Hood River's Eclectic Cellar Punches Above Its Weight
· Hood River · Winery and Tasting Room · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed September 25, 2026 · How we review
RagingWine reviewed Stave & Stone Winery’s wine list and gave it The Wild Card — RagingWine’s Vibe-Check rating. How RagingWine reviews wine lists →
Wingman Metrics
Sixteen bottles, all estate-produced, all priced between $35 and $68 — this is not a list built to impress wine tourists with famous names. It's a list built by a winery that knows exactly what it makes and isn't embarrassed to let the wines speak for themselves. That kind of confidence is either earned or delusional, and the range on offer suggests it's the former.
What makes Stave & Stone interesting is the breadth they've squeezed into a tight, single-producer lineup. Hood River isn't the first place you'd expect to find Gruner Veltliner ($35/bottle), Tempranillo ($48/bottle), and Petit Verdot ($48/bottle) sitting alongside Pinot Noir and Riesling, but here we are. The red program leans into Bordeaux and Rhône varieties — Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Quiver ($65/bottle), Fletcher's Red Blend ($48/bottle) — giving it more range than you'd expect from a Columbia Gorge winery of this size. The Artur Pinot Noir ($68/bottle) is the flagship and the only bottle that crosses the $65 mark, while the Broken Boulder Pinot Noir ($48/bottle) offers a lower-rung entry into the same grape. Whites and pinks round out the card without feeling like afterthoughts.
By-the-glass options are not documented from available sources, which is a gap worth noting — this is a tasting room context, so pours are likely available in a flight or individual taste format rather than a traditional restaurant glass program. If you're visiting, ask about tasting flights before committing to a bottle.
The Bottom Line
Stave & Stone earns its Wild Card badge not through volume or imported names, but through genuine varietal curiosity — a Gorge winery willing to make Gruner Veltliner and Petit Verdot and price the whole card fairly. If you're passing through Hood River and want to drink local without drinking predictable, this list is worth your time.
· Hood River · Winery and Farm Cafe
The Gorge White House isn't trying to compete with a big city wine bar — it's a farm property pouring its own wines at prices that feel almost apologetically fair. If you're driving through Hood River and want a cold glass of something local without being gouged, this is an easy yes. Just don't arrive expecting deep-cellar surprises.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Hood River · Hotel restaurant
Hood River Inn's wine list is a catering checklist dressed up as a restaurant program. With no producers named, no bottles available, and a selection that ignores the incredible wine region right outside the door, there's no reason to drink wine here specifically. If you're staying at the hotel and need something with dinner, the $11 pours are fair enough — but if wine matters to you at all, Hood River has actual wine bars and tasting rooms worth your time and money.
Grocery Store
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Hood River · Cafe
KickStand punches above its weight class for a cafe wine program — six bottles, almost all of them local, with real producers worth knowing. We can't speak to pricing or service confidence without more data, but if you're already in Hood River and want a glass of something made within shouting distance of where you're sitting, this list is doing the right thing in a small package.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Rotating Cast
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Hood River · Winery tasting room
Wy'East Vineyards is a short list with a long point of view — estate wines from varieties that have no business growing in Oregon, priced like the winery actually wants you to buy them. If you're anywhere near Hood River and you care even a little about what's possible outside the Pinot Noir monoculture, this stop is worth your afternoon.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
· Hood River · Winery tasting room
Analemma earns its Wild Card badge by doing something most Oregon producers won't: planting Mencía and Grenache in the Gorge and committing to it fully. The list is short, but every bottle has a reason to exist. If you're driving through Hood River and want to taste something that doesn't feel like every other Pacific Northwest tasting room, this is your stop.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
· Hood River · Winery tasting room
Marchesi Vineyards is doing something genuinely unusual in Oregon wine country — growing Italian grapes with seriousness and selling the results at prices that feel almost charitable. The Barbera lineup alone is worth the detour to Hood River, and the top of the list caps at $45. If you're driving through the Gorge and want to drink something you won't find anywhere else, stop here.
Small but Thoughtful
Steal
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Proper
· Gatlinburg · Winery and Tasting Room
Hillside Winery earns its Wild Card badge because it's doing something genuinely unexpected in the middle of Gatlinburg's tourist corridor — making Italian-style wines in Tennessee and inviting you to taste them for free. We can't verify specific bottles, pricing, or how deep the cellar actually goes, so treat this as an adventure rather than a sure thing. If you're in the Smokies and curious about American regional wine outside the usual suspects, this is worth an hour of your afternoon.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Occasional
Acceptable
· Gatlinburg · Winery and Tasting Room
Bootleggers is a Gatlinburg curiosity worth a stop if you're already in town and in the right headspace — which is to say, relaxed, not taking yourself too seriously, and maybe still a little sunburned from the afternoon. Don't come looking for a serious wine program; do come if you want to try something local, weird, and made with actual intent.
Small but Thoughtful
Fair
Basic Stemmed
Willing but Green
Set & Forget
Acceptable
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