Ashley Myers, Jacob Colmenero, and Sarahanne Driggs,the talented trio behind Oregon Wine Experience.

From August 22 through August 25, 2019, Jacksonville hosted the 5th annual Oregon Wine Experience, a destination wine event for which all proceeds go directly to benefit the Children’s Miracle Network and other healthcare programs supported by the Asante Foundation. The event is organized around the Oregon Wine Competition, in which Oregon wineries can submit new or future release wines for judging at the event. This year, nearly five thousand people attended and 101 wineries across Oregon participated. The Oregon Wine Experience alone spans four days in August, each containing a distinct, single-day event, from the Founders’ Barrel Auction to the Salmon Bake to the Medal Celebration. Additionally, the Asante Foundation organizes wine-themed events throughout the year such as Oregon Wine University, an educational series giving consumers the opportunity to deepen their wine knowledge and experience, and vintner dinners featuring wineries from around the state.

Despite the enormity of the event, the Oregon Wine Experience is primarily organized by a core team of three individuals: Ashley Myers, Jacob Colmenero, and Sarahanne Driggs. Driggs heads the event logistics and marketing; Myers oversees the wine and culinary side; Colmenero is responsible for sponsorships and fundraising. I sat down with the three of them to learn how they coordinate an event on this scale with a team so small.

“It was trial by fire for the first few years,” Colmenero says. He started with Asante as an intern when the festival was called World of Wine, before there were any formal positions associated with the event. “But it was a great opportunity to open up new positions and bring in new people.” Myers echoes his thoughts. “The Asante Foundation has done a wonderful job of putting all the right people in the right places, so our strengths complement each other.”

Driggs’ position was the first full-time Oregon Wine Experience position. After attending college at the University of Oregon and working full-time in Washington D.C. for many years, Driggs says she was ready to return. “I spent a few years looking for the right fit,” she says. When asked how she knew this was the position for her, she notes, “It was the people of Oregon, this incredible region, and the opportunity to help take this amazing event to the next level.”

Hosting a four-day destination wine event with five thousand visitors is “an octopus of planning,” as Myers puts it. But still, the team has managed to roll out new features every year. This year, for instance, it was possible to bid by proxy at the Founders’ Barrel Auction. Donors who were unable to attend in person could contact volunteers under the tent, who would place bids in their name. Thanks to a text message system with links to the bid tracking system, donors could watch their bids to see how they were performing and what wines they could expect to take home. A goal for the future, Colmenero shared, is to roll out exclusive OWE software, which would allow customers from across the United States to bid on wines featured at the Oregon Wine Experience—right from their phones.

“The goal is to open up the bidding—take it outside the tent,” he says.

When asked about her vision for the future, Driggs replies in broad strokes: “We want to make the Oregon Wine Experience a signature Oregon event. We want to hold onto those incredible Oregon roots, but cultivate exclusivity as well. We want to be selling out every year.”

Myers tries to see it through the consumer’s eyes. “How do you build something everyone wants to be a part of?” The Oregon Wine Experience already has all the key features in place, she says. “This event is great because it has all the facets: it has a charity aspect, a culinary aspect, and it has a wine aspect. So how do we build on this foundation to make it something you don’t miss?”

The core team of three is supported by a network of committee chairs and volunteer organizers. RSVP Event Group is closely tied to the Oregon Wine Experience; Kimberly Hicks, the owner and president, is the event coordinator, while Cari Powell, vice president, chairs the culinary committee. “Kimberly and Cari are kind of the fourth and fifth members of our team,” says Colmenero. In addition, Trish Glose of KTVL and Andrea Childreth co-chair the marketing committee, Ava DeRosier of Heart Hospitality heads the wine service committee, and Gigi Ashley provides the backbone of the event’s labor by coordinating an extensive network of volunteers from within the Southern Oregon community.

“It’s a huge challenge,” DeRosier says of her role in the organization, “but also a huge opportunity. To execute service for so many people is such an honor.”

“We want to make Oregon a must-stop,” says Driggs. “It’s not just enjoying the wine—it’s enjoying the food, the lodging, the outdoor experiences, the theater and the arts… the coast. It’s that all-encompassing Oregon experience. And we want the event to be that entryway.”

©Southern Oregon Wine Scene – from the Fall Winter 2019 issue