The beloved McMinnville Wine & Food Classic, which has grown to become one of the largest and most influential wine and food festivals in Oregon’s wine country, returns for its 24th year under the expansive roof of the Evergreen Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. More than 170 exhibitors include over 70 wineries, more than a dozen food vendors, distillers, cideries, and breweries are scheduled to pour and serve their unique products to thousands of attendees from March 10-12, 2017, making the Classic one of the largest and best attended indoor wine and food events in the state.
Nicknamed SIP, the event is a dedicated fundraiser for McMinnville’s St. James School that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars that go directly towards programs benefiting the school’s children.
Organized and staffed entirely by volunteers, the Classic is one of the largest community events of the year in McMinnville and marshals the resources of one of Oregon’s friendliest and most cohesive communities. More than 5,000 people are expected to attend the 3-day festival, some who have returned every year since the festival began in 1993 as a small gathering at the McMinnville Armory.
SIP Facts
- This year marks the festival’s 24th consecutive year and 10th in a row at the Evergreen Space. Museum. The 3-day event is one of the longest public food and wine events in the state of Oregon.
- Hours are Friday, 3 to 9 p.m.; Saturday noon to 9 p.m.; Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Ample parking is available, and there will be shuttles from McMenamin’s Hotel Oregon, downtown McMinnville.
- Some of the exhibits are cleared from the floor of the Evergreen Space Museum and vendors are interspersed with exhibits like the SR-71 Blackbird, the Titan II Missile, and others, making it one of the largest indoor food and wine festivals in the state. Overhead exhibits of rockets and spacecraft add to the atmosphere. Next door on the Evergreen campus is the Evergreen Aviation Museum, with its flagship artifact, the Spruce Goose airplane built by Howard Hughes.
- Over 170 exhibitors are currently signed up, including more than 70 wineries, brewers, distillers, food vendors and crafts that include painting, sculpture, decorative metal, and woodworks. Patrons are able to purchase bottles and cases of their favorite wines, with an easy and efficient checkout system that streamlines the purchasing process.
- General admission is $20/person, with $15 Early-Bird discount tickets available through 1/15/17.
- The festival continues to be a major fundraiser for the St. James School of McMinnville, and marshals the resources of 100s of volunteers from the community.
- Dozens of wines are entered for judging resulting in Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Best-in-Show awards.
- McMinnville Wine & Food Classic Website: www.sipclassic.org
- Sponsors include Pacific Seafood, Davidson Benefits Planning, Les Schwab, Golden Valley Brewery, McMenamin’s Hotel Oregon, Gormley Plumbing and Mechanical, First Federal, Kathleen’s Hallmark Shop, Moreland Oil Co, and Albertsons – Safeway.
- Writers and publications willing to help publicize this non-profit fundraiser may request to participate in the wine competition Judges Reception on 1/21/17 at 5:30pm, where the results of the competition will be revealed and winning wines shared with attendees.
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Omgosh it sounds so amazing!! I wish I wasn’t all the way across the country because I would adore this!! I love my wine 🙂