Wine Tours in the Corvallis, Oregon Area
There is almost no mention of alcohol in pioneer journals of Corvallis. A German traveler in 1870 mentioned that there were 15 German immigrants in town and 3 breweries, which proved, he said, that Americans like beer "because 15 Germans couldn't possibly drain the output of 3 breweries". But Germans produce wine too. For a time, the town was 1/3 Chinese, due to work on the railroad to Toledo, Oregon, and the Chinese have a long history of making premium wine, as do the Japanese, whose railroad workers predominated in Corvallis following the successful passage of the Chinese Exclusion act. There was a time following the Civil War when an English clique predominated, at a time before the extraordinary love of the English for Sherry was stamped out by a little beetle decimating the vineyards of southern Europe, only to be replaced by brandy. The Jewish merchants who arrived at the end of the 19th century has also had a tradition of wine. None is mentioned, and the reason likely is the perpetual calls for Prohibition for a party by that name, whose financier was Greenberry Smith, one of the wealthiest men in town (ironically, Greenberry Tavern south of town is named for him). The local gazette was dedicated to prohibition for decades, called itself a Prohibition Party newspaper, in fact. And long before the nation went to Prohibition, Corvallis did. It's quite likely that in such an environment, those who loved the grape carried on their relationship in absolute privacy.
Corvallis Wine tours
US Web Service's Tour
Oregonwines' tour
Travel Envoy's tour
Wine Stores
Avalon 752-7418
Circle K 753 4923