Visiting the Honeywood Winery in Salem, Oregon

After visiting one of my local wineries this Labor Day weekend, I've walked away not only having tasted some new wines, but also learning about one that I had never heard of before! I visited a local winery called Honeywood Winery, and for starters, I found myself blushing upon arrival because I couldn't understand how there could possibly be a winery smack in the middle of town. Well, lesson number one; A winery is very different from a vineyard. I am a newbie of sorts when it comes to drinking wine, and since moving to Oregon, I have found myself a new hobby in wine tasting, and am enjoying learning about the various grapes grown around the area. There are indeed a large variety of vineyards spread across the beautiful Willamette Valley, but last weekend, I had just as much pleasure wine tasting at the Honeywood Winery only minutes away from where I live.

Honeywood Winery is located in Salem and is one of Oregon's oldest wineries. Honeywood Winery was established in 1933 and originally operated under the name Columbia Distillers, producing liqueurs, and fruit flavored brandies. Later the two men who founded the operation, Ron Honeyman and John Wood, decided to venture into making premium wines, thus changing their name to Honeywood Winery. Today, Honeywood winery offers a variety of fruit flavored wines, and there are oh so many flavors to choose from! Many of their fruit varieties average in price of about $12.00 a bottle, and their more varietal wines including the traditional Oregon Pinot Noir, range from $12 - $20.00 per bottle.

I only tasted a few of their wines, so not to be a tasting snob and hog all of the attention, but one of the most interesting varieties Honeywood makes is a white wine called Mead. If you are a more seasoned wine drinker than I, you may have heard of Mead, but for those of you who have not, let me tell you a little bit more about this tasty treat... Mead is a white wine that would best be served as a desert wine because it's most intense flavor is that of honey. Actually, most of what you taste in a Mead wine is honey! Mead is a wine variety that has been made since the barbaric days of the 10th century, and honey has long been used as the main ingredient. The warriors drank Mead as a way to instill strength and fearlessness, and it was also a popular drink for newlyweds as it was supposed to enhance fertility. As much as I consider myself much more feminine than barbaric, I still greatly enjoyed the sweet honey flavor of Mead, and am looking forward to sending a bottle out to a friend who is getting married soon; She's the kind of gal who would appreciate such a wine and the humor behind it's history!

If you live in the Salem area, or are planning to visit sometime soon, be sure to do a little wine tasting of your own, and don't forget, aside from Mead, Honeywood winery also has many fruit varieties that are their specialty. The winery show room itself is full of all kinds of fun gifts and wine savvy snacks, so even if you don't find a wine you like, you may still find something else that tickles your fancy.

Honeywood's vineyards are located just south of town, but their winery can be found on the south side of Salem at 1350 Hines St SE, and you can contact them at 1-800-726-4101 for more information. They can also be found in the Internet at www.HoneywoodWinery.com.

Once there, you can sign up for their Wine Club with no obligation to ever buy anything, and membership to the club is absolutely free! You'll receive valuable information on food and wine parings, club member specials, recipes and other insightful information about wine. You'll also receive invitations to several club member events, like grape crushing, bottling and labeling demonstrations and wine tasting panels. If you are a newbie to wine drinking or a seasoned veteran, this free club alone can be worth making the trip to the Honeywood Winery. And as always, enjoy your wine tasting adventures, and please drive safely.