Events of Interest

There’s plenty of action down in the Valley with harvest and ferments bubbling away! Don’t miss these hot ticket events coming up over the next six months:

The Willamette Valley Winery Association has an excellent calendar of events for harvest time. Check out their listings here.

The Oregon Wine Symposium is a highlight of the year. Taking place in mid-February, this connects growers, winemakers, and wine sales people to one of the industry's top annual gathering. Sign up to their newsletter to keep up to date with announcements.

Grape Day is the Oregon Wine Research Institute's annual event taking place at OSU's Corvallis campus. Check in soon for registration and a list of speakers or visit the page now for presentations from past years. The next Grape Day is April 2, 2024.

Pinot Noir grapevines at Anne Amie’s estate vineyard. In the summer, the Willamette Valley receives little rain, so dry farmed vineyards will typically show dead grass between and around the vines.

Dry Farming in the News

Crack open a fresh can of depression with these headlines from around the country.

A Fracker in Pennsylvania Wants to Take 1.5 Million Gallons a Day From a Small, Biodiverse Creek. Should the State Approve a Permit? by Jake Bolster of Inside Climate News

Why waste water on drinking when you can use it to irrigate your own oil well? /s

The EPA removes federal protections for most of the country's wetlands by James Doubek of OPB

It's cool, folks, we'll just do better on Earth 2.0. /s

Artificial intelligence technology behind ChatGPT was built in Iowa — with a lot of water by Matt O'Brien and Hannah Fingerhut of the Associated Press

Learn about the devastating effects of the latest ubiquitous buzzword: AI.

America Is Draining Its Groundwater Like There’s No Tomorrow by Mira Rojanasakul, Christopher Flavelle, Blacki Migliozzi, and Eli Murray of the New York Times

Drill, baby, drill. /s

Organizations to Know: Culinary Breeding Network

Culinary Breeding Network

The CBN is an organization that aims to identify and promote veggies, grains, and fruits that work well when grown organically. They organize seed trials and marketing events to promote products and networking. It was founded by Lane Selman, a professor at OSU, and works closely with Dry Farming Institute, Uprising Seeds, and other local organic farms, chefs and small grocers.

The CBN recently hosted Tomato Fest, a festival in honor of one of the most delicious and versatile orbs to grace our tables. Tomato Fest was held at Wellspent Market in the Kerns neighborhood of Portland.

A photo of the outdoor market for Tomato Fest 2023 at Wellspent Market in Portland.

Tomato Fest in PDX

Join the Culinary Breeding Network at Wellspent Market on Saturday, September 16th between 11 am - 3 pm for the third annual Tomato Fest! Taste dry farmed tomatoes (and melon), talk with chefs and farmers, and more. This event is open to the public and will showcase locally grown produce.

Click here for more information!

Revino's Plan to Save the Planet (With Refillable Wine Bottles)

Founded in 2021 by Adam Rack and Keenan O’Hern, Revino aims to reduce the carbon footprint of wine by offering refillable bottles. The company will collect, wash, and redistribute their proprietary bottle that is designed to last up to 50 fills. Starting in Oregon and using the Oregon BottleDrop collection sites to streamline the process for the wine consumers, their aim is national.

Bottle design by Revino; Image copyright Revino; Used with permission.

The company notes in their press release that over 16 billion glass bottles and containers are used annually, but less than 30% are recycled. The average glass wine bottle takes 1.28 kg of CO2 to produce and dispose of and is most often sourced internationally. Alternatives like cans, Tetra Paks, and bag in box do not offer the cellaring capabilities or unique presentation of a 750ml glass bottle. Recycling itself is not without carbon impacts: it takes significant amounts of energy to melt the glass down so it can be reshaped into a new product.

By offering reusable containers with an efficient distribution and collection network, the carbon impacts are significantly reduced. Revino states that it will take only three cycles for their bottles to “break even on carbon emissions.”

Bottles are launching in the spring of 2024, though interested wineries can sign up for the program now on their website. Interested end consumers can check out the list of participating wineries here and keep an eye out on shelves for bottles stamped “REFILLABLE.” The initial phase is intended for sales and consumption within Oregon, so out of state consumers wishing to participate are encouraged to talk with the winery regarding returning empty bottles.

*Please note, this post was not sponsored and is for informational purposes only. It is not intended as an endorsement.

Happy Sustainability September!

That’s right, drc is announcing a new push to encourage sustainability with our first annual Sustainability September. We’ll be featuring wineries and wine- and farming-related organizations and businesses that are revolutionizing sustainability.

Portland Wine Co.'s Electric Forklift and a stack of pallets