Cheers to Oregon Wine Month

Do you prefer your wine tasting with food pairings, live music and supporting great causes? Oregon offers that all year-round but really steps it up during Oregon Wine Month in May, which culminates in Memorial Day weekend, a fun weekend to be in wine country.

Oregon’s winegrowing regions are full of accolades including the 2026 announcement that the Willamette Valley’s Flâneur Wines took home top honors in the Judgement of Paris 1976 Redo wine competition for its 2021 Bon Vivant Chardonnay in a face-off against five French wines. Add to that Willamette Valley’s landing in the No. 1 spot among the World’s Top 10 Wine Destinations for 2025, by VinePair. The ranking cites Oregon’s longstanding calling card of world-class pinot noirs, now with additional layers of excellence — “booming with diverse projects that celebrate a wide range of grapes, from chardonnay and gamay to syrah and chenin blanc,” as well as being a premier destination for stellar biodynamic and sparkling wines.

Wherever your wine adventures lead, know that Oregon wines fly free on Alaska Airlines, so you can take a bottle of Oregon wine country home with you.

Here are our top tips on how to uncork and join the party.

Attend Wine Events Across Oregon

If you’re looking to level up your wine-tasting experience, consider checking out any of the special events featuring Oregon wines in May and beyond.

One of the hottest tickets of the year is to the Oregon AAPI Food + Wine Fest, founded with the mission to celebrate the state’s diverse wine and culinary scene. Expect two days in McMinnville packed with delicious bites and flights from popular AAPI-owned restaurants and wineries. It’s been so popular, it’s expanded with a tour to New York City in March. 

Also in McMinnville, mingle with 40+ small-batch, independent producers at the Indie Wine Mixer in late May. Hosted at Ricochet Wine Co., this 2-day event celebrates wines born from grit and passion projects, led by upstart producers often working on a shoestring budget. Another springtime celebration not to miss is Pink! Rosé Festival in Hillsboro, where nearly 30 Tualatin Valley wineries serve tastings of their favorite summer sippers.

In Central Oregon, the month-long Sunriver Resort Food & Wine Festival is a gastronomic celebration through May that includes wine-paired dinners, blind tastings and cooking classes. 

If your travels go beyond Oregon Wine Month in May, plan ahead to attend Savor Southern Oregon in June, a two-day festival in the historic town of Jacksonville that brings together the largest gathering of Rogue Valley wineries along with expert-led workshops, guided tastings and access to rare and limited-edition bottles. For sparkling wine enthusiasts, don’t miss Method Oregon in July an annual event dedicated to the state’s traditional method sparkling wines with tastings, panel discussions and more.

See the Oregon Wine Board’s event calendar here.

Savor Food and Wine Pairings

From local cheese and charcuterie to seasonal pasta and tasting menus, there’s nothing quite like a bottle of Oregon wine paired with your favorite foods. You’ll find many places to enjoy unique wine-pairing experiences in Oregon. Most tasting rooms offer opportunities for noshing, but many Oregon restaurants and wine bars also offer exceptional wine selections. Top spots for wine-paired dinners in Portland include Arden Restaurant, OK Omens, L’Orange and Heavenly Creatures. 

In the North Willamette Valley — southeast of Portland — you can relish the newly renovated dining space and extensive wine lists at JORY at The Allison Inn & Spa and romantic meals at The Painted Lady Restaurant in Newberg. Or make reservations in McMinnville for exquisite pairings at Grounded Table or La Rambla.

In the Columbia River Gorge, Riverside offers sensational waterfront dining and a Gorge-focused wine list and Solstice Wood Fire Pizza serves up show-stopping pies alongside local wines. Alia restaurant at Hood River’s new Lightwell Hotel & Spa hosts a fantastic wine list, fun ambiance and Pacific Northwest-inspired Mediterranean fare. 

There’s no shortage of wine-centric restaurants in Southern Oregon, too. Try fresh pasta at Gogi’s Restaurant in Jacksonville and fine dining at Ashland’s popular Alchemy Restaurant and Bar.   

Do Good for the Community and Planet

During Oregon Wine Month and year-round you can feel good about your dollars making a difference. About 40% percent of Oregon’s vineyards are certified sustainable, and about 40% of the United States’ biodynamic vineyard acres are right here in Oregon, reflecting the state’s priority to care for the land.

Look for these sustainability indicators on the bottle of your favorite Oregon wine: LIVE Certified Sustainable, Salmon Safe, Demeter Certified Biodynamic, USDA Organic.

For instance, Soter Vineyards — a biodynamic vineyard in Carlton that is devoted to holistic farm management practices — donates $1 from each bottle of their Planet Oregon pinot noir to the Oregon Environmental Council to support the nonprofit’s work towards climate resilience. Oregon also has the most B Corp wineries in the world, a global certification that uses business as a force for good. 

Wine month is also a great opportunity to support Oregon’s diverse winemakers and leaders in the industry like Tiquette Bramlett, founder of Henderson Ave Wines as well as Our Legacy Harvested – an incubator that works to advance opportunities for BIPOC individuals in the wine industry. Some wineries even donate a portion of their sales or tasting room fees to ¡Salud!, a program that provides healthcare to vineyard workers and their families. 

Visit a New Wine Region

Oregon is home to 23 winemaking regions, each with terroir as diverse as the landscapes. If you’ve been to the North Willamette Valley (towns like Newberg or Dundee), why not try the Mid-Willamette Valley (Salem and Corvallis area) or South Willamette Valley (near Eugene)? Each beautiful region has their own unique character with friendly winemakers and gorgeous tasting rooms both in the city and in more rural areas. In the Rose City, exploring Portland’s urban wineries is a fun way to appreciate local makers’ commitment to community and sustainability.

Southern Oregon is home to another esteemed wine region and is perfect for wine-paired adventures. Check out the scenic Bear Creek Wine Trail (Central Point to Ashland), and the wineries and wildflower hikes around Grants Pass, Rogue Valley and Applegate Valley. Three cheers to the Rogue Valley for landing on USA Today’s 10 Best Wine Regions in 2024 and Ashland’s Winchester Inn for securing a spot on the list for 10 Best Wine Country Hotels. 

The Columbia River Gorge is home to stunning wineries and landscapes as well; both Analemma Wines in Mosier and riverfront Tierra de Lobos Winery in The Dalles are part of the East Gorge Food Trail and are stunning places to visit after a nearby hike or a U-pick fruit adventure. Travel just a bit further east to the Walla Walla Valley on the Oregon side to experience the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater and its growing region — an enclave of vineyards and tasting rooms that have sprung up in recent years to showcase the region’s unique rocky terroir that most closely resembles Châteauneuf-du-Pape in the Rhone Valley of France.