On Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend 2024, Pat and Joe Campbell spoke on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of planting their first grapevines at Elk Cove Vineyards & planted a dogwood tree to mark the occasion.

From the beginning, Elk Cove was a community effort. That Memorial Day weekend of 1974, the Campbells invited friends and family out to help, enticing them with a home-cooked meal of Boeuf Bourguignon and two cases of Pinot Noir. Pat’s dad drove the tractor and he and Joe watered in the vines. Joe’s 75-year-old mother Lois helped plant along with many of Pat’s sisters and her little brother, most of them farmers in their own right. We couldn’t have planted those first acres of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay without help!

Post-prohibition, the Campbells were only the 6th family to plant grapevines in Oregon with the intention of making wine, and the first to do so in what would one day be the Yamhill-Carlton AVA (American Viticultural Area).

Thank you to everyone who came out and helped us celebrate the 50th anniversary of planting our first vineyard with a 1974 Throwback Party. Cheers to the next 50 years of Elk Cove!