Queer Wine Fest, the world’s first wine festival that celebrates LGBTQ culture, is having its last hurrah on June 28, 2026, in McMinnville, Oregon, in the Willamette Valley.
For the past five years, the event has brought the community together with exciting moments. This summer will have an aerialist in the vineyard, queer art for sale, a gender-affirming haircut station, and live music from Camp Crush. Food offerings span options like watermelon gazpacho, shrimp ceviche, and mac & cheese fritters from partly queer-owned Renegade Food Truck. And of course there will be the chance to sample wine from LGBTQ vinters. Roughly two dozen queer-owned wineries from around the Pacific Northwest and California will participate, each bringing two varietals curated for the festival by founder Remy Drabkin.
Drabkin, who owns the 300-acre Remy Wines site where the festival takes place, says Queer Wine Fest has been “an uplifting, joyous event,” but now it’s time to move on. “I wouldn’t say it’s closing down; I see it as: We achieved the goals we set out.”
David Lauer of Bryn Mawr Vineyards is one of many who showcase wines that celebrate the LGBTQ community.
Photo by Foundry 503 (L); photo by Cheryl Juetten (R)
In the festival’s first year, 100 guests came; this year, they expect triple that number. The celebration is still small, considering that some Pride events can draw thousands, but this intimate gathering over wine, community, and laughter in the heart of Willamette Valley is more about connection. In 2025, people made the trip from places like North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New York, and Canada.
Drabkin remembers how participating in festivals as a new winemaker provided frustration on several fronts. “Someone just asked me for the umpteenth time if my husband makes the wine,” she says. “I want recognition that queer people have made the wine industry better.”
So Drabkin created an event that supports winemakers: They were paid to come, they got a free ticket for a helper, and there was a budget for wine samples. “We provide the damn ice,” she adds. Since Remy Wines operates on well water, she stockpiles ice for a month in advance to make sure there’s enough to keep everything chilled. The festival was money-making for all parties involved, but Drabkin is ready to move on. “I’m very comfortable with change. I move very quickly through the world,” she says.
Queer Wine Fest is a zero-waste event with reusable glassware, compostable plates, and volunteers at the ready to sort recyclables and compost. Additionally, Drabkin cooks a complimentary prefestival lunch for the winemakers to ensure everyone’s on site in time. “People were crying into their tacos, saying ‘I’ve never been around this much community in this space before,’” she says.
There will be performances, passed appetizers, and “there’s also a very elaborate dip station with lots of fruit and vegetables and smears,” says founder Remy Drabkin.
Photo by Foundry 503
Zane Morris, owner and founder of Zē Wines in Portland, brought his newly crafted bottles wines to Queer Wine Fest in 2023 (and every year thereafter) when he first started his business. “The event was a massive launching pad for Zē Wines. It connected us with a great audience of people that want to support queer-owned businesses and gave us national attention,” says Morris. “It’s sad to see the event ending in its current form, but the impact this event has had will be here forever.”
He points to a collection of queer wine events that have sprung up when there had been few before. In Portland, Made with Pride takes place every June, and Natty’s Wine Bar is a regular popup around the city that celebrates wines made by queer people. “We [Zē Wines] also hosted a queer-owned holiday wine market that we plan to do annually now as well,” Morris adds.
“We slayed,” Drabkin says with pride (of both kinds!) in her voice. “We overachieved and overachieved.”
Tickets released June 1, so get them while you can.
