If Oregon is in your travel plans, May and June are a great time to sample the state’s home grown wines and craft beers.

Three events take place in May –  Pinot in the Pearl, the Portland Indie Food and Wine Festival and the King’s Raven Wine Tasting in Oregon City.

Held at the Historic Venue Pearl, Pinot in the Pearl features Pinots, Chardonnays, Syrahs, Rieslings and others from over 30 vineyards and wineries in Oregon’s Chehalem Mountains and Ribbon Ridge American Viticultural Areas (ACAs.) A number of restaurants and caterers will offer foods as well. The event takes place in conjunction with the Pearl District’s First Thursday Art Walk.

Cross the Willamette River for the Portland Indie Wine Festival next, with 40 artisanal wineries pouring over 80 wines, as well as small plates from some of Portland’s best restaurants. It is sponsored by the Indie Wine Foundation, which is dedicated to preserving and sustaining the art of craft winemaking.

The King’s Raven Winery, 20 minutes away in Oregon City, has a Wine and Chocolate event scheduled for Mother’s Day weekend and a wine tasting Memorial Day weekend. At either event, sample their North Willamette Valley wines.

In June, you can judge craft beers for yourself at the Zoo Brew and the North American Organic Brewers Festival. Early in the month, the Oregon Zoo Brewers Festival offers live entertainment and tastes from 20 Northwest microbreweries. (Proceeds support the zoo’s youth outreach program.)

Later in the month, Overlook Park in Portland will host 15,000 attendees at the North American Organic Beer Festival, which combines entertainment, sustainability, organic food and yes, organic beer. More than 30 breweries will represent the best of the west’s organic beers.

(Photo Willamette Valley Wines by Greg Robeson, courtesy TravelOregon.com. Used with permission.)