If your ideal wine country weekend is equal parts wine and country, hop off the highway and amble over to Carlton and Yamhill. Separated by three miles of road and boasting a combined population of 2,370, these two towns full of old granaries and vintage storefronts have retained their sleepy feel even though they've recently become important wine centers.

As elsewhere in the region, pinot noir is king here. You can taste fine examples of that varietal, and others, at Penner-Ash, at Yamhill's WillaKenzie Estate, and at the Carlton Winemakers Studio, where 10 independent vintners share equipment and create their own wines. For a selection from 60 Willamette Valley producers, drop by the old bank building in Carlton that now houses the Tasting Room. Proprietor Jay McDonald offers his own EIEIO wines—no barnyard aftertaste, guaranteed.

Try pairing the local vintages with French specialties such as coquilles St. Jacques at Cuvée, a cozy Carlton restaurant, or with gourmet dishes at meals served on a regular schedule at the Winemakers Studio and at Cuneo Cellars, also in Carlton. For less exalted but still tasty fare, head to Penguin's in Carlton for a sandwich and a slice of "orchard pie"—an addictive combination of strawberries, raspberries, rhubarb, apples, and blackberries—or to Zippy's Pizza in Yamhill.

If you need a break from the pleasures of vine and table, you may enjoy perusing the lavender soaps and crisp linens at Lulu, a country-chic French import shop in Carlton. Or in Yamhill you can hunt for treasures—from old cat's-eye marbles to a carved oak hunting cabinet—at RD Steeves, an emporium in a cavernous 1940s granary filled to the rafters with tangible reminders of a gentler, though not necessarily slower, time.