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Oregon’s indie state of mind


By Ken Kochey, courtesy WCVA

‘Gateway to Wine Country’
Agriculture and wine are the prized products of Washington County, an area just west of Portland.

“Washington County is the gateway to Oregon wine country,” said Sylke Neal-Finnegan, director of marketing and communications for the Washington County Visitors Association. “For groups, visiting wineries and learning a little more about how wine is made is a really popular activity here.”

There are more than 30 wineries in Washington County, including Ponzi Vineyards, which operates an innovative gravity-flow winemaking system. Groups can visit the site to learn about this unusual wine technique and then have tastings and meals at the winery.

Wine isn’t the only produce to come from the area, though. Neal-Finnegan said tours of farms throughout the region are becoming increasingly popular with groups.

“Agriculture is a huge component of tourism for us,” she said. “We have dozens and dozens of you-pick farms, which are great activities for groups. We also have places where you can see potatoes being packaged or apples on a processing line getting ready to go to stores. And in the summer, there’s a farmers market almost every day throughout the county.”

Travel Oregon
800-547-7842
www.traveloregon.com

Brian Jewell

Brian Jewell is the executive editor of The Group Travel Leader. In more than a decade of travel journalism he has visited 48 states and 25 foreign countries.