Visited this winery about 12 years ago the owner was great the first visit was with my sister. We was so impressed we went back the next day with my wife so she could get the same experience. Sorry to see it close
Monorail
went years ago, the orange chocolate is amazing. Hope the owner finds an apprentice.
Misti Davis G
I went to this winery years ago and fell in love with it because of the wonderful gentleman who runs it. I want to go back again someday when I visit but have never forgotten it even a decade later!
Gerardo Arnaez
{ 2005 03 30 }The Shallon WineryI have to tell you about one of my favorite places and people. It’s Mr.Paul VanDerveltd‘s Shallon Winery. Born in Seaside(!) because his mother wanted him born there, he went to school in Astoria and eventually graduated from Astoria High School before going on to Reed College. He had to leave after his first year when his father found out that Reed was red1 and left to serve in the Navy during Korea and eventually came back to Astoria to take over his father’s construction company. He proceeded do to many things, one of which was to spend over a million dollars of grant money from the University to make a whey wine.Paul says,Whey wines: As far as I know, I had the first good tasting commercially produced whey wine in the world and still produce the only whey wine. These wines should be good for you; they should have the vitamins, minerals, and some of the protein that milk has. Several universities have in the past spent a great deal of grant money trying to make wine from the whey, and have essentially failed (I don’t get any grant money).If you come to his winery, he will give you the full tour, practiced and rehearsed to perfection.So practiced that if you come a few times, you will start learning your role and play it as well as you can. Sometimes he will tell you about the Black Raspberry wine and sometimes he won’t. Sometimes he will offer it to you and sometimes he won’t. Its a rare treat – he will take out consecrated silver cups and pour a tiny bit of wine that is inky black and unfathomably deep.Paul says,Wild BLACK Raspberry: A dessert wine too precious to even mention, the berries picked one at a time in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest! Talk about precious desert wines like Chateau d’Yquem at $200 a bottle, but they are available. This you can’t get. If I ever have any, it’s $85 for 375 ml.And then depending on his mood, maybe reflective or maybe a bit sad, he will tell you about his close friend (“an out of work fisherman like so many of them here”) that would go into those woods alone for weeks at a time and bring back those black raspberries and tell you that he was murdered two years ago(2) and how the cops* thought he was just a vagrant and let him go and how he (Paul) will keep his picture on his mantle to remember him and will never make that black raspberry wine again. Go back and look at the mantle on the far left.1. The old sense of red as in commie red (funny how words change their meanings) [↩]2. it’s always two years [↩]
Joseph Salomone
Best Wine Shop I've ever visited. The owner is such a gem. He is very passionate about his product.
Richard Scott
Paul is a vocal autobiography of his unique talent, personality, and winery. the product is remarkable, the environment unique, and Paul is a special vocal purveyor of HIS craft. I enjoyed and appreciated the adventure, and the wines are perfection to many. love the blackberry too, miss the peach from once upon a time.
Don Oelsner
This was an amazing experience. Give yourself a little time and enjoy this man and his knowledge. His wines are so unique. Stop in whole you still can!
Shawnda
A rare winery that makes only fruit based wines. Paul is a wealth of knowledge and humour that made for one of the most interesting wines tours I have even been on. A "must do" in the Astoria area. Thanks Paul !!!!
fierce melon
Shallon is an aquired taste. We were not prepared for the "experience". Call first and read all the reviews. We visited his establishment about 2 years ago but after reading the reviews I felt I must give my two cents. The first hint I recieved that this tour was not going to be ordinary was just trying to gain entrance to the building....
Steve Polzel
Being native Oregonians, my wife and I chose to spend the weekend experiencing Astoria. After reading the unique story of the local business, we started our trip off by visiting Shallon Winery and were VERY pleased that we did.
If you're in Astoria you must visit this winery. It is as valuable to history as any of the more well-known sights and locations. Paul is a rare gem. Much like his wine, you should not gulp his knowledge down in one gulp but savor it slowly allowing all of its nuances to bloom fully.
MommaCIn
This was my favorite activity in Astoria by far. Paul the owner is a teacher, historian, comedian, sociologist, a master of his domain. The first thing that happens upon gaining entrance (call first and follow any instructions on the door) is that Paul will ask if you’re in a hurry. The correct answer is, “No.”. You’ll learn about wine making and the history of Astoria before tasting any wines. We then tasted 5 wines and each was unlike any wine we had tasted before. They sound like they’re sweet wines but they are not. None of the wines are made with grapes. You’ll learn about how Paul sources his fruit, the labels on his bottles, interesting interactions with past guests (he doesn’t call them customers). Paul is passionate about maintaining the integrity of his wines. His stories are an important part of his wines. Take cash or checks (credit cards not taken) and be prepared for an interesting and entertaining hour +
John Ransdell
Great one man operation.
tripoddy
We visited this winery after reading other reviews, and were so glad we did. An absolute favorite of our trip. Paul, the owner, spent a lot of time with us; giving us the tour of the winery and how he makes the wine. He's definitely passionate about his work and we enjoyed tasting four different kinds, and will enjoy drinking our bottles of Chocolate/orange and Blackberry. The time with Paul and learning the wine making process he uses is so worth the time. It was delightful! Expect a little extra time, and call the number on the door.
Stephen King
Enjoyed the winery tour with Paul. He is quite the conversationalist and we spoke at length. We had some very unique and tasty wines. We liked the cranberry and lemon meringue the most.
Visited this winery about 12 years ago the owner was great the first visit was with my sister. We was so impressed we went back the next day with my wife so she could get the same experience. Sorry to see it close
went years ago, the orange chocolate is amazing. Hope the owner finds an apprentice.
I went to this winery years ago and fell in love with it because of the wonderful gentleman who runs it. I want to go back again someday when I visit but have never forgotten it even a decade later!
{ 2005 03 30 }The Shallon WineryI have to tell you about one of my favorite places and people. It’s Mr.Paul VanDerveltd‘s Shallon Winery. Born in Seaside(!) because his mother wanted him born there, he went to school in Astoria and eventually graduated from Astoria High School before going on to Reed College. He had to leave after his first year when his father found out that Reed was red1 and left to serve in the Navy during Korea and eventually came back to Astoria to take over his father’s construction company. He proceeded do to many things, one of which was to spend over a million dollars of grant money from the University to make a whey wine.Paul says,Whey wines: As far as I know, I had the first good tasting commercially produced whey wine in the world and still produce the only whey wine. These wines should be good for you; they should have the vitamins, minerals, and some of the protein that milk has. Several universities have in the past spent a great deal of grant money trying to make wine from the whey, and have essentially failed (I don’t get any grant money).If you come to his winery, he will give you the full tour, practiced and rehearsed to perfection.So practiced that if you come a few times, you will start learning your role and play it as well as you can. Sometimes he will tell you about the Black Raspberry wine and sometimes he won’t. Sometimes he will offer it to you and sometimes he won’t. Its a rare treat – he will take out consecrated silver cups and pour a tiny bit of wine that is inky black and unfathomably deep.Paul says,Wild BLACK Raspberry: A dessert wine too precious to even mention, the berries picked one at a time in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest! Talk about precious desert wines like Chateau d’Yquem at $200 a bottle, but they are available. This you can’t get. If I ever have any, it’s $85 for 375 ml.And then depending on his mood, maybe reflective or maybe a bit sad, he will tell you about his close friend (“an out of work fisherman like so many of them here”) that would go into those woods alone for weeks at a time and bring back those black raspberries and tell you that he was murdered two years ago(2) and how the cops* thought he was just a vagrant and let him go and how he (Paul) will keep his picture on his mantle to remember him and will never make that black raspberry wine again. Go back and look at the mantle on the far left.1. The old sense of red as in commie red (funny how words change their meanings) [↩]2. it’s always two years [↩]
Best Wine Shop I've ever visited. The owner is such a gem. He is very passionate about his product.
Paul is a vocal autobiography of his unique talent, personality, and winery. the product is remarkable, the environment unique, and Paul is a special vocal purveyor of HIS craft. I enjoyed and appreciated the adventure, and the wines are perfection to many. love the blackberry too, miss the peach from once upon a time.
This was an amazing experience. Give yourself a little time and enjoy this man and his knowledge. His wines are so unique. Stop in whole you still can!
A rare winery that makes only fruit based wines. Paul is a wealth of knowledge and humour that made for one of the most interesting wines tours I have even been on. A "must do" in the Astoria area. Thanks Paul !!!!
Shallon is an aquired taste. We were not prepared for the "experience". Call first and read all the reviews. We visited his establishment about 2 years ago but after reading the reviews I felt I must give my two cents. The first hint I recieved that this tour was not going to be ordinary was just trying to gain entrance to the building....
Being native Oregonians, my wife and I chose to spend the weekend experiencing Astoria. After reading the unique story of the local business, we started our trip off by visiting Shallon Winery and were VERY pleased that we did.
Restaurantji Recommends
If you're in Astoria you must visit this winery. It is as valuable to history as any of the more well-known sights and locations. Paul is a rare gem. Much like his wine, you should not gulp his knowledge down in one gulp but savor it slowly allowing all of its nuances to bloom fully.
This was my favorite activity in Astoria by far. Paul the owner is a teacher, historian, comedian, sociologist, a master of his domain. The first thing that happens upon gaining entrance (call first and follow any instructions on the door) is that Paul will ask if you’re in a hurry. The correct answer is, “No.”. You’ll learn about wine making and the history of Astoria before tasting any wines. We then tasted 5 wines and each was unlike any wine we had tasted before. They sound like they’re sweet wines but they are not. None of the wines are made with grapes. You’ll learn about how Paul sources his fruit, the labels on his bottles, interesting interactions with past guests (he doesn’t call them customers). Paul is passionate about maintaining the integrity of his wines. His stories are an important part of his wines. Take cash or checks (credit cards not taken) and be prepared for an interesting and entertaining hour +
Great one man operation.
We visited this winery after reading other reviews, and were so glad we did. An absolute favorite of our trip. Paul, the owner, spent a lot of time with us; giving us the tour of the winery and how he makes the wine. He's definitely passionate about his work and we enjoyed tasting four different kinds, and will enjoy drinking our bottles of Chocolate/orange and Blackberry. The time with Paul and learning the wine making process he uses is so worth the time. It was delightful! Expect a little extra time, and call the number on the door.
Enjoyed the winery tour with Paul. He is quite the conversationalist and we spoke at length. We had some very unique and tasty wines. We liked the cranberry and lemon meringue the most.
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