O.A.R.S.’ Wine on the River Series Pairs Vineyards and Gourmet Presentations With Multi-Day Rafting Expeditions
Story by OARS
Due to popular demand, veteran outfitter O.A.R.S. has announced a second departure of their six-day gourmet wine tasting trip on Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon River Sept. 5–10.
After selling out the company’s scheduled departure on Aug. 27, this brand-new trip combines world-class scenery and renowned whitewater with chef-prepared gourmet meals, award-winning Idahowines from Ste. Chapelle Winery and blue-ribbon trout fishing.
Chef Eric Conte from Gnosh restaurant inMoscow,ID, will return for his second trip of the season with O.A.R.S. with a locally focused and seasonally minded menu. Conte is Idaho-raised and takes pride in using the ingredients and products that grow in his own backyard.
The Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho is the flagship program in the company’s season-long Wine on the River Series. The per person price for this trip is $2,282 and includes a scenic flight to the river, six days of rafting and five nights of comfortable camping, professional river guides and fishing guides, all rafting and expedition equipment, dry bags for personal gear, fresh and healthy breakfasts and lunches plus chef-prepared gourmet dinners and an assortment of Idaho wines. The trip begins and ends in Salmon, ID.
Guests from San Diego wrote about their experience on this trip from last fall, "We booked the Wine on the River trip down the Middle Fork thinking it would be a little more relaxing (late-season water levels, wine tasting each night). Our expectations were exceeded in every way!”
They were blown away by entrees of grilled Idaho trout with wild blackberry/nectarine salsa, Rocky Mountain Elk steaks with zinfandel demi glaze and caramelized shallots and more complemented with appetizers, side dishes and desserts such as Dutch Oven apple crisp with cheddar cheese and crème anglaise.
“That the chefs were able to produce this kind of food in the middle of nowhere is astonishing to say the least, and we are pretty accomplished foodies. Five stars in every way!” they added.
Other Wine on the River trips pairing choice vintages with river adventure and remarkable cuisine include a three-day/two-night Aug. 12 departure on California’s Tuolumne River featuring Boyle MacDonald Wines and Chef Chip Roberts at $949 per person; and a five-day/four-night departure on Sept. 14 on Idaho’s Snake River through Hells Canyon (the deepest gorge in North America) with Foppiano Wines and Chef Aaron Woo. The per person rate is $1,695 and this trip also includes a scenic flight from Lewiston, ID, to Halfway, OR, with spectacular views of Hells Canyon below.