Big Flavor in Willamette’s Little Norway
covagabond.travel.blog covagabond. wherever it takes us X.OR.wine.1: Big Flavor in Willamette’s Little Norway by covagabond Stangeland Vineyards & Winery 8500 Hopewell RD NW, Salem, OR Larry David Miller of Salem, OR had no plans to start a vineyard when he first planted grapes in 1978, but his grandparents from Stavanger, Norway would recognize the name of his unintended winery, Stangeland, meaning “strong land”. Little did the now 73 year old founder know that what he’d just done, namely planting pinot noir on the west slopes of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, would change his life forever – taking him to his ancestral home, to Switzerland to be awarded three gold medals, and beyond. I came to be in wine country quite unintentionally, my only known destination on departure being “the Oregon coast”. When I mentioned my Pacific northwest whereabouts to my fantastic sister, she immediately effused about the beauty of the region, having spent time living here herself, and started me on m...