Headline News
Oregon Wine Adventure Means You Drink Wine, Eat Heartily and Work Off Calories
Zephyr Adventures, a worldwide adventure travel company based in Montana, is offering a new trip that highlights Oregon's boutique vineyards and outdoor recreational opportunities.
The first-ever Oregon Multi-Sport Wine Adventure will consist of five days of activities, education and wine tasting from August 10–14, 2008. A maximum of 20 participants will hike, bike and paddle canoes on, through and near Oregon's vineyards. Oregon's wine country is spread over thousands of acres and dominated by small, family-run wineries recognized for the local Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Riesling wines. The tour visits wine regions ranging from Eugene to the northern Willamette Valley to the Hood River appellation.
The five-day tour gets people out of their cars, away from tasting rooms and into the vineyards themselves. For example, participants taste wines at Bethel Heights Vineyard in the Eola Hills area before taking a two-mile hike with owner Pat Dudley over the hill to Cristom Vineyards. On another day, participants will canoe on the Willamette River with a lunch stop at VX Vineyards.
Wineries, wine-related businesses and tourism associations in Oregon have rallied behind this new effort to promote active wine tourism in the Oregon wine country. More than a dozen organizations have signed up to sponsor the Oregon Wine Adventure.
"This is a brand new concept in Oregon and, as far as we can tell, in the wine industry worldwide," explains Jeannine Heidenreich of the Convention & Visitors Association of Lane County, one of the original supporters of the concept. "Our goal is to get more people to visit Oregon and Lane County and the Wine Adventure is a perfect pairing between Oregon's recreation wonderland and rich wine culture."
The Oregon Multisport Wine Adventure is rated for all abilities. The hiking is gentle, the biking is gradually downhill and no experience is required on any of the activities. Guides will provide more difficult challenges for those who wish them but, otherwise, this tour is designed to be a fun, active, but not challenging trip. The tour costs $1,900 per person and includes meals, lodging, local transportation, activities, wine tastings and professional guides.
Wineries included in the tour: Iris Vineyards, King Estate, Bethel Heights, Cristom Vineyards, St. Innocent Winery, Willamette Valley Vineyards, Sokol Blosser Winery, VX Vineyards, Carlton Winemakers Studio, Wy'East Vineyards, and Cathedral Ridge Winery.
For more information on the Oregon Wine Adventure, visit www.OregonWineAdventure.com.