Wine travel and event organizer Zephyr Adventures is organizing the festival, which takes place the day after the annual industry Wine Tourism Conference. The conference, which will draw to Portland about 230 wine tourism industry leaders from throughout the United States, Canada, and beyond, allows the GAWF to showcase wines from unique wine areas such as Virginia, Idaho, and Ohio in addition to more established areas in California, Oregon, and Washington.

“Due to the Wine Tourism Conference coming to Portland, we have a really unique opportunity to present wines from regions most wine drinkers are not familiar with”, explained GAWF organizer and Zephyr Adventures president Allan Wright. “Everyone attending will be able to enjoy established favorites and experiment with new varietals and regions.”

The conference is being co-organized with the existing Northwest Food & Wine Festival. Festivalgoers can purchase tickets to either or both events, which will occur at the same time in adjoining buildings. "We are very excited to help bring a new wine festival to Portland, especially one that complements the Northwest Food & Wine Festival so well by focusing on wines throughout North America”, said Tina Curry, organizer of the Northwest Food & Wine Festival.

While the GAWF is new, Zephyr Adventure’s contacts in the wine industry have allowed the company to pull together a strong team of promotional partners, including entities such as Yelp, Whole Foods, LocalWineEvents.com, Travel Oregon, King Estate winery, industry trade group WineAmerica, Foodista.com, and half a dozen others.

“The Great American Wine Festival is long overdue, as the emergence in the past decade of excellent wine regions throughout all of North America has been astounding”, explains Dan Fox, Managing Partner of GAWF partner Touring & Tasting Marketing & Media. “We cover these regions closely and to have representation of most of the best regions in North America at one festival for all to appreciate is a remarkable opportunity for wine lovers.”

About the Great American Wine Festival

The Great American Wine Festival is organized by Montana-based Zephyr Adventures, which also organizes the annual Wine Tourism Conference, Wine Tourism Day, Wine Bloggers Conference, and active wine tours throughout the world. The festival is being conducted in cooperation with the Pacific Northwest Food & Wine Festival. Ticket prices start at only $35 and attendance will be capped at approximately 400 people.

BTN members get special price if you wish to register.

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For further information, contact:

Allan Wright, Zephyr Adventures
888-758-8687
allan_wright@zephyradventures.com