Wine came first, of course. The Willamette Valley’s first winery, Eyrie Vineyards, was founded in McMinnville in 1965, planting the flag for pinot noir and chardonnay. Today, the region is home to more than 700 labels.

The dining scene was slower to rise. But in 2011, a little spot in downtown McMinnville called Thistle took home Restaurant of the Year honors from the Oregonian, serving Oregon black cod and brussels sprouts, shallot and caper beef tartare. (Its chef, meanwhile, drew controversy for coming to blows over a pig’s provenance.) 

The growth since has been remarkable, and we’re now witnessing a full-blown
culinary renaissance in McMinnville, with two James Beard Award nominations this year and a constellation of adventurous restaurants, wine bars, dives, taco shops, and breakfast tables that could rival any Portland neighborhood.

Here’s how to sample the city’s delights across 48 delicious hours. 

Friday, noon: Wine down 

Celebrate your arrival at Soter Vineyards at Mineral Springs Ranch, which is 15 minutes from McMinnville by car but feels a thousand miles from anywhere. You’ll try several wines as part of Soter’s Provisions Tasting lunch menu, alongside vegetables and proteins sourced almost entirely on-site. Think wonderfully fresh duck raised right there, braised and topped with crispy skin, served over delicate mushrooms and cabbages grown a few hundred yards away, and chased by a sip of Estate pinot from the very same piece of land.

3pm: Ditch your bags 

In the heart of downtown, the Atticus Hotel is tastefully appointed and proudly dog-friendly. You can get a shot of espresso in the lobby upon check-in, and the rooms range from cozy-chic mini-studios to sumptuous multiroom luxury suites. A block away is the Tributary Hotel, upstairs from fine dining destination Okta (more on it in a moment). Each of the hotel’s eight suites has a king bed, soaking tub, and complimentary in-room snacks. Fifteen minutes outside the city sits Inn the Ground, an eco-hotel with miles of walking trails, roaming highland cattle, and a series of ponds.

5pm: Happy hour

That first drink on arrival night is a sacred thing. Start at Thistle, where McMinnville’s modern dining moment all started. Today the restaurant’s charming bar feels effortlessly lived-in, with fresh, clever cocktails, and elevated bar snacks to steel you for the night ahead.

7pm: Valley locavorism 

Humble Spirit builds most of the menu from farms just a few miles outside town. This means a mélange of pickled and fresh vegetables atop a bed of squash hummus and ranch dressing; a farm burger in which every element, beef to pickles to fried egg to bun, is grown or made in-house; and nightly specials, like duck raised on the pasture or braised beef shank from the restaurant’s own herd. The Oreo riff, made in-house with rendered pork lard and paired alongside Schoch Creamery milk (a valley gem), is required. 

Saturday, 9am: That’s your jam

If you bunked last night at the Tributary, your morning was met by an in-room bounty of pastries and savories. If you were at Inn the Ground, you woke up to a postcard-perfect valley sunrise (weather permitting) and a contemplative moo or two from your new best friends, the highland cattle. Regardless, your morning road should lead to Alchemist’s Jam, a little shop downtown that doubles as an outstanding bakery (and is just a block from the Atticus, in case that’s where you landed). Grab a cinnamon roll or a baguette with seasonal jam and butter. Take this with you on a long walk through town or pack it away for the day’s adventures.

Noon: Winery lunch, take two 

Today you head to Antica Terra for a very different sort of winery experience. From a glowing New York Times Magazine profile to shout-outs from LeBron James, Maggie Harrison is perhaps the most famous winemaker in Oregon today. Her label sits in humble digs: a former hazelnut processing facility off a side street in Dundee, 20 minutes northwest of McMinnville. Inside, among witchy candles and heaving barrels, she and chef Timothy Wastell have created an aspirational approach to wine tasting, in which Harrison’s own wines are presented alongside mind-bending Champagne, Burgundy, and Piedmontese bottles that retail for hundreds of dollars. Wastell’s food is gleeful yet restrained: crudités like a Technicolor van Gogh painting, the gentlest of seared tuna atop basil oil, butter filigreed into a textural petticoat atop crispy-creamy gougères. 

3pm: Afternoon delights

Delighted by wine tasting, and perhaps in need of a nap, you nevertheless press on to HiFi Wine Bar, a vinyl listening bar on Third Street with one of the deepest wine lists in Oregon and a pool table that’s more than a century old. The bar doubles as a tasting room for local winemaker Martin Woods, but you’ll also find an outrageous selection of Burgundy, Jura, and Champagne wines available by the glass or bottle. Have a snack—Dungeness crab toast, maybe—and shoot pool while the bar’s eclectic selection of vinyl turns over.

Or pop into the Blue Moon Lounge, which dates to the 1920s and has uncommonly good food and an infectiously convivial atmosphere. Drinks are served strong, with a knowing smile, and it’s cash-only. The soul of any city can be found in its dive bars, and here you’ll sit amid the happy din of valley locals, wrapped in plush leather booths beneath stonework walls.

6pm: Decision time

McMinnville is home to two highly impressive new restaurants, both recently nominated for James Beard Awards. Let’s assess.

At Okta, chef Matthew Lightner’s mannered approach to Pacific Northwest cuisine has drawn praise from near and far since opening in summer of 2022. Expect at least a two-hour experience, which—with wine pairings from valley vineyard wizard Ron Acierto—approaches the $500-per-person price point. Each dish looks like a tiny work of modern art, and much of what’s served here is grown at Okta’s own farm, or else fermented in-house by talented larder chef Larry Nguyen. A bite of divinely textured abalone in root vegetable pudding alongside a sip of vintage Oregon chardonnay will leave you converted. 

At Hayward, chef Kari Kihara is growing her reputation for ambitious “new Northwest” cuisine. On a recent visit, she served chilled coast mussels in horseradish and seaweed dulse, celestial headcheese panisse with fermented leeks, and a steak tartare dish built to look like a little cheeseburger, topped by a brioche cracker “bun.” A chef’s choice “Kick Back” menu is offered at $70.

Here’s the trick: both restaurants have outstanding bars. Split the difference,
enjoying a bar snack and drink at one before absconding to the other. A bar moment at Hayward might mean pickled yellowfoot mushrooms and a savory chive doughnut alongside an ambrosial cocktail made with house mushroom elixir and Italian amari. Meanwhile, the Cellar at Okta gives you access to Acierto’s world-class wine program, as well as an abbreviated tasting menu and a la carte options from Chef Lightner’s kitchen upstairs.

Sunday, 10am: A sweet parting

You’re overfed and overstimulated, but this is no time to wimp out. Crescent Cafe has a loyal following for sweet and savory crepes, farm eggs and potatoes, and house-baked bread (I like the honey oat with golden raisins). On the drive back to Portland, if somehow you are still hungry, the valley is awash with outstanding taco options, a topic upon which seemingly everyone here has a strong opinion. Favorites include Mini Super Hidalgo in downtown McMinnville, Martha’s Tacos in Lafayette, and Tacos el Gordo, which sits adjacent to Tequila Grill on Highway 99 just as you’re leaving town. Try them all, and then come back and try some more.