October 7, 2003
Take Me on A Pacific Northwest Tour!
Touring the wine country is a lot of fun. The scenery is beautiful, the atmosphere is relaxing and the wines whet your palate.
"It would be fun to go touring, but we just don't like to drink and drive."
Ah, ha! That is where a tour company comes in handy. Winery tour companies can plan tours for individuals as well as large groups. They know the winery staff, the directions and the ins and outs of the wineries in their respective areas.
Avalon Wine has recently begun working with two northwest tour companies. Adventures In Wine in Oregon and Washington Wine Tours in Washington.
Let's take a look!
Adventures In Wine
PO Box 30806
Portland, OR 97294
http://www.adventuresinwine.us
(503)256-5673
Ownership: Kathy Reese (I think I have met her once or twice)
Adventures In Wine opened in July of 1994, under the name Northwest Wine Tours. After the first year of operation, my former business partner and I decided that the name no longer fit the business. Hence the birth of Adventures In Wine.
The company began quite by accident. We were both involved in the insurance business and in the throws of putting together a convention. Both loving wine, we decided that a winery tour would be a great pre-convention activity. We intended to break even, but we made profit! Hmm, there's a business idea in there somewhere.
Time went by and we didn't mention it again until she called me to inform me that her job was being phased out and in two months, she would be unemployed. Again we said "there is a business in this." But nothing was done….until I was laid off two months later.
We began meeting with local hotels and event planners to let them know what the company could provide to their guests. We attended and participated in trade shows. We hit every winery we could to promote the company and drop off brochures. It didn't take long before groups began booking tours.
The name change came about when we branched out. Instead of focusing exclusively on tours, we branched out with In-home Winemaker Tastings and tastings at the Silver Cloud Hotel in Northwest Portland. Adventures In Wine was born. Not only did the name allow us to branch out - it also put us at the top of the alphabetical listings.
In 1996, my business partner returned to the insurance business full time. I continued to book tours around Oregon as well as two tours out of San Francisco. One tour took us to Concannon, Mirassou and Wente in the Livermore area south of the Bay Area. The other, a few days later, found us in Sonoma County visiting Buena Vista, Kunde and Viansa.
In May of 2000, I had the opportunity to provide a three day tour for the International Wine and Food Society. We toured Willakenzie Estate, Domaine Drouhin (before the opened to the public), Archery Summit, Bethel Heights, Witness Tree, Cristom and Argyle. We also had dinner on the first night at Red Hills Provincial Dinning in Dundee. Harry Peterson-Nedry, owner/winemaker at Chehalem Winery in Newberg, presented his wines with dinner. The next night, we dined at Tina's in Dundee where David and Tina Bergin pulled out all of the stops. David paired Oregon wines with the meal he prepared. You can read about this event here.
More expansion occurred in 1999 when Adventures In Wine began to sell Riedel crystal. I had met the Regional Sales Representative from Riedel at a wine conference. She told me all about Riedel sales and that's all it took. A few weeks later, 72 Riedel Tasting Glasses arrived via UPS.
Through our Riedel sales, we have had the opportunity to put on Riedel Glass Tastings (which we will be doing in a few months - stay tuned to Avalonwine.com for details!) These tastings are a lot of fun! You get to taste fabulous wines in four different Riedel glasses. This show you that the shape really does make a difference. The best part is that you get to take the four glasses home with you!
At a recent Washington Wine Tours Event, attendees got to pick grapes, enjoy an al fresco picnic, and then crush the grapes, including a hilarious "I Love Lucy Style" stomp in the fermenter!
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Washington Wine Tours
P.O. Box 12676
Seattle, WA 98111
http://washingtonwinetours.com
877-689-TOUR
Ownership: Laura LoPresti
Based in Seattle, Washington, Washington Wine Tours is owned by Laura LoPresti. While working at Ray's Boathouse in Ballard, Washington, Laura discovered that there is more to life that Bartles and Jaymes and Franzia 5 Liter boxes. At Ray's, she was exposed to some of the best wines in the country, if not the world.
Laura decided to set off to discover Washington wineries. She is still working on her goal of visiting every winery in the state.
She found it amazing that there were very few touring options in the state of Washington. With a world-class reputation, how on earth could people visit the wineries? Ah, ha! Well, with Washington Wine Tours, of course!
To further her wine education, Laura went to work for the Washington Wine Commission as a Marketing Assistant and Event Planner. An excellent move to put her name in front of the wineries that she needed to build her business.
In April of 2000, Washington Wine Tours was born. The company specializes in providing unique, custom guided tours to the outstanding vineyards & wineries of Washington State.
Now in its third season, Washington Wine Tours is still growing and puts a focus on learning how to best bring wine lovers to their favorite wineries or to new ones they have yet to visit.
So there you have it. Two great (okay I am a bit biased) wine tour companies that are looking forward to showing you a great time in wine country. Give us a call and we will be more than happy to set up a great day to remember!
Now get out there and tour, tour, tour!
About Kathy Reese
Kathy Reese began her wine experience
in the early 1980s touring Oregon's wine country “just for fun”.
As her knowledge and love of wine grew, she found herself seeking a career
in the wine industry.
In 1994, she began working part time at Autumn Wind Vineyards (now Patricia
Green Cellars) in Newberg, Ore. She started in the tasting room
and worked up to marketing the Autumn Wind line to local retailers. Kathy
was with winery until 2001. You will still find her in the tasting room on
Memorial Day and Thanksgiving Weekends.
1994 also saw the launch of her own wine tour company, at that time named
Northwest Wine Tours. A year later, when the business expanded, the name
was changed to Adventures
In Wine. The
company conducts wine tours in Oregon and California. Adventures In Wine
also produces winemaker dinners, wine events as well as Riedel Glass Tastings.
They also carry the entire line of Riedel stemware and accessories.
Kathy’s wine experience also includes stints as Wine Steward at both
Lamb’s Marketplace in Troutdale and Fred Meyer Raleigh Hills.