrah, and two Pinot Noirs. All excellent, although I must profess my love for the Syrah and the 2009 Pinot. Quite lovely.
Thanks, Don, for another great event!

I’m out of practice on these Unilocal events, since it has been about two years since my last one.
This one was fun to get out of town and visit one of the many wineries in Dundee. I had been to this winery about three years ago when it was nearly 100 degrees and they set up their tastings outside. I was looking forward to checking out the inside of the winery.
The inside the folks were friendly and they had it set up on the second floor, which wasn’t initially clear to us but we went down the winding stairs (I secretly thought it would be fun to jog up and down them – they are kind of cool). Once we rounded the corner midway on the steps there was the Unilocal sign and I knew I had arrived.
We must get points for promptness as we were the first to arrive. We sampled four wines and they had some cheese and crackers straight from the Red Hills Market in Dundee.
We received a wine tour of the area where the barrels were stored as well as the bottling area.
The tour guide explained that they didn’t produce a lot wine and while not a boutique winery they were not the size of Erath, who he stated was owned by Chauteau Ste. Michelle and produce tons of wine.
They offered half off that day on their glasses of wine to Unilocal members.

Domaine Serene has a beautiful tasting room and grounds, and the view is fantastic. The wines we tasted were 2 Pinots, a Syrah, and a Rose. They also had a lovely cheese tray laid out by the Red Hills Market in Dundee, which is a great spot for a slice of pizza and glass of wine.
Thanks for another wonderful event, Unilocal

Another fabulous even put on by Unilocal!
We mingled in the Feb sun with a glass of Domaine Rose after our fun down in the bat caves, aka the wine cellar!
The property is massive, probably one of the biggest and nicest out in our wine country. The building is something out of Tuscany… an Italian villa… it’s grand and gorgeous. Once inside we walked past the tasting room and down to the cellar where our private tasting with other Elites commenced. Out of the four pourings, my fav was the Rose… maybe it was the burst of sunshine today that made it taste soooo good! The cheese, olives, and crackers from Red Hills Market hit the spot with all the wine tastings!
The tour was informing and fun, All those barrels went on and on and on… we went from one room to another, and another, and another… we must have been deep down in the bat cave!
I really liked the patio outside with all the chairs. It was very inviting to sit in the winter sun with a glass of Rose and just linger.
Thanks Don, Anna, and crew for having an awesome wine event!
Cheers!

I have always loved this tasting room, the original $ 20/​pour is steeper than other nearby vineyards (thanks for the 50% off, pours, Unilocal!) — however during the summer they have events that make it more than just a glass of wine. Set atop a hill to over look the valley and vineyards, it really is gorgeous. Their wines are delicious, the Syrah was my favorite. A perfect balance of wood and fruit. The service was great, the lady was very passionate about her wine which made you feel more excited about it. The story with the wooly mammoth cracks me up and makes me love the vineyard and its family even more. Over all, really great time and fun to come here during the early spring season. Definitely walked away with bottles, some to drink and some to shelf. Thanks for a great time!!!