Discover wines
of the Northwest
Gary Hayes, the director
of Savor Cannon Beach,
says this year’s wine fes-
tival brings in almost 40
wineries and is a good
representation of Pacifi c
Northwest vineyards.
The sixth annual Savor Cannon Beach wine
festival takes place March 12 to 15
I
“I always thought that Cannon Beach was
the perfect place for a wine festival,” said Gary
Hayes. “And since nobody else started one, I
decided I would.”
And so, in 2010, Hayes hatched Savor
Cannon Beach, an exploration and exultation
of Northwest wines. But, to be fair, the idea
wasn’t all his.
“Although this is the sixth year for Savor
Cannon Beach there was a Wine Walk that ex-
isted for several years before that,” said Hayes,
the festival director and publisher of Coast Ex-
plorer magazine.
With Hayes at the helm, the Wine Walk
blossomed into a weekend whose fragrant
bouquet blooms March 12 to 15. The center-
piece, though, remains Saturday’s Wine Walk,
from 1 to 5 p.m. (tickets are required). Like the
original inspiration, this current iteration too
bene¿ ts the Cannon Beach 3reschool and Chil-
dren’s Center.
“It’s our largest event,” Hayes said of the
Wine Walk. “We’ll have 500 people participat-
ing and about 40 wineries.”
Of those vineyards, all sprout from North-
west soil.
“We’ve got all regions,” said Hayes.
“We’ve got Southern Oregon wineries that
are making the trip up. We’ve got Willamette
Valley wineries, who have a strong pinot noir
presence. And then we’ve got some of the big
Washington reds from Walla Walla and the val-
ley. We’re going to represent the entire region
pretty well.”
Tucked into Cannon Beach businesses,
from the galleries to the boutiques and beyond,
representatives from numerous vineyards —in-
cluding some winemakers themselves — will
be pouring.
“It’s good to do a bit of research and know
who’s going to be there and don’t plan on tast-
ing everything,” Hayes said. “I’d recommend
sipping and spitting. That’s not something that
a lot of wine-tasters do unless they’re more
professional, but that’s the way the profession-
als do it. You can taste the wine just as well by
sipping and spitting. We encourage that. It lets
you taste more wines without losing your pal-
ate completely.”
Indeed, Hayes added, the event is more
about education than revelry. And if that at-
tracts a label of wine snobbery, well, so be it.
“I won’t say that we encourage it,” Hayes
said of wine’s occasionally pretentious-sound-
ing overtones. “But I would say that our event,
more than most others, attracts a more serious
enthusiast. It’s not really about a big party. It’s
about discovering new wines and wineries of
the Northwest.”
Such is evidenced in the weekend’s sched-
ule: most events wrap before nightfall. That
said, Hayes and Savor Cannon Beach aren’t
wearing white gloves either. A handful of
whimsical events are planned.
“Bruce’s Candy Kitchen, they have a win-
ery coming in, and they are actually making a
candy for the weekend that’s made from that
winery’s wines,” Hayes said. “It’s everything
from the Cannon Beach Treasure Company —
who also has a collection of bottles that they
have recovered from ship wrecks — to the dog
store, who’ll host a winery — and they also
have a treat-tasting for dogs.”
Of course, there are a few events scheduled
for after dark. Most revolve around pairings.
As the towering chef Julia Child once put it,
“Wine is meant to be with food — that’s the
point of it.”
Three distinct dinners featuring four-course
meals and speci¿ c winery pairings punctuate
the evenings. Two will take place at renowned
local restaurants, the Stephanie Inn and EVOO
Cannon Beach Cooking School. The third,
to be hosted by Chef Jonathan Hoffman, the
reigning champion of Iron Chef Goes Coastal,
takes place at a private, ocean-front residence
in Arch Cape on Saturday.
Hoffman, along with EVOO’s Bob Neroni
and with three other of Cannon Beach’s ¿ nest,
will go toe-to-toe at the Battle of the Bites, Fri-
day, a component of the Battle of the Blends.
Alongside the chefs, wines too will compete.
Yet another tussle, the Thursday Night Throw-
down, kicks off the weekend.
“We pick a cabernet from Oregon and a
cabernet from Washington, and a merlot from
Oregon and a merlot from Washington and so
on,” said Hayes. “There are six different vari-
etals that match up, state-by-state, and the peo-
ple who participate will vote on their favorites
Savor Cannon Beach
Thursday, March 12
5 to 7 p.m. Thursday Night Throwdown
Friday, March 13
1 to 2:30 p.m. What Varietal Is It?
You can taste many varietals from diff erent Northwest winer-
ies during Savor Cannon Beach.
and we kind of declare a winner among the
states.”
Really though, Savor Cannon Beach is not
about winners and losers, or choosing a Best in
Show. Said Hayes: “It’s just kind of a fun way
to explore all of the Northwest wine regions.”
It’s also an opportunity for wine enthusiasts
to cultivate closer relationship with the many
varietals and vineyards in their midsts.
“I think what sets Savor Cannon Beach
apart from other events and festivals is its more
intimate nature,” said Hayes. “A lot of events
will pack in thousands and thousands of peo-
ple. With our Wine Walk event being 500, it’s a
little more intimate.”
4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Battle of the Blends
Saturday, March 14
10:30 a.m. to noon Bordeau,
Burgundy & Rhone
1 to 5 p.m. Wine Walk
Sunday, March 15
10 a.m. to noon Sparkling Wine &
Brunch Bites
www.savorcannonbeach.com
$149 Festival Pass off ers admission to all six
wine tasting events
$35 tickets available for individual tastings
the arts
VISUAL ARTS • LITERATURE • THEATER • MUSIC & MORE
Story and photos by ANDREW TONRY
March 12, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 9