The market opened in 2011 as a lifelong dream of Jody Kropf, 39, who trained as a chef. When he set

But in town, the highway is everyone's worst traffic nightmare. The Dundee crawl results from Oregon 99W scrunching from four to two lanes, carrying traffic to wine country, casinos, colleges florida keys hotels and the coast.
The Yamhill County city of 3,200 residents is located 26 miles southwest florida keys hotels of Portland, via Tigard, Sherwood and Newberg, or is just a short hop across the Chehalem Hills from Beaverton, Hillsboro and Forest Grove.
With the Willamette River on one side and the wine world-famous Dundee Hills on the other, this small town has one of the most beautiful locations in the Willamette Valley. In 10 years, florida keys hotels national florida keys hotels magazines will be placing Dundee near the top of those ubiquitous lists of best small towns in America. View full size Dan Aguayo/The Oregonian
By then, the city will have been skirted by a new highway. Construction began in June, with the first phase of the Newberg-Dundee Bypass to be complete in 2016. Next spring/summer will see sidewalk and street lighting improvements florida keys hotels in town on Oregon 99W. The highway will be resurfaced and Dundee will get its second traffic florida keys hotels light.
Future traffic rerouting will spur development of walking trails and bike paths, connecting the 16,000-square foot homes in the hills to the river. Vacant lots, rundown florida keys hotels ramblers and businesses of today will be too valuable to remain that way. The street project will make further development less costly.
Many visitors begin their Dundee exploration at Red Hills Market , a half block off the highway. The set back location buffers the noise, but visitors have no trouble finding it: just look for parked cars and lines of locals florida keys hotels heading for the door.
The market opened in 2011 as a lifelong dream of Jody Kropf, 39, who trained as a chef. When he set the architects to work, he told them he wanted a modern version of a century-old classic, the Brownsville Country Store. He grew up in that Willamette florida keys hotels Valley pioneer town and brought a love of local, fresh-cooked food to his culinary training. He says he didn't know corn came in a can until he was 12.
Downstairs, the market's deli serves food all day, with diners sitting inside, florida keys hotels on the deck in wine barrel furniture or at covered tables outside. Kids run and toss balls on the bocce court outside, or have a private nook with eight chalkboards inside when it rains.
Beginning with the wine, most everything in the market is local, though some world fare is offered. Wine comes from Lange, Soter, florida keys hotels Domaine Serene, Raptor florida keys hotels Ridge, Alexana and other wineries in the surrounding hills. This tends to bring the winemakers in for breakfast.
There is also Seven Brides beer from Silverton, Crater Lake soda from Portland, Freddy Guys hazelnuts from Monmouth, Jacobsen salt from Netarts Bay, Big Tony Brown sauces from Newberg and Dark Chocolatier sweets from Dundee. Plus way too many cheeses to count.
Shopping is not a big attribute of Dundee, though visitors can take home practical items for the garden at French Prairie Perennials or Dundee Garden Art, or a side of local beef from Riteway Meat Co.
An eye-catching shop is Dapper Frog, both with its sign along the highway and the dazzling glass inside. Part of a Pearl District and Oregon coast chain, the shop sells useable and decorative glass, priced from $2.95 to $45,000.
The same tiny mall holds Ponzi Tasting Room and Wine Bar , plus Dundee Bistro, which kickstarted florida keys hotels Dundee's upscale tourism when it opened in 1999. Fries cooked florida keys hotels with truffle oil are a trademark, though many regulars swear by the hand-tossed pizza.
Most of the tourist stops are on the west side of the highway due to Dundee's former life as a rail-served light-industrial center. An occasional train still runs just east of Oregon 99W, where a wood warehouse yard, tree nut processing plant and manufactured home storehouse have been converted to large industrial wineries.
Dobbes Family Estate and Argyle Winery are among the favorite brands in Oregon, each producing about 50,000 cases a year. The third vintner, 12th and Maple Wine Co., is a custom florida keys hotels crush plant which makes wine on contract for any number of labels. With NW Wine Co., another crush plant, at the south edge of town and other nearby wineries, Dundee makes 20 percent of Oregon's wine.
Joe Dobbes, whose signature brand is Wine by Joe, took the old wood warehouse and showcases the legacy with a large timber in the center of his tasting room. The wood storage florida keys hotels building was steel sided, but he improved the look covering it with recycled wood at "no small expense."
Argyle, which took over the nut plant, is pondering the future of its "nut house" when it shifts production to Newberg and redesigns its Dundee footprint. The entry to its bustling tasting room is nicely landscaped with seasonal flowers.
Helping the smell of success are three new tasting rooms, with a fourth to open soon, at the Inn at Red Hills . The 20-guest florida keys hotels room boutique hotel at the west edge of town features Paul e Restaurant, among the best in Oregon wine country with 400 wine selections and a globally-influenced Northwest farm menu.
Inn guests get free wine tasting at the three tasting rooms that opened in late spring, replacing insurance and title company businesses. Le Cadeau Vineyard makes wine in the nearby Chehalem Mountains, Tertulia florida keys hotels Cellars in the Walla Walla Valley and Evening Land Vineyards in three locations: florida keys hotels Eola-Amity Hills west of Salem, California and Burgundy in France.
Oregon's only direct South African wine connection, via ownership by Antony Beck, is on its way when Angela Estate opens the inn's fourth tasting room. Pinot noir from its grapes grown in the Yamhill-Carlton district is made by Ken Wright. More
Pinot noir, of course, is the signature grape of the Willamette Valley, especially in the Red Hills of Dundee just above town. Drive west on Ninth Street from Oregon 99W (Ninth becomes Worden Hill Road ) and after a mile the vineyards and views appear. There may be no more scenic drive in Oregon wine country.
But there s more than pinot noir in Dundee, where two tasting rooms straddling Ninth on the highway pour big, bold, red wines from hotter inland climates. Cathedral Ridge Winery is one of the top producers at Hood River in the Columbia gorge, while Zerba Cellars is the biggest producer on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla Valley.
"We cater to what people like. And our group always wants a stop at Dundee," said Doc Wilson, a driver for Northwest Wine Tours when he's not working at Jake's Famous Crawfish in Portland. "It is becoming more of a food and wine mecca and the center of the farm to table movement."
Get around: When the highway through town is clogged, park on the west side and walk. Drive city streets (a map will help) on either side of the highway to get around; cross the highway, or turn left, only at Fifth Street florida keys hotels with its traffic light
Wining/dining: Ask for the Walk Dundee card at a participating merchant, or download it from the city s travel website (see below); a map of the Dundee Hills is there, too. Food and wine are easy to find; most everything is strung florida keys hotels out along Oregon 99W from Red Hills Provincial Dining on Third Street to the Inn at Red Hills on 14th.