WILLAMETTE VALLEY WINE AUCTION

AUCTION DATES: MAY 13 & 14, 2026

CLICK HERE FOR WINERY REGISTRATION.

The Willamette Valley Wine Auction is the leading event to showcase Willamette Valley wines while helping support the promotion of this exceptional Oregon wine region. At the Auction, influencers of the wine trade get to experience what makes Oregon remarkable, exemplified in unique lots from the region’s top wineries.

We are pleased to invite you to participate in the 2026 edition to be held on May 13 & 14, 2026, featuring lots from the 2024 vintage.

AUCTION FORMAT

Day One - Whimsy
A fun, casual, high-energy event that captures the spirit of the Willamette Valley, featuring all auction lots plus culinary experiences and rotating seminars. The event includes all Day One participating wineries. Lots will be sold via a digital-only auction, open to both trade and collectors for online bidding. Lots can be sold in one-case increments.

  • Opening bid: $600 per case or $3,000 for 5-case lots.
  • Participating wineries are required to bring three-five registered bidders, trade or collectors, in person or remote.
  • Wineries pay a $500 advance ticket fee that includes three Wednesday event tickets for their attendees, plus two winery spots. This pre-pay for tickets helps the staff to better plan the events and ensures spots for your bidders.

Day Two - Wonder
A smaller format, elevated, top-tier trade event at an enticing venue with limited spots, featuring a live, in-person auction on Thursday, May 14. This event is open only to trade and their guests, plus winery representatives.

  • Opening bid: $4,000-$6,000 for 5-case lots.
  • Participating wineries are required to bring two in-person trade attendees, and at least one should be new to the auction.
  • Wineries pay a $500 advance ticket fee that includes two multi-day event tickets for their trade attendees, plus two winery spots. This pre-pay for tickets helps the staff to better plan the events and ensures spots for your bidders.

ABOUT THE AUCTION

The purpose of the trade auction is to put on a collaborative community event to raise the profile and prestige of Willamette Valley wines, bring influential wine buyers to the region who might not otherwise travel here, and raise critical funds for the Willamette Valley Wineries Association.

You may choose to submit a Pinot noir or Chardonnay lot from the 2024 vintage or a traditional method sparkling wine. Wineries produce five cases for sale at the auction, plus two additional cases for samples--seven total cases.

This event is special because of the wineries who work together to create something amazing on behalf of the region, so the WVWA team and Auction Steering Committee plan these events with an overarching lens of collaboration and community through which we view all elements of the auction. 

CHOOSING YOUR 2024 VINTAGE LOT(S)

We want each winery to feel proud of the lot(s) they put forward and proud to stand in the room next to their colleagues to showcase our best wines to the country’s top buyers. We invite you to participate with up to two lots from the following, representing your most creative, interesting, and completely unique wine(s):

  • Your individual Pinot noir lot, the heart of this auction and the reason our buyers keep coming back
  • An individual Chardonnay lot
  • A collaborative lot, either Pinot noir or Chardonnay, to showcase the camaraderie that makes the Willamette Valley special
  • A traditional method sparkling wine lot, any vintage

More About Collaborative Lots

We invite you to craft a collaboration that illustrates the camaraderie of the Willamette Valley. A collaborative wine would usually be made by two winemakers working together, but it could be more than two, as the spirit moves you. They could be winemakers who have something in common that highlights the collaborative spirit of the Valley, such as:

  • Purchasing fruit from the same vineyard
  • Neighboring one another, on the same hillside
  • Working together as a former intern with mentor, or with former fellow interns
  • Being personal friends or relations who ski together, golf together
  • Visiting each other’s cellars regularly, tasting together
  • Making vastly different styles of wine, mutually appreciated

All eligible lots are from WVWA member wineries, from the 2024 vintage, made with Willamette Valley Pinot noir or Chardonnay, and of course are wines that you are proud to stand behind. 

HOW ARE AUCTION FUNDS USED?

Membership dues are approximately 25% of WVWA revenue. The Trade Auction has been the lifeblood of the marketing and operating budgets of the WVWA since the event was founded in 2016. Please click here to read more about how Auction funds are put to work.