Friday Wine Pairing Dinner at Willamette Valley Vineyards

We realize most attendees will have to travel to Portland to attend the Wine Tourism Conference. Because of this, we have been working hard to include extra events:

• Pre-conference excursion to the southern Willamette Valley
• Pre-conference workshops focused on tasting room marketing and social media
• Wednesday evening Opening Night Regional Wine Reception
• Saturday Great American Wine Festival (details coming soon)

Now, we are proud to announce we have teamed with Willamette Valley Vineyards to offer an “Oregon Destination Experience” wine pairing dinner on Friday evening. Willamette Valley Vineyards produces high-quality, sustainably grown Pinot Noir and other cool-climate varieties – earning distinction as “One of America’s Great Pinot Noir Producers” by Wine Enthusiast Magazine.  Their mission is to create elegant, classic Oregon wines from the Willamette Valley Appellation while serving as stewards of the land.

The conference officially ends at 5:00 PM and you’ll have an hour on your own before our departure at 6:00 PM. At WVV we’ll meet Founder Jim Bernau and Winemaker Don Crank for a special winemaker dinner at their Estate Vineyard and Winery.

The winery’s Executive Chef, Eric Nelson, will prepare a fresh Northwest-inspired menu that will pair beautifully with their classic Oregon Pinot Noir. The winery will have just completed construction of its barrel cellars, tasting room, kitchen and hospitality suites. Jim and Don will also personally lead you through a tour of the new facilities while experiencing a bit of barrel tasting along the way. We’ll be back to the DoubleTree hotel by 10:30 PM.

We at Zephyr Adventures, organizer of the Wine Tourism Conference, work with Willamette Valley Vineyards as part of our active Oregon wine tours. We think you’ll love them. The cost of the optional Friday evening dinner is only $25, including transportation. This excursion is only available to registered conference attendees. You can register for the excursion on the conference registration form.