I just returned from setting up the seventh of seven locations for our new Wine Adventures: Oregon's Willamette Valley. If you are reading this blog, you are probably at least somewhat aware of Oregon's growing prominence in the wine world. Oregon is the fourth largest wine-producing state in the US and has the third most wineries behind California and Washington.However, those statistics don't mean much to an adventure wine traveler. I was blown away by Oregon's potential for adventure wine travel and would place it right up there with the world's best wine destinations.
At first, I was somewhat dismayed by Oregon's wine country. There are a few areas with clusters of vineyards and wineries but, for the most part, the Willamette Valley clings to its farming roots and vineyards are separated by large tracks of vegetables, berries, and other crops. This makes sense agriculturally, since wine is just coming into its own as a major cash crop, but I must admit it looked more like "Zephyr Farm Adventures" than Zephyr Wine Adventures for awhile there.
In addition, while the locals are starting to focus on wine tourism, it is just beginning. Plus, they have not gone past the traditional bus and van tours - get picked up at your hotel, drive to a few wineries for tours and tastings, and return home. This just doesn't cut if for travelers who want to be active on vacation in addition to drinking great wine and eating good food.
My employee Reno and I spent a week in the wine country, checking out many wineries and talking to dozens of locals in the wine and tourism industries. In the end, the lack of a sophisticated wine tourism industry in Oregon is what makes it such a great place to travel.
For example, we set up a canoe trip on the Willamette River where our tour participants will be able to stop at the Willamette Farms Winery, take a walk around the vineyard grounds, have a picnic with the vineyard's wines, and get back in the canoe to finish the day. We had to call three canoe outfitters before we found one who saw the potential in this idea.
As another example, we found three wineries in the southern Willamette Valley that are situated contiguously on three faces of a beautiful hillside. After explaining who we were, I would ask a series of questions. "What's over there on the other side of the hill?" "Would it be possible to walk from here to your neighbor winery?" "Has anyone done that?" "Well, would you mind if we did it right now?"
We spent a fantastic day walking through vineyards on foot paths and farming roads, looking out over the valley and knowing no one ever did this. Yet, it was such a better way to see Oregon's wine country than from the inside of a van!
In the end, we loved Oregon's Willamette Valley so much we decided to feature it as our very first tour, a Press Tour this September to kick off the marketing of our new Wine Adventures. You'll be able to experience it as well, during the summer of 2008 at our inaugural Oregon Wine Adventure.
