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I’m happy to report that I survived Oregon Pinot Camp in one piece—though I’m still catching up on sleep and rehydrating accordingly.
If you’ve never heard of Oregon Pinot Camp, it’s exactly what it sounds like: summer camp for wine professionals, focused entirely on Oregon Pinot Noir. Hosted by the wineries of the Willamette Valley for nearly 30 years, Pinot Camp invites sommeliers and wine buyers from around the globe to experience firsthand what makes this region—and its wines—so extraordinary.
As a Portland local, I never expected to get the invite. Pinot Camp typically prioritizes out-of-town buyers (makes sense—you don’t need to explain Oregon wine to someone already selling it for a living). But secretly, I always dreamed I’d get to go: to put on a backpack, ride the school bus, and live out my wine nerd fantasies. And this year, that dream came true.
Not one, but two of my favorite Oregon wineries—Beaux Frères and Ponzi—offered to sponsor Arden to attend. Which meant that I could bring Wesley, our brilliant wine director at Arden, along for the fun.
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So what was Pinot Camp like?
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We kicked things off with a yacht rock–themed pool party at Elk Cove founder Adam Campbell’s beautiful home. Picture crisp white wines (Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, and even white Pinot Noir), skin-contact Chardonnay, rosés of every shade, Riesling slushies, and spicy snacks from Hat Yai. In short: we realized pretty quickly that this week was going to be fun.
That night, we headed to Sokol Blosser for the official welcome dinner. Before every dinner, campers tasted through a wide selection of wines from all 50 participating wineries. The first night’s theme? Creative hot dog pairings. Cali Dogs, kimchi dogs, classic brats—all with Pinot Noir in hand.
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Now the real fun began. Campers were assigned to color-coded school buses that picked us up at our hotels each morning. We were on Team Green, decked out in full Wicked theme: yellow brick road, ruby slippers dangling from the back window—the works.
Jason Lett (son of Oregon wine pioneer David Lett) welcomed us with a talk on why Oregon Pinot is so special. Then we headed to Coeur du Terre for vineyard seminars on soil composition, site selection, and farming philosophy. Lunch at Left Coast Estate was idyllic: a shaded forest picnic followed by flights of Pinot Noir and conversations led by legends like Ben Casteel (Bethel Heights), Brad Ford (Illahe), Scott Shull (Raptor Ridge) and many more.
That night, we hit the Horstmann Dinner—named after Pinot Camp co-founder Sue Horstmann. Winemakers roamed the lawn pouring magnums of back-vintage Pinot, and thanks to Ponzi, we snagged a spot at their table, which included special appearances of Bollinger and Ayala (the perks of now being owned by a legendary Champagne house!)
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We kicked things off with breakfast and a visit to Adelsheim, where the still-sharp, still-gracious David Adelsheim (age 82!) greeted us himself. We learned about pruning, canopy management, and biodynamic farming methods before heading to Domaine Drouhin for one final round of seminars on the white wines of Oregon: Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and beyond.
The week ended with a salmon bake at the stunning Stoller vineyard, complete with a final grand tasting, sing-alongs, and s’mores roasted over the fire. Most nights culminated in Team Green drinking wine in the motel parking lot (because hey—it’s McMinnville on a Tuesday and summer camp turns you into a teenager again)!
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But here’s the truth: as fun as Pinot Camp was, the most meaningful part was the people. I loved getting to meet buyers from around the country and the world, swap stories, and see how Oregon wine fits into their lives and their lists. And I loved sharing our local lens—how we see this region from the inside, how proud we are of the work being done here, and how much we appreciate not only the talent but the camaraderie of our incredible Oregon winemakers.
If you’re in the industry and ever get the chance to attend Pinot Camp—go. And if you work in another wine region: consider stealing this idea. It’s a powerful way to educate, inspire, and build community.
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Huge thanks to Beaux Frères, Ponzi, and the Willamette Valley Wineries Association for making Oregon Pinot Camp such a dream. The amount of effort, care and passion from Team OPC was truly a gift and so inspiring to behold.
Today I’m off to the Columbia Gorge to film the next episode of Her Way! Stay tuned on social this week for behind-the-scenes fun and I’ll fill you in on all the details next week…
Happy 4th of July—and thanks, as always, for following along on this wild, wine-soaked ride.
Cheers,
Kelsey
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