Pinot Paddle 

The Willamette Valley, Oregon's largest wine region, brings the perfect balance of temperature, humidity, soil and river recreation to yield Willamette Riverkeeper's first inaugural Pinot Paddle! Experience a weekend of world-class wines and a celebrated National Water Trail.

While Pinot Noir is the Valley’s leading varietal, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc and some 75 other varietals are also worthy of attention. In wine, location is the key ingredient, which is also true when it comes to selecting your paddling route and camping spot. We’ve combined the best both worlds with a weekend itinerary completely unique to our own Willamette Valley AVA: 

• Scenic paddling
• Wine tasting from 4 artisanal winemakers featuring pleasing PINOTS
• Spacious camping along a quiet back channel
• Delicious catered meals
• Live music
• Riverside talks
  
  *A limited number of Willamette Riverkeeper canoes are available for reservation for no additional charge.

WHAT: Pinot Paddle
WHEN: June 15^th - 16^th
WHERE: Salem to St. Paul, 27 miles over two days
COST: $349 per guest (includes all tasting fees, dinner wines, 3 catered meals, lunch sack, shuttle transport)

DETAILS: Meet and park in Salem's Wallace Marine Park at 9:00am. Willamette Riverkeeper will transport your camping gear to our campsite, so there will be no need to load it into your boat. You will only need whatever items you want with on the water for that day, the rest of your gear can travel on our truck. We'll paddle 12 miles to our campsite on Grand Island, an Oregon State Parks Greenway property located behind Wheatland Bar.

After you set up your tent, you'll enjoy appetizers and eventually dinner, provided by Dave Dalton's Northwest Catering, while you taste a variety of Willamette Valley grown pinots including PINOT NOIR, PINOT GRIS, PINOT BLANC, PINOT ROSE and other notable selections from our four featured wineries. You'll learn more about this tempermental grape, as well as the Willamette River and our stewardship work, while jazz  guitarist Jeff Putterman strums in the background. Jeff is a unique guitarist and composer who has performed as a soloist, sideman and ensemble leader in clubs and concert halls from coast to coast and abroad.

After a hot breakfast and yoga session on Sunday morning, we'll pack up and head downstream, paddling 14 miles to our take out at San Salvador Park, arriving around 2:30pm.  Here we'll load you and your boat onto our shuttle buses, and transport you back to your vehicle at Wallace Marine Park in Salem, where you will arrive around 4:00pm. 

BRING: Pack a lunch and water bottle for Saturday afternoon (the rest of your meals will be catered), your own paddle craft, tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad.

ABOUT THE WINES

Arcane Cellars at Wheatland Winery, located on the banks of the Willamette River in Salem, offers a wide selection of the red and white varieties, including more than eight single vineyard lots of red wines and a number of single vineyard white productions. They take great pride in hand picking and crafting limited offerings. The Wheatland Estate vineyard grows nine varietals on their 30 acre Yamhill County site bordering the Willamette River.  

• Tasting: Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir Rose, and Pinot Noir Pommard Reserve

Cramoisi Vineyard, located in Dundee, named their vineyard using the French word for crimson, derived from the delightful crimson clover that blankets the vineyard every spring. Vibrant, elegant, earthy; Cramoisi reflects the color, beauty and complexity of wines born from red volcanic soils. Estate grown with respect for the land, the grape and hardworking vineyard stewards, every bottle honors and delivers the winemaker’s passion, from soil to glass. 

• Tasting: 2018 Cramoisi Rosé Dundee Hills and 2017 Sofia's Block Dundee Hills

Yamhill Valley Vineyards is the oldest winery in the McMinnville AVA.  They grow, produce and bottle all of our own grapes at their vineyard.  Yamhill Valley Vineyards is located on a 150 acre estate in the rolling foothills of Oregon's Coast Range Mountains, one hour southwest of Portland in the Willamette Valley. The heart of their wine making is dedicated to Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay and Riesling. 

• Tasting: 2017 Pinot Gris, 2018 Rosé of Pinot Noir and 2015 Pinot Noir Estate

Winderlea Vineyard and Winery, located in Dundee, crafts elegant, sensuous and age worthy wines for those who view the pairing of wine and food as essential to their well-being. Their focus is on making small lots of Pinot noir and Chardonnay that show the best characteristics of each vineyard. Hand crafted with minimal intervention and the modest use of new French oak barrels, their food friendly wines are classic in style.

•  Tasting: 2017 Pinot Blanc and 2015 Dundee Hills Vineyards Pinot Noir

(NOTE: You may only register one paddler at a time.) 

Register Now! 

CANCELATION POLICY:

Refunds less $100 can be processed through May 14th.
From May 15th onwards, there will be no refunds.