Introducing The Grange Dundee Hills: Willamette Valley’s Ultimate Wine Country Retreat – A Vision of Foley Wines

Above: Autumn views in Willamette Valley. Image courtesy Carl Giavanti.

New money and fresh ideas are coming into Willamette Valley, and Bill Foley of Foley Family Wines & Spirits was an early-stage investor and visionary. “The Grange Dundee Hills” is a bold new venture expanding on the footprint of a well-known and beloved Inn – Black Walnut Inn & Vineyard – which rests gracefully at the top of Worden Hill Road in the Dundee Hills. You’ll have 360° views of raptors soaring over vineyards with the Cascades Mountains and Willamette Valley in the distance.

The Grange Dundee Hills is inclusive of Grange Estate and Grange Winery (which includes Anthology and The Four Graces Winery), all of which are located adjacent to Black Walnut Inn & Vineyard, established in 2003. It is a year-round destination location, and for me, it beckons either settling in and hunkering down during classically cold and drippy Oregon Fall and Winter times or as a base of exploration during fair Spring and Summer months.

The innovation and next stage for “The Neighborhood” was adding The Grange, which features an adult trinity of indulgences – Wine, Food, and Lodging – a complete Oregon Wine Country experience all in one location. There are few other wine country properties offering this in Willamette Valley.

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The Grange as a destination location is worth at least a 1–2-night stay, and would be an ideal base to explore everything Dundee Hills has to offer including other exceptional winery properties, restaurants, breweries, and driving proximity to all of Willamette Valley.

My wife and I visited and indulged ourselves in “The Neighborhood”. We stayed at the modern Grange Estate; visited the iconic old-world Black Walnut Inn; dined at Anthology and tasted at Grange Winery. We were delighted to learn of the no kids and no pets policy (we love both, but prefer neither on our adult escapes). We heard the tale of a couple with seven children living in the Portland area who stayed for four nights, taking meals in their room and barely emerging. But that is another tale. What happens in the neighborhood…

“Neighborhood of Hotels”

Grange Estate (a private residence of nine elevated farmhouse style rooms with soaking tubs) opened in July 2024, alongside the Black Walnut Inn & Vineyard, which was acquired in 2022 (nine elegant traditional boutique rooms, many of the rooms have patios, firepits and balconies). Property tours are offered on arrival for all guests so you can fully understand all that is available. Both properties have breakfast rooms with morning coffee service, and living rooms with fireplaces filled with books for reading and lounging.

Both of these B&Bs are being presented by Foley Wines Dundee Hills as a “Neighborhood” of Inns. The Dundee Hills neighborhood is part of “The Foley Collection,” a portfolio of private homes and inns in wine countries extending up the west coast from Santa Barbara to Willamette Valley, and in New Zealand.

The Grange Winery & Tasting Room

Foley Wines Dundee Hills also includes the Grange Winery, a.k.a. Four Graces Winery and Tasting Room, acquired in 2015 from Paula and Steven Black. The tasting room is open daily from 10am until 4pm. Wine tasting options include the “Graceful Expedition”, a six-wine tasting lasting 60-90 minutes and offered from 10am until 3:15pm. You’ll also find a variety of a la carte food options such as candied and spiced nuts, garbanzo hummus plate, charcuterie and cheese board, and seasonal hot dishes offered Wednesday through Sunday. You can enjoy your bites with wine tasting indoors or outside on the patio.

“Sip & Savor” is a prix fixe lunch board of five items with five wine pairings offered at 11am, 1pm and 3pm. You’ll be presented with three different single vineyard AVA-specific Pinot Noirs, and one blend from winemaker Tim Jones, as well as the Foley Family Brut sparkling wine from Santa Rita Hills near Santa Barbara, CA.

Members of the Foley Food and Wine Society and The Four Graces Wine Club members enjoy the Graceful Expedition tasting complimentary, and receive a 20% discount off Sip & Savor and all food items, as well as wine and merchandise.

Anthology Experience at The Four Graces

Housed in the Grange Winery is Anthology, an elevated tasting experience available as of July 2024 at The Four Graces. The Anthology “Hunt & Forage” Fall Dinner Experience is exceptionally creative, both visually and flavorfully. The executive chef team of Chase Williams and Zack Ehrlich and Sommelier Peter Marcy collaborate on food and wine pairings for this 10-course event. Descriptive “course cards” are included with each plate or “chapter” of the anthology of courses. The cards are hand drawn by Chef Chase, showing dish composition, seasonal ingredients, background on ingredients, and how and why each dish is special.

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Dining at Anthology at Grange Winery. Images courtesy Carl Giavanti.

Menu ingredients are sourced from local purveyors and the wines included were from both U.S. and International producers. Limited reserved seatings are at 5:30pm and 8:30pm. Although Oregon wines and Foley Wines were included, Somm Peter explained to our group that managing wines for Anthology is like examining a treasure map. Each course begs discovery. The Anthology wine program has aspirations and experience with wines internationally and includes whatever works best depending on the course and season. The Summer “Gather & Preserve”, and Spring “Flora & Fauna” menu courses would be paired with different wines depending on what the kitchen team presents to the wine team.

Fun Things to do at The Grange

Games anyone? You’ll find Cornhole (“Bags” if you’re from the Midwest), Bocce, Jenga on the patio of Black Walnut Inn & Vineyard, as well as Adirondacks, and firepits great for sipping and chilling after dinner. We only managed to play Jenga, but all the games looked like fun. Sadly, I managed to topple the Jenga tower after removing only 4 blocks.

Walk and Soak – hike the property either on established trails or through the 39 acres of vineyards. Be sure to walk down to “The Black Walnut Tree,” the namesake of the Inn. You can swing, picnic and while away the hours in the shade of this beautiful tree. Soaking is a must and many of the rooms have oversized tubs.

Like cute goats and chickens? Take the short hiking trail on the property and you’ll pass the critter pens. They are worth a visit and if you’re lucky there may be extra eggs on hand (don’t tell them I said so).

Coming soon – The entire property is comprised of 50 acres, and the hospitality team has plans to take advantage of the space with new fun activities, that may include mushroom foraging, extended hiking trails, additional picnic areas, etc. A courtesy “House Car” will soon whisk guests off the property.

Foley Wines Dundee Hills

Foley Wines has taken a horizontal approach to providing an integrated hospitality experience (lodging, wine tasting, food pairing). Founder Bill Foley’s vision is to have a “wine trail” of properties from Santa Barbara to Oregon, where loyal customers can visit, stay, wine, and dine.

Members of the Foley Entertainment Group have inside access to The Foley Collection, a series of private homes, lodges, inns and villas. Grange Estate and two additional private homes on the property are included, along with seven others in The Foley Collection of properties. Members can also visit over 20 wineries in California, Oregon and Washington, including Grange Winery in Dundee.

Bill Foley and his team appear to have executed their hospitality goals in Dundee Hills. The big question is what’s next for the Foley Wines Dundee Hill Neighborhood and its plans in the Willamette Valley?