Wine Tasting on Horseback - A Fun-Filled Adventure Your Girlfriends Won't Soon Forget

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to down some wine and then mount a gorgeous long-legged stud, cowgirl style? Regardless of what you might be thinking, ladies, I'm talking about getting your drink on while riding through the wine country on a genuine equine! Sound good? Then grab your girlfriends and giddy-up for an adventure I like to call, "Drunken Horseback Riding"!

My friends are always up for trying something new. One day, we were thinking about our next adventure, and we stumbled across a website offering Horseback Wine Tours through Wine Country Farm Bed & Breakfast and Jake Price Stables. For $100 per person plus tasting room fees, we learned we would be taken on a 2-hour wine tour, visiting three wineries.

We donned our straw cowboy hats, bandannas, jeans and boots, trying our best to look the part. Jake had saddled up three beautiful Tennessee Walkers for us to ride. Knowing nothing about horses and very little about wine, we mounted our mares and apprehensively followed Jake out through the vineyards. Our apprehension quickly turned to confidence as we wrangled our horses through an orchard. We felt like naturals sitting high atop our smooth striding mares, when in reality, it had nothing to do with our horsemanship, and everything to do with the well-trained horses.

The Scenery

The scenery of Oregon's wine country was spectacular! Seeing it on horseback was a once in a lifetime experience. From the meadow filled with yellow flowers, we saw the vineyards of Dayton, Newberg, and Dundee. The red clay soil looked like a patchwork quilt, striped in square sections with rows and rows of grape vines.

Not to be forgotten was the wine tasting. We learned that wine is more than tasting, it's a multi-sensory experience. As we swirled the wine in our glasses, the aromas wafted up into our noses, giving us a preview of what our mouths were about to enjoy. As pretentious as that sounds, we found that the vineyard owners were as down to earth as Jake, our horseback guide. They explained that wine making is a balance between chemistry and artistry. We also learned that Oregon is well known for its Pinot Noirs. We tasted many wines that day, reds, whites, sweet and dry. And with each tasting room visit, it seemed as if we were becoming better and better horse wranglers. Go figure!

In closing, I highly recommend this experience to anyone who likes wine and has a thirst for adventure. It will be a special memory you will talk and laugh about with your friends for years to come.