Maps - Oregon Wine Regions - S. Willamette Valley
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Geological Wine Tour celebrates the Pinot Noir
& Riesling of Oregon’s North Willamette Valley

All-Day Tour – Sunday, October 12, 2014, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm

Sponsored by Banner Bank

Tour Map and Itinerary

How do Oregon's Willamette Valley Pinot Noir and Riesling planted over ancient marine sediments compare with those grown over basalts laid down millions of years ago by some of the most highly effusive eruptions in the world?  How did the Great Missoula Floods at the end of the last ice age alter the landscape that is now home to some of the finest vineyards in the world?  The luscious core of sweet, textural fruit, natural acid balance and power of select North Willamette Valley wines is a testament to the affinity Pinot Noir and Riesling grapes have for the region and its dramatic geological history.

You are sure to expand your palate and your understanding of the relationship between the geology and the world-renowned wines of this area when you join this full-day, harvest-time tour in Oregon's North Willamette Valley.  Susan O'Hara, founder of WinesNorthwest, Professor Scott Burns, PSU Geology Department and Oregon terroir expert, and Rick Thompson, author  of Giga Flood: The Lake Missoula Flood in NW Oregon & SW Washington and expert on local Missoula Floods evidence, will be your guides.  Three Pinot Noir and Riesling producers are set to welcome you to their wineries and vineyards:  Ken Wright Cellars, Elk Cove Vineyards, and Trisaetum Winery.  Each stop features a special vineyard tour or talk and guided, comparative wine tastings with winery principles.  (All tasting fees included in your wine-tour fee.)

INCLUDED WITH YOUR TOUR

  • Full-day interpretive, guided tour during harvest season in the Ribbon Ridge and Yamhill-Carlton sub appellations of Oregon's North Willamette Valley wine country;

  • Air-conditioned, biodiesel-powered tour bus supplied by locally owned Blue Star Transportation;

  • Touring with geology and terroir experts throughout the North Willamette Valley;

  • Pinot Noir vineyard tour and terroir report at Elk Cove's Roosevelt Vineyard;

  • Meet and talk with winemaking and viticulture staff of three award-winning Willamette Valley wineries;

  • Guided comparative wine tasting with winery principles;

  • Learn how to taste for parent rock material;

  • All tasting fees included in your wine tour fee;

  • Lunch with a view; boxed picnic lunches at Elk Cove Vineyards;

  • "Rock Matters" bag of relevant information & wine-country maps;

  • Cool storage area provided on tour bus for your purchased wines;

  • Free Pre-Tour Missoula Floods lecture night before tour.

Date & Time:  Sunday, October 12, 2014;  9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Location:  Tour bus departs from The Grand Hotel at Bridgeport, 7265 SW Hazel Fern Road, Tigard, Oregon, 9:00 a.m. sharp.  (See tour map and itinerary.)

Transportation:  Sustainably powered, air conditioned, 28-passenger tour bus.  Service provided by Blue Star Transportation, a locally owned and operated business with more than 30 years of experience.

Cost:

Early registration for one (on or before September 21) = $250.00
Early registration for additional participants - $225.00 each
Full registration for one (after September 21) = $275.00
Wine Industry Trade discounts may apply.  Call 360-254-3021
for details.

Participants limited to 24: 
Register early to avoid disappointment.


 

Tour Map and Itinerary        Make a Weekend of It

 


Free Pre-Tour Missoula Floods Lecture

Between 15,000 and 18,000 years ago, a series of cataclysmic floods, known as the Missoula Floods, crashed through the Pacific Northwest, reaching heights of up to 400 feet where Portland lies today, and carved out the landscape of the Columbia Gorge and Willamette Valley.

WinesNorthwest and our lodging partner The Grand Hotel at Bridgeport present a pre-tour lecture by author and floods expert Rick Thompson on Saturday, October 11, 7:00 p.m.  "In the Wake of the  Missoula Floods... today's evidence of cataclysmic events in Northwest Oregon"  will be illustrated by a Power Point presentation to accompany Thompson's remarks.  The program will close with a question and answer period.  Free lecture is open to the public.

Date & Time:  Saturday, October 11, 2014, 7:00 p.m.

Location:  The Grand Hotel at Bridgeport
                 7265 SW Hazel Fern Road
                 Tigard, OR  97224
                 866-968-5757 or 503-968-5757
 


Make a Weekend of it

If you would like to create a special weekend getaway around your wine tour, you can take advantage of special Geological Wine Tour rates offered by our lodging partner The Grand Hotel at Bridgeport.  Just call and mention you want to reserve a room in the group block set aside for the "Wines Northwest Tours"  group and you will be given special lodging discounts for reservations that fall on any dates between October 10th and October 13th.  
Call: 866-968-5757 or 503-968-5757
 

 

Oregon Wines Fly Free


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Last revised: 04/05/2020