Newberg, Oregon (January 11, 2021) — On January 15th, REX HILL’s rebuilt tasting room will reopen to guests following a multi-million dollar renovation over the past year. The new hospitality center, designed by Ernie Munch, MAP Architecture (formerly of EMA), offers expansive views of the surrounding Willamette Valley estate vineyards, forests, and the Dundee Hills beyond with 180 degrees of floor-to-ceiling moving window walls. The winery is now taking reservations online for daily wine tasting appointments beginning on January 15th. These tastings will be held on the partially-covered, heated outdoor patio until COVID-19 restrictions in Yamhill County allow for tastings in the spacious, modern, indoor seating area. Guests will be welcomed into the indoor tasting room to check in, shop and enjoy the views.
“We’re thrilled to invite guests to experience our exciting new space,” says Winemaker and Founder Cheryl Francis of A to Z Wineworks/REX HILL. “We’ve wanted to renovate the tasting room since we bought REX HILL in 2007 to connect the vineyards more closely with the winery and honor the legacy afresh with a design that seamlessly unites the old and the new.”
Over the past decade A to Z Wineworks built a campus around the Newberg REX HILL winery that they purchased in 2007. The 1983 REX HILL winery was cobbled around a fruit and nut drying barn sitting on Rex Hill dating back to the early 20th century. The tunnels, originally used to move drying fruit and the site of many a convivial wine dinner over the years, have been beautifully incorporated into the innovative design. The luminous new tasting room, constructed by The Grant Company, features an Oregon white oak tasting bar with a gleaming white quartz bar top, ideal for assessing wine color and clarity. An open beam Douglas Fir ceiling and large fireplace create a warm welcome, with inviting modern wood and leather furnishings for guests. The expanded outdoor patio looks out onto the winery’s iconic corten steel sculpture, “Song for an Architect,” by renowned Portland artist Lee Kelly, which sits in front of the estate vineyard.
The Experience
The REX HILL tasting room offers a full-service wine tasting experience 7 days a week, by appointment at rexhill.com/experiences. A flight of five wines ($25), a selection of 11 reserve wines, and offerings by the glass will be available as well as a curated assortment of bites to complement the wines (Cascadia Creamery cheese plate and a Northwest Provisions Board with charcuterie, smoked fish, olives, local hazelnuts, pickles, crackers). Currently, in accordance with Yamhill County COVID-19 protocols, all tastings will be held outdoors under the covered portion of the heated patio. Guests with reservations are welcome to visit the new tasting room before and after their tastings to browse the retail area and enjoy the views. When the weather permits, tastings are also available for larger groups within 1-2 households on the uncovered portion of the patio.
A full menu of food pairings to accompany wine tastings will be available from the winery’s new state-of-the-art kitchen once indoor tasting resumes. At that time, exclusive group tastings will be available in the wine cellar barrel room and private fireside tasting loft.
Note: All state and county mandated COVID-19 health and safety protocols are being observed, and high-tech air scrubbers were installed in the REX HILL tasting room HVAC system during the renovation.
About REX HILL
REX HILL wines are 100% Willamette Valley sourced and all estate vineyards are farmed following biodynamic principles. Situated in the small Laurelwood sub-AVA of Oregon’s Willamette Valley, the first vineyards were planted on Rex Hill in 1982.
In 2007 the founders of A to Z Wineworks, two families with deep experience in Willamette Valley winemaking–Cheryl Francis, Deb Hatcher, Sam Tannahill, and Bill Hatcher–took over as stewards of this early Oregon winery. The group reduced the size of REX HILL to focus on only the highest quality wines and produce under 10,000 cases annually of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, as well as sparkling wines made in the méthode champenoise. Vintage dependent, very small runs of dry Muscat and Pinot Noir Rosé are also offered.
In 2014, A to Z Wineworks/REX HILL became a certified B Corporation and has been recognized as a “Best for the World” B Corp company every year since. REX HILL was named the Extraordinary Winery of the Americas “under the radar” by Michelin’s Wine Advocate in 2017. For more information on REX HILL’s history, people, and commitment to social and environmental responsibility, go to REXHILL.com Follow REX HILL on Instagram @REXHILLWines
