File this one under the heading, “Where did THOSE twenty years go?”
It was back in 1991 that a group of wineries in Oregon’s Willamette Valley banded together to host their first Memorial weekend “open house.”
Virtually all of the valley’s wine estates opened their doors to visitors, including several that didn’t have tasting rooms and normally didn’t welcome guests. We can remember tasting wine in such exotic settings as garages and make-shift wooden tables in backyards of homes.
There are a whole lot more wineries in the valley today, and over this coming weekend, more than 150 of them will be open for tasting and, assuming there’s actually something to see, touring.
Some will siphon samples of vintages-in-waiting from barrels, some will pair their wines with food from local purveyors, and some will offer live music. Most of the wineries will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day – Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
For an A-to-Z (Adea Wine Company to Z’ivo Wines) listing of participating wineries, go to: http://www.willamettewines.com/memorialday.shtml
