On March 4, the Oregon Wine Trail San Francisco took over Terra Gallery for a day of Oregon wine tasting and learning. Read more about the Oregon Wine Trail events.
The schedule for the day was:
- 12:30 – 2:00 pm | Trade Master Class
- 1:30 – 4:30 pm | Trade/Media walk-around tasting
- 6:00 – 8:30 pm | Consumer walk-around tasting
Trade Master Class: 3 Masters, 2 Varieties, 1 State
At a glance:
- 107 attendees
- 80% of attendees were restaurant or retail buyers/managers/sommeliers
- 15 wines represented Pinot noir and/or Chardonnay from 11 AVAs including Chehalem Mountains, Columbia Gorge, Dundee Hills, Eola-Amity Hills, McMinnville, Oregon, Ribbon Ridge, Rogue Valley, Van Duzer Corridor, Willamette Valley and Yamhill-Carlton
Evan Goldstein MS moderated a panel of Pacific Northwest-based Masters, Bree Stock MW and Chris Tanghe MS for a multi-faceted discussion of Oregon’s AVAs. Eleven of Oregon’s AVAs were represented through the lens of Pinot noir and the emerging Chardonnay movement that has captured the attention of critics around the country.
3 Masters, 2 Varieties, 1 State was attended by 107 members of the trade, 80% of which were restaurant or retailer buyers from prominent accounts such as The French Laundry, Gary Danko and Total Wine.
In a follow-up survey, 87.5% of attendees indicated they would recommend the Oregon Wine Master Class to a colleague (12.5% were neutral, there were no detractors) and 100% indicated overall satisfaction with the course. Select survey verbatims include:
The knowledge of the Masters was terrific and the wine selections were very thoughtful.
The Master class was fantastic. I could sit through the same class again and would learn more. Packed with good information.
Trade Walk-Around Tasting
At a glance:
- 267 trade
- Breakdown by job category: 32% on-premise, 24% off-premise, 15% press, 13% wholesaler, 10% educators, 6% other
- 69.3% of attendees said they are more likely to add Oregon wine to their business’ wine selection after attending Oregon Wine Trail
For the trade and consumer walk-around tastings, the OWB hit the trail with 52 Oregon wineries and our friends at Olympia Provisions, Somm Cordials, the Oregon Cheese Guild and more for a grand happening of Oregonian wine, food and personality. No white table cloths. No orange cheese cubes. Instead, a generous pour of Oregon’s fine wine and pioneering spirit.
To ensure a diverse representation of varieties and regions, the OWB allocated winery registration slots equal to the tonnage production of the following regions: Willamette Valley (including Portland), Southern Oregon and Columbia Gorge. When regional allocations are not met, as in San Francisco, any unfilled spaces are released on a first-come first-served basis. In San Francisco, Oregon was represented by 41 Willamette Valley producers, 9 Southern Oregon producers and 2 Columbia Gorge producers.
The tasting received a strong turn-out of 267 members of the trade, with the majority being employees of restaurants, retailers and press.
Of the attendees that took the follow-up survey, 69.6% said they would recommend the Oregon Wine Trail walk-around tasting to a colleague (23.2% were neutral, there were 4 detractors, 7%). What’s more, 69.3% of attendees said they are more likely to add Oregon wine to their business’ wine selection after attending Oregon Wine Trail. Select survey quotes include:
First of all, wines were excellent! It was so helpful to learn about the styles and varietals from Oregon. Secondly, the winemakers and winery reps were so friendly and helpful. I can’t wait to go up later this year for a visit!
Great assortment of wines. LOVED the tasting guide has so much great info. The winery teams were super NICE and informative.
Thanks for being so nice, everyone!
Consumer Walk-Around Tasting
268 consumers from the San Francisco area joined us to close out the Oregon Wine Trail program. Of those, 30 completed a post-event survey.
At a glance:
- 83% reported they would recommend an Oregon Wine Trail event to a friend
- 83% of survey respondents indicated their “knowledge of Oregon wine” had increased as a result of attendance
- 86% indicated they are “more likely” to purchase Oregon wine as a result of attendance
- 83% said they are more likely to visit an Oregon wine region
All ticket purchasers were added to the OWB’s consumer database and will continue to receive messaging about Oregon’s industry, tourism opportunities and OWB programming.
Some survey quotes include:
It was well laid out and easy to follow the booklet. You had a lot of the wineries we like and some ones that we had never tried. Loved the wine makers/owners being there and how excited they were about their wines.
Very well run event with great producers!
Thank you to all our Oregonian partners
The following producers and artisans helped us bring Oregon’s culinary bounty to life in San Francisco.
- Olympia Provisions
- Som Cordials
- Oregon Cheese Guild
- Positively Goundfish
- Northwest Hazelnut Company
- Mama Lil’s
What’s next for Oregon Wine Trail?
Oregon Wine Trail will take on Seattle in October 2020, this was rescheduled from the original May 11 date due to COVID-19. As always, news will break in the Grapevine so stay tuned for more information. If you are not receiving the Grapevine newsletter and want to be notified about events like Oregon Wine Trail as well as all other OWB opportunities, please sign up here.
