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Chehalem Business Connection November 2013 Page 6
There are no purple cows, but
for the Purple Cow Vineyards,
the unusual imagery is a mar-
keting strategy.
Dave Rasmussen, president, related
the story: Founding member Jon Arm-
strong’s 18-month-old daughter had a
plastic, purple cow toy. She would
shout, “It’s a Purple cow,” knowing
they weren’t supposed to be purple.
After doing some research, he found
there was a marketing book, “Purple
Cow: Transform Your Business by
Being Remarkable,” that advised being
different, because it makes your busi-
ness more memorable.
“That’s what Purple Cow is,” Ras-
mussen said.
The vineyard started selling com-
mercially in 2004; three months ago it
made the move to Newberg from the
Forest Grove area.
Rasmussen was born in Newberg, so
when he looked to move further into
wine country, it made sense.
“I think it’s the exposure to wine
country,” he said. “This area has hun-
dreds of wineries, over there (Forest
Grove area), there are maybe 30. It
made economic sense.”
So on Sept. 26, Purple Cow opened
its tasting room doors.
“The reception for us has been
great,” Rasmussen said. “We are look-
ing forward to it.”
The winery is taking over the old
Newberg Steel building at 105 N. Main
St, which Rasmussen said needs a
three-phase remodel before the perma-
nent tasting room and production facil-
ities are established in the same build-
ing.
Currently, the business is sharing
space with Critter Cabana and has built
its temporary tasting room in what used
to be the garage of the building.
Once Critter Cabana returns to its
516 E. First St. location, Purple Cow
will take over the remainder of the
building.
“We’re the first winery in down-
town,” he said. “This location is a big
deal. We have both 99W and Main
Street coming up from Carlton.”
He said a recent zoning change al-
lowed the winery to move operations
downtown, which he added means oth-
ers can now follow suit.
Purple Cow specializes in long bar-
rel times, which Rasmussen said can
average two or three years, uncommon
for the vintages they produce.
“We have 18 varietal wines,” he said.
These range from pinot noir, tempranil-
lo, syrah, petite verdot and muscat,
among others.
“We also have an Oregon blend and
a Yakima blend,” he said.
This year’s
vintage might
be down a little
bit in volume,
he said, but
they’ve already
harvested quite
a bit and are just riding out the storm.
“The birds love it because they’re
eating half the crop,” Rasmussen said.
“But we’re actually very fortunate in
the valley, we don’t get it very ex-
treme.”
The winery started as a hobby.
“But then friends and family want
wine; in order to do so you need to be
commercial,” he said.
Construction is scheduled to be com-
pleted in December. For now, the tasting
room is open Sunday through Wednes-
day, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday
through Saturday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For mor e informa t ion , vi s i t
www.purplecowvineyards.com.
New winery looks to stand out
Embracing marketing techniques, Purple Cow Vineyards moves to spot on Main Street in Newberg
Tasting room opens — Purple Cow Vineyards opened its tasting room last week after relocating to Newberg two months ago.
Briana Rogers pours one of many wines crafted at the winery.
Janis’ is owned and operated by
Janis Schroeder. It is a friendly
and relaxing place to shop in his-
toric downtown Newberg.
Janis’ recently relocated to a larger up-
graded 1907 building. She has created an
atmosphere of welcome to her customers.
Nice wide aisles and beautifully arranged
merchandise allows for easily selecting
gifts. A new seating area boasts a couch,
chairs, coffee maker and your local
newspaper. It’s a restful wait for those
who choose, while your fellow visitor is
browsing. Janis’ also offers an adorable
play area for the kids, while mom or dad
shops.
Janis’ features an amazing selection of
handbags, including: Funky, retro, fabric,
designer inspired, outdoor, leather, con-
servative and everything in between, in
every color imaginable. If Janis doesn’t
have a bag that suits your taste or needs,
she’s ready to find one for you that you
love. And just like everything else in this
shop, the handbags are very reasonably
priced. Besides handbags, Janis’ also car-
ries candles, greeting cards, handcrafted
soaps, jewelry, watches, scarves, hats, lo-
tions, specialty glasses and trays, books
and a whole lot more.
At Janis’ you can buy local and find
treasure in your own back yard. There
are so many choices that it might be hard
to decide, but she is here to help you.
Janis believes that there are three impor-
tant factors in a great shopping experi-
ence: Choice, price and customer service.
If you feel the same way, you will love
this shop. Janis’ is located at 616 E. First
St. in Newberg, and the phone number is
503-554-9500.
Janis’ features ‘amazing’ selection of merchandise
First Street store has
something for everyone
“We’re the first winery in
downtown. This location
is a big deal. We have
both 99W and Main
Street coming up from
Carlton.”