Articles

“Art is food for the soul for artists, as well as for the supporters of local small businesses in our community,” says Currents Gallery’s Marlene Eichner. With the holidays upon us, keep those thoughts in mind when shopping for gifts — locally, of course.

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Michelle Grannis stands behind the front desk in the lobby of the Atticus Hotel, a 36-room luxury destination in downtown McMinnville. It’s clear she loves her work as the hotel concierge after more than 15 years in the hospitality and food service industries. She’s equally adept at guiding hotel guests toward their memorable wine country experiences and concocting a custom macchiato on the hotel lobby espresso machine.

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In the Willamette Valley, we’ve been soaking up the glorious periods of low, filtered autumn sunshine before the inevitable rains come, as they do in the Pacific Northwest.

So what comes next? We look for good places where we can slow down, nuzzle up, and consume some comfort food and drinks. And McMinnville is the perfect place to do just that.

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Walking into Mac Market, I sense an odd dichotomy of space. This large, open, and recently renovated warehouse looks cavernous. Still, it’s comfortable. I order a coffee and settle into a chair for a morning conversation with Mac Market manager Britt Guthmiller.

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Yes, I’ve dragged my kids along while wine tasting before, but never with as much success as our recent visit to Knudsen, which only opened its tasting room in July and which just launched its brand new Kids’ Tasting Challenge. Wineries in and around McMinnville are beginning to engage children in the experience of tasting and the winner in this game is everyone.

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October is the occasion for our annual Scarecrow Contest, a fall tradition started by the McMinnville Downtown Association in 2013. Local shop owners and groups get their Halloween on and shift into Frankenstein mode: They make a man (or sometimes a woman) and post the life-sized creature along Third Street to greet passersby.

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Wash your hands, yes. But with so many hand-washings every day, and travel difficult, let me propose something different: Soap Travel.

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October in Oregon wine country is one of the most stunning times to experience the Willamette Valley, with the trees (and grapevines!) put on a spectacular show of reds, oranges, and yellows. For adventurous visitors, opportunities abound to stroll through many of the wooded areas of our region to take it all in.

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The time has come for another turning of the wheel. As the nights grow longer, and the sunrise brings a crisp chill, we prepare ourselves for entering the year’s dark season. Saying farewell to summer is always bittersweet, but even more so this year, when so much of the fun that we usually enjoy was cancelled or altered beyond recognition. Regardless, we managed to make some really special memories in McMinnville. Here are some of our favorites:

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While the destination may be your goal, it is just as important to enjoy the bike ride that gets you there. The Youngberg Hill Loop is one of my favorite McMinnville-area bike rides. It is flat and easy most of the time and the few remaining hills are manageable.

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