Pacific Northwest Wine Festivals
Enjoy a Glass of the Area's Bounty at These Annual Events
The Pacific Northwest produces some of the world's best wines each year. And each year, these events bring people together to celebrate these wines and their makers.
When Pacific Northwest winemakers make their wine, they like to share it. Part of enjoying the wine is enjoying the company, enjoying its combinations with food and enjoying the whole experience. These wine festivals in Washington and Oregon celebrate wine for everyone — whether they be winemakers, wine lovers or new to wine.
Newport Seafood and Wine Festival, Newport, OR
This festival claims to be the original event to combine seafood and wine — and they've been drawing in huge crowds every year since 1978. With scores of winemakers and vendors, and a judged contest to determine best commercial wine and best amateur wine, this event keeps things very interesting and never runs out of fun to offer to festivalgoers.
On-site vendors offer arts and crafts items, information booths and food and wine. There's also a free shuttle that takes guests to local hotels, downtown Newport and the festival, in case they've had too much to drive themselves. In 2008, the event is scheduled for Feb. 22-24, with tickets costing $8 for Friday, $13 for Saturday or $5 for Sunday. This year, the venue has changed to a bigger one with more space. The venue is located in the parking lot of the South Beach Marina Parking Lot, just south of downtown Newport. Visit the Web site for more information.
Portland Indie Wine Festival, Portland, OR
Everything's independent at this festival, where all the participating winemakers produce less than 2,000 cases per year. It's a unique opportunity for visitors to discover new wines they've never heard of, or taste different varieties of creative wines.
This event will be held on May 3-4, 2008 in Portland's Pearl District Neighborhood. Urban Wine Works has been the host of this event for that past three years, and in its fourth year it's expanding to also take over the next-door Chown Garage.
This fun, lively, community-oriented festival celebrates all things Indie, even showing an independent local film at the Mission Theater and Pub on Saturday night. Judges will pick the best wines of the festival, and seminars on winemaking will be offered throughout the weekend. Tickets cost $60 for one day and $100 for both and include ample tastings and experiences. Visit the Web site for more information.
Taste Washington!, Seattle and Spokane, WA
"The Ultimate Wine Experience" celebrates Washington wines from all over the state on three separate days in two separate cities.
On Apr. 5-6, 2008, the festival will take over Seattle's Bell Harbor International Conference Center (Apr. 5) and Qwest Field Event Center (Apr.6) to offer a grand tour of the best vineyards in Washington and a grand tasting. There will be a coffee and dessert bar and jazz musicians throughout the event, restaurants serving their best wines and food and seminars on Washington wine. VIP tickets are available for $125 and general admission tickets are $85. Visit the Taste Washington! Seattle Web site for more information or to buy tickets.
When the event moves to Spokane on June 8, 2008, more than 100 Washington wineries and 30 area restaurants will team up to pair wines with the best culinary creations they can come up with. There will be a grand tasting in Spokane as well, along with a fundraising silent auction, and it will all be held at the stately, historic Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane. Tickets for the Spokane event will be available for $85. Visit the Taste Washington! Spokane Web site for more information or to buy tickets.
