LucidWild Estate Winery

Perched alongside many of the most storied vineyards in the northern Willamette Valley’s Dundee Hills, glamorous newcomer LucidWild Estate is reimagining the Oregon winery experience.

glass of red wine on railing overlooking Lucid Wild vineyard

When we settled in the Portland area in the 1990s, wine tasting usually consisted of rolling into a fairly spartan tasting room, trying a few wines at the bar, then moving on to the next one.

A lot has changed since then. And LucidWild is setting the bar for what the future of the Oregon winery experience can be.

This 15,000+ square-foot destination features a variety of entertainment and tasting spaces aimed at making visitors feel not only welcome, but immersed. All while enjoying LucidWild’s estate-grown wines.

About LucidWild Estate
LucidWild Tasting Experience
Other LucidWild Experiences
LucidWild Wines
Visiting LucidWild
More Oregon Wineries to Visit

About LucidWild Estate

Owners Blair and L.J. Nicholas bought what is now LucidWild in 2021.

Previously called the Bella Vida Vineyard, the 46-acre estate features decades-old vines and breathtaking views of both Mount Hood and the Cascade Mountains.

LucidWild’s winemaking philosophy: minimal intervention that focuses on crafting limited-production, single-vineyard estate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Blanc de Blanc Sparkling wines.

The vineyard is LIVE certified (Low Input Viticulture & Enology) and 100% dry-farmed. That dry-farming promotes a system of deep-rooted vines that produce smaller grapes with more concentrated flavor.

The site, located off Worden Hill Road in Dundee, is also home to longtime Oregon winemakers, including Knudsen, Erath, Domaine Roy & Fils, and the Four Graces, among others.

Like many of those established wineries, LucidWild produces primarily classic Oregon varietals.

But the winery itself is altogether unique. And that has everything to do with the visitor experience.

LucidWild Tasting Experience

LucidWild prides itself on providing unique, inviting tasting experiences. To that end, the two-story winery offers several spaces that guests can book and enjoy.

LivingRoom + SkyLounge

The top floor houses both the LivingRoom and the SkyLounge.

The former is an expansive, open floor plan space with seating both indoors and outside on a deck overlooking the vineyards. It also features an extended fireplace for when the weather turns a bit cooler. This area has a laid back feel and was designed for guests to relax in, hence the LivingRoom name.

The SkyLounge has a more bar-like feel, with an actual bar fronting a huge television screen that can be used for private events, as well as several small tables inside. Outside, you’ll find comfortable seating and more expansive vineyard views.

In each of the spaces, guests can enjoy LucidWild’s five wine offerings that include three Pinot Noirs, a Chardonnay, and a sparkling wine. More on those below.

And each pour is paired with small bites created by estate chef Mason Goucher. Goucher has worked at places like McMinnville’s Okta (named Oregon wine country’s greatest restaurant by Portland Monthly) and Q Restaurant (formerly Portland’s Veritable Quandary).

pork belly and peach crostini at LucidWild winery — Pork belly and peach crostini

Details

Reservations: $75 per guest; complimentary with two-bottle purchase or by joining the wine club
Experience duration: 60–90 minutes

CaveLounge

Head downstairs and you’ll find another series of tasting spaces, including the CaveLounge.

This area features a main room designed to host large events like sit-down dinners, as well as a pair of more private nooks.

The nooks are the perfect spot if you visit with friends, as you’ll feel like you have the place to yourselves. They’re also great if you prefer a quieter tasting experience, away from the more lively spaces upstairs.

The CaveLounge offers limited private bookings as well as bottle service.

Details

One bottle purchase per guest
Wine to be enjoyed on-site or taken home
Experience duration: 60–90 minutes

RecRoom

As the name implies, this is where to go if you like your wine tasting with a bit of recreation. This space includes a ping pong table, billiards table, shuffleboard, foosball, and an outdoor bocce ball court. It also has a 96-inch screen, so you can watch your favorite game.

Details

Bottle Service
One bottle purchase per guest
Wine to be enjoyed on-site or taken home
Experience duration: 60–90 minutes

Jellies

One space you won’t find on the reservation list or anywhere on the LucidWild website is Jellies. This stylish speakeasy is tucked away on the lower floor and is for members only.

Once you enter, you feel like you’ve been transported to an art-deco inspired hangout of yesteryear, complete with plush seating, mood lighting, and its own bar.

But its namesake has to do with the tank of live jellyfish along one wall, which seem to sway with the music and vibe of the space itself.

Details

Members only
Bottle service
One bottle purchase per guest
Wine to be enjoyed on-site or taken home
Open to the public on Saturday from 4-6pm
Experience duration: 60–90 minutes

Vineyard Tour and Tasting Experience

Looking for a more in-depth wine tasting?

The vineyard tour takes you along the estate’s rolling vines in a custom-built Land Rover. You’ll learn about LucidWild’s dry-farming methods, as well as what goes into crafting their estate-produced wines.

Then you’ll head down to the barns to visit the Valais Blacknose sheep, known for being the world’s cutest sheep. You’ll also stop by the apiary HoneyBeez, where bees produce estate honey used by the chef.

Finally, you’ll get a glimpse of one of the most recognizable views in the valley — the spot used as the centerpiece for the Oregon Wine Country license plate.

To complete the experience, you’ll be able to enjoy a taste of the “Chosen” Pinot Noir. This limited-production wine is made from the best five barrels of each vintage, and retails for $310 a bottle.

Details

$150 per person, complimentary with a three-bottle purchase or joining the wine club
Experience duration: 90 minutes

Other LucidWild Experiences

LucidWild Wheels

Want your own private wine-tasting transport? Gather up some friends and book the LucidWild Mercedes Sprinter van for a day of tasting and adventure.

Tricked out with captains chairs, state-of-the-art audio/visual equipment, and special wine coolers to keep the Chardonnay and sparkling wine perfectly chilled, this a worry-free way to enjoy Oregon’s beautiful wine country.

Private Events, Offsites, and Retreats

You can book each space noted above for custom events for anywhere from 10-250 people. A separate lower-floor meeting space called the IdeaLab is also a great option for company off-sites or retreats.

LucidWild Wines

The exacting attention to detail that LucidWild puts into its one-of-a-kind tasting experiences also shows up in its wines.

Winemaker Isabelle Meunier, who trained in both Burgundy and New Zealand, oversees production of the estate’s lineup of five wines.

Hidden

Hidden ($95) is LucidWild’s lone still white wine. Made with 100% Chardonnay, this small-batch wine (only 45 cases were produced for the 2022 vintage) is aged in stainless steel for 4 months and in oak barrels for 12 months. Despite that, this crisp wine only has a hint of oak on the palate. Green apple and citrus notes are more prominent, as is lively acidity.

Lust

LucidWild’s sparkling wine Lust ($155) is a Blanc-de-Blanc crafted with single-vineyard Chardonnay. This tank-method sparkling has bright acidity and ages on the lees for at least 3 years, helping to give it rich, classic notes of brioche and toast.

Fusion

The initial entry in its Pinot Noir lineup, Fusion ($95) is made with a blend of clones. It features classic Oregon Pinot Noir notes of black cherry, plum, and strawberry, along with slight minerality.

Beast

Produced with a selection of bold Pinot Noir clones, Beast ($155) is rich and inviting. Featuring dark fruit and raspberry flavors along with elegant tannins, this is a balanced Pinot that will only get better with a few years of aging.

Chosen

LucidWild’s top-of-the line Pinot Noir, Chosen ($310) shines with a complex bouquet of red fruit and dark cherry. Those notes also linger on the palate, along with a velvety finish. Made with only the best barrels of each vintage, Chosen is designed to highlight the cream of LucidWild’s crop. But getting your hands on a bottle may prove difficult, as most of the 121 cases produced for the 2022 vintage are allocated to Founders Members.