Oregon aims to include brewpubs, wineries in reopening

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon is planning to allow its famed microbreweries and wine tasting rooms to reopen when it starts loosening stay-home orders, rejecting a federal recommendation that bars remain closed.

Oregonians will be able to hoist a glass at their neighborhood watering holes under Gov. Kate Brown's draft plan released on Thursday for the state's first phase of reopening.

That puts this Pacific Northwest state, which is among two dozen states that have thus far resisted President Donald Trump's entreaties to reopen now, in the position of going beyond his recommendations when it eventually decides to do so.

The “Opening Up America Again Guidelines” released by Trump on April 16 recommends that while restaurants open with strict distancing and sanitation protocols, bars remain closed.

But the draft plan published by Brown's office says “restaurants, bars, breweries, brewpubs, wineries and tasting rooms” can reopen in Phase 1.

“In reviewing the White House’s guidelines and developing Oregon’s reopening plan, we have been working with stakeholders to tailor our approach to fit Oregon’s situation and needs,” said Liz Merah, a spokeswoman for the governor.

No date has been announced for Phase 1 to begin. Brown first wants evidence Oregon has turned the corner on the pandemic.

The financial impact of the shutdown on the state's wineries, which feature top-notch pinot noir, has been “immense," said Greg Jones, a wine expert and director of the Evenstad Center for Wine Education at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon.

"Not having restaurants and other off-premise outlets open shuts down a lot of wine sales. Also, Oregon wineries are known for personal connections and winery visits, and without being open to foster those connections and...