Oregon wineries offer edifying programs
by Kerry Newberry
“Wine country weekends delight with scenic country roads, hillside tasting rooms and stunning vineyard views. And now there’s even more reason for wine enthusiasts to head to the Willamette Valley, thanks to an exciting array of educational programs that range from year-round vineyard walks and in-depth cellar tours to formal seminars that cover topics such as the importance of oxygen in winemaking, to chef-led sessions on food and wine pairings.
Dundee’s Argyle Winery, one of the state’s leading sparkling wine houses, offers an interactive Masters of Sparkling Class. ‘The sparkling wine process is truly complex, and is much easier to comprehend once it’s seen,’ says winemaker Nate Klostermann. The class takes guests behind the scenes for a rare experience that includes a hand-disgorging demonstration (removing the cork and sediment and inserting new cork).
The class also includes a tour of the Tirage Library—a climate-controlled room that has more than 250,000 bottles of sparkling wine. The library is organized chronologically for guests to see coveted bottles that date from Argyle’s first vintage in 1987 to the present. After the tour, guests can enjoy a flight of sparkling wines.”