Frequently Asked Questions

Once you book a tour with us you will receive a confirmation email for the date of your tour and included in that email is a link to a Google questionnaire. That questionnaire asks you a variety of questions that will assist us in planning the perfect day for you. Once you have completed and submitted the questionnaire we can begin work on your tour. We typically make sure that all reservations are booked at least 7 days in advance of the date of your tour, although we may often make the reservations further in advance than that (especially during the busy summer months). We will also communicate with you if we have any questions prior to scheduling your reservations. You are also welcome to email us with any additional questions or information prior to the date of your wine tour. Typically we will email a final schedule and other particulars to you approximately 3-7 days prior to the date of your wine tour, but often prior to that. On the day of your tour your wine guide will pick you up at the appointed time and drive you to all preschedule appointments. At the end of the tour your wine guide will return you to the place of pickup (unless other arrangements have been made in advance). We will have plenty of water for you to stay hydrated throughout the day and our guides are knowledgeable regarding the area and the wines in general and are happy to answer any questions you may have. In short, we take care of everything so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the day!

When you book a wine tour with Insiders Wine Tours we charge a $100 deposit that secures your spot on the calendar. We immediately begin work on your customized wine tour and make all necessary advance reservations for you. Due to this, if you cancel a tour 14 days or more prior to the date of the tour, a refund of 100% of the deposit will be given. If you cancel a tour between 14 and 7 days prior to the tour, a refund of 50% of the deposit will be given. If you cancel a tour within 7 days of the date of a tour, no refund will be given absent certain exigent circumstances, which shall be at the sole discretion of Insiders Wine Tours. If Insiders Wine Tours cancels a tour for any reason, you will receive a full refund of the deposit.

For deposits, we accept credit and debit cards. At the conclusion of the tour, you may pay the remaining balance due with a card or with cash.

Gratuity is not included in the price of the tour and is left to the discretion of the guests. If you enjoy a tour, a gratuity of 20% is greatly appreciated.

Generally, the answer is no. Wineries will waive tasting fees with a minimum purchase or if you join their wine club. We can, however, provide you with a quote that includes all tasting fees if that is something that you are interested in. For large groups, it often makes sense to have the tasting fees included in your tour so that each member of the group does not have to pay tasting fees separately.

We usually start tours at 10:30 or 11:00 am depending on which wineries we will be visiting first. And since most wineries close at 5:00 pm, we usually end tours sometime after that. It will, of course, depend on your pickup location and how many wineries you wish to visit.

If you live within the United States, most wineries can ship to your home, although there are some states that do not allow this. Alternatively, you can pack bottles in checked luggage or check an entire box of wine as one of your checked bags. Alaska Airlines even has a wine flies free program that can be used if you are flying Alaska. We can also work with you on having your wine shipped to you from a third-party shipping store.

No, we run tours rain or shine! All wineries have indoor areas and/or covered areas so you will not be in the rain. In the unlikely event we have to cancel a tour due to a freeze or snow, all deposits will be refunded or you will be given the option of touring with us on another day.

All our tours are private and fully customized. This means it is your group only, we never pair you with other people on a tour. Tours can be customized to your liking and we work with all our guests to come up with a suitable itinerary for the day.

Our pick up area covers all Willamette Valley cities: Newberg, Dundee, Carlton, Amity, Dayton, McMinnville, Salem and Lafayette as well as all the surrounding areas. We can also pick up in all Portland suburbs, including Tigard, Sherwood, Tualatin, Wilsonville, Lake Oswego, Beaverton and Hillsboro (if we have available wine guides for those areas). If you are staying in downtown Portland we can work with you on getting to a suburb to begin the wine tour. If you have a question just contact us and we will be happy to work with you.

These will vary each day based on whether there are any specific wineries you wish to visit and other factors. We generally work with smaller, boutique family wineries but we may also include an iconic Oregon producer if we feel the history, quality of wines, or tour experience would be a good match for the group. When you make your reservation we will ask you some questions that will assist us in planning the day and determining the best wineries for your group. With this information, we can completely customize an itinerary that fulfills as many of your desires as possible for the day.

Of course. We will do our best to accommodate any specific requests, provided that those wineries are open on your particular tour date. You can inform us of any specific requests once you book and we send you our pre-tour questionnaire.

We conduct our tours in a range of different sized vehicles depending on the size of your party, including luxury SUVs, small vans and larger vans. All our vehicles are clean, newer models that are free of any advertisements.

It depends. Since all our tours are customized to what the guests want it is up to you and what you want to do for lunch. We can provide a picnic lunch weather permitting if you wish. We can email you menu options once you have made a reservation. Rates will vary based on the food choices for the lunch. Other options include stopping at a winery that serves food, snacking throughout the day, stopping at a local restaurant, or bringing your own food. As with all our tours, the choice is yours!

We suggest visiting three to four wineries in a full day of touring, but it really depends. With smaller groups visiting four wineries is possible, but with larger groups (six or more people) we usually recommend only visiting three wineries. It really comes down to the group and how you wish your day to unfold. Some people enjoy a leisurely experience where they are spending a longer amount of time at each winery. Some people wish to visit more wineries and spend a shorter amount of time at each stop. Whatever your desire we work with you to craft a day that is tailored specifically to you and your group.