This New Tasting Room & Restaurant Marks the Third Willamette Expansion in the Portland-Metro Area.
HAPPY VALLEY, Oregon — Thursday, January 26: Willamette Valley Vineyards, a leading Oregon producer of Pinot Noir, hosted its official grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony today at its newest location in Happy Valley.
Local public figures — including Happy Valley Mayor Tom Ellis and North Clackamas City Councilors — attended the open house-style event and welcomed the establishment to the community. Willamette Founder and CEO Jim Bernau was in attendance to help thank the City of Happy Valley for its warm reception of the company.
Located at the intersection of Sunnyside Road and 172nd Ave, the Happy Valley location opened its doors on November 23, 2022. This ribbon-cutting marked the official grand opening of the location and coincides with a new menu debuting on Friday, February 3.
“We love being in Happy Valley because It is a very community-oriented place”, said Bernau. “There are a lot of wine lovers in Happy Valley and we are thrilled to bring wine country here to you.”
It’s exactly what residents of the community located east of Portland wanted to see added to their mix of businesses, said Ellis. “People have wanted fine dining and wine tasting. This fits perfectly into that desire,” Ellis said. Happy Valley is one of Oregon’s top growing cities, Ellis said, with 1,000 new residents moving in every year.
Attendees included Willamette stockholders, club members and local business leaders. They enjoyed a splash of wine to toast the new location, the Willamette team’s hard work and the enthusiasm and kindness shown by the City of Happy Valley.
The Happy Valley Tasting Room & Restaurant is the third Willamette location to open in the last year in the Portland metro area. Other locations in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, opened in the spring and fall of 2022, respectively.
The expansion aims to bring the winery’s wine and food experiences closer to its customers. Another location is scheduled to open later this year in Bend, Oregon.
General Manager Dana Doggett leads the Happy Valley and Lake Oswego locations. Development Director Carissa Cook is overseeing the expansion of the Tasting Room & Restaurant concept.
Willamette Valley Vineyards is the culmination of years of hard work by Bernau and the support of wine enthusiasts who have invested in the project by purchasing shares of preferred Willamette Valley Vineyards stock (NASDAQ: WVVIP). Bernau conducted the first “crowdfunding” in the nation to build his winery by obtaining permission from the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1988. This resulted in a growing fabric of laws allowing community-based funding for small businesses.
Willamette Valley Vineyards
Founded in 1983 by Oregon winegrower Jim Bernau with the dream of creating world-class Pinot Noir while serving as stewards of the land, Willamette Valley Vineyards has grown from a bold idea into one of the region’s leading wineries, earning the title “One of America’s Great Pinot Noir Producers” from Wine Enthusiast Magazine. All the vineyards have been certified sustainable through LIVE (Low Impact Viticulture and Enology) and Salmon-Safe programs.
