Pouring With Pride, Remy Drabkin’s Queer Wine Fest Redefines The Vineyard

Photography courtesy of Queer Wine Fest

There’s something magical about Remy Drabkin. People are drawn to her. No problem goes unsolved around her. Connections are made through her. She wears more hats at once than most of us even try on in a lifetime. She is the Founder of Remy Wines. She is a social activist with a passion for housing policy, environmental activism, and social justice reforms… and she is making the change she wants to see in her world and ours by creating the Queer Wine Fest, as our globe-hopping Jenny Block learns.

Drabkin served as McMinnville, Oregon’s first female Mayor. Jewish and queer-identified, she “redefined local government by championing inclusive housing solutions and disassembling inequitable code and policy. Her policies addressed the housing spectrum, including emergency and transitional sheltering solutions and affordable and workforce housing policy.”

She mentors emerging leaders and builds community relationships, and she pioneered the “Sprout Summit,” an event that activates circular city models. “Her commitment to justice and community-driven solutions creates systemic changes, positioning her as a visionary in leveraging the built environment for societal transformation.”

Drabkin is also the founder of Queer Wine Fest, the first fest of its kind. Drabkin hosts the event at Remy Wines in McMinnville, OR, and this year featured an array of wineries like Augustina Cellars, Bryn Mawr Vineyards, Capo Creek, Circadian Cellars, Elk Cove Winery, Fayetta Vineyard, Franchere Wine, K&M Wines, Landmass Wines, Maloof Wines, Proteus Wines, Remy Wines, ROCO Winery, Seufert Winery, St. Innocent Winery, SuLei Cellars, Trois Noix, Vino di Famigla, Westrey Wine Company, and Zē Wines.

This year’s event also included onsite tattooing, light bites, and even aerial artists. It was a day of joy, of community, and, of course, of delicious wines. I had the chance to catch up with Drabkin after she had a moment to catch her breath after this truly inspiring event. When we caught up with her, she was ready to share her vision of the gathering.

Jenny Block: Why does Queer Wine Fest feel like such an intentional and thoughtful community unto itself?

Remy Drabkin: I think it’s everyone who’s there who is essentially invited. And they’re not invited because I already know them or because they’re in the “Cool Kids Club” or something like that. They are invited because of the atmosphere that’s being created. It’s a spider web, creating those pathways and channels. And because there are these layered shared interests, it creates an energy that builds upon itself. Once we’re in a relationship, we’re conversing and have good energy; then this person joins in, and you’re able to bring another person in.

We have to lean into the beauty of the spiders. And as a person who is admittedly often scared of them, that is hard. But I think that’s what it is. It’s that connection. Queer Wine Fest is elevating all of these queer wineries. How many of those wineries wouldn’t be on your radar if it weren’t for Queer Wine Fest? It’s queer and queerness celebrates joy. Queer joy is resistance. So queer joy has to be part of it.

Jenny Block: Have you always been this person? Were you a kid who got all the kids on the block together to do a thing? Have you always been involved in community organizing in some capacity?

Remy Drabkin: So, I’ve always been an entrepreneur. I picked plums and put them in my stroller, then walked around the block to sell them. My most profitable business was at about seven. I went around with my wagon and offered people either large or small bouquets, then walked back around the neighborhood to pick the flowers.

To be honest, I think I have always felt like an outsider in my community. So, I think a lot of it, again, has been problem-solving for me, looking for community. I’m Jewish, and there were no Jewish kids here. We drove to Portland to attend synagogue. That’s separation from the community, but it’s also community in different places and with various inputs.  

And I couldn’t opt into a dominant straight culture when I knew very few gay people. I also had much older siblings. So, I discovered the queer community at a young age by visiting my brother in Seattle. And he was an out gay man in the late eighties and early nineties. I received a lot of exposure to various inputs, but I didn’t have that here. So, I guess, the short answer is, yes. People love my energy, and so they want to do the things. When you bring intentionality, everything you do is by design.

Jenny Block: Could you foresee this success and interest in Queer Wine Fest? Did you think, oh, let’s give it a shot, or were you like, oh, this is going to work, so let’s do it?

Remy Drabkin: Well, I never paused from the moment I thought of it to doing it. It was more like, ‘How are we going to get it done?’ The experience we had this year was unpredictable, but I felt that all the elements would contribute to making it a success. It’s not that I see outcomes necessarily. I see steps where people see barricades. I’m like, ‘Oh, but actually, there is a path.’ It’s just not the one that you thought you were going to take.  

Jenny Block: So, you imagined it, invented it, and then you imagined the steps to it. You do things with intention, and then you land in the right spot?

Remy Drabkin: And then I know it needs to keep building. And I know next year, for instance, is the fifth anniversary, so it’s going to be really important to understand that bigger isn’t necessarily better. So, to be very thoughtful about how we address any issues that arose this year, but what are the other essential elements to bring back into it? Or what is something else that needs to be highlighted, or is there a way to do it even better? And there always is, right?

Jenny Block: Does the event have a beneficiary, or is it more like an arm of Remy Wines?

Remy Drabkin: Remy Wines isn’t a huge money maker in this event, which is also very intentional. Wine Country Pride is the nonprofit. They’re the beneficiary. I launched Wine Country Pride, and now it does community grants and scholarships. So, I started Queer Wine Fest, and then in the first year, I thought, ‘This is going to be a definite event for Wine Country Pride.’ Let’s make it a fundraiser for Wine Country Pride and figure out how to do that. And then reduce costs this year, instead of having event staff, we had volunteers. You’ll get a cut of every ticket price. And, so, it was good for everyone. Better for everyone.