Oregon Wine Country in All Seasons

Cellar Season

December - February

Winter is surprisingly one of the best times to visit the wineries. While tasting hours are more limited, the winemakers and vineyard owners are more often the ones to pour your tastes as the winery pace slows down. The intimacy of Cellar Season is part of the allure. Cozy up to a roaring fire while sipping Pinot Noir, enjoy an impromptu tour (if it is offered) as you learn about the fermentation process and select your favorite bottles for your personal wine collection. You'll probably meet up with more serious wine aficionados during the slow period because they know that's when they can get one-on-one time with the winemakers. Cellar Season is a great time to learn about wine and get the inside scoop on what's fermenting and how different vintages are shaping up. It might be damp and mucky outside, but inside, warmed by wine and great conversation it is cozy and comfortable. Call ahead to confirm hours before heading out.

Spring Tasting

March - May

Touring the countryside in spring offers delights beyond the light green flush across the vineyards. Daffodils and wildflowers are blooming along the roadsides and farm stands and markets are cropping up. Follow the South Willamette Valley Food Trail and discover lush green pastures with white fences and classic red barns. This is a great time to take a country drive with the children to see lambs, calves, ducklings and chicks. Combine wine tasting with small-town museums and community mural tours. You'll see more cyclists on the roads now, so drive carefully, and roll down the windows for the fresh spring air. It is still a good idea to call ahead to confirm tasting room hours.

Summer Concert Season

June - August

Oregon Wine Country's summer season is a bustling, festive time of year. Wineries expand their tasting room days and hours, adding special evening events. Enjoy live music as you picnic on grassy lawns with kids tumbling about. Or cuddle up with your sweetheart for an outdoor movie. Food trucks roll up to the tasting rooms, pizza ovens are fired up and everyone is in a good mood as they soak up summer. There are many themed events at the wineries and the weekend buzz gives the winery tasting rooms an urban happy hour feel but with stunning valley views. Cyclists and runners plan rides and races from winery to winery. Combine wine tasting with touring historic covered bridges or visiting the many harvest farm stands and markets that flourish as summer days transition into fall.

Harvest & Autumn Season

September - November

Visit the wineries in early autumn while the sun still warms the grape rows and the grape leaves are just starting to turn. Workers are out in the vineyards picking before the rains and frosts sweep in. Grapes are sorted, crushed and shoveled into fermentation tanks. As barrels are rolled into the cellars, fewer tasting room visitors cluster around the counters. Fall is the ideal time to visit to see a lot of action taking place and if you are lucky you can catch the winemaker taking a break. New wines are tried and there is a feel of experimentation in the air. The wineries are charmingly cozy and inviting as the season passes into post-harvest and wetter days. They dress up for the holidays with twinkle lights and wreaths. Choose the wines to grace your holiday table — something very special from Oregon!