Harvard Club of Seattle

A day in Wenatchee Cherry Picking, Lunch, Wine Tasting,
and Learning about Agriculture and Farming
with Allison Foreman, AB '06, JD '09

We invite Harvard and IvyPlus Alumni to join us in Wenatchee, WA at the family farm and winery of Allison Foreman and her extended family for Cherry Picking, Lunch, Wine Tasting, and Learning about Agriculture and Farming in Eastern Washington.

Please join Harvard and IvyPlus Alumni for a family friendly special day with Allison Foreman, AB '06, JD '09, James Foreman, AB ’04, Dale Foreman, AB ’70, JD ’75, Mari Foreman Groff, AB ’99, and Alan Groff, PhD ’04. Allison and her family will host us in their hometown, Wenatchee, for a day filled with all things agricultural: cherry picking at their family orchard, a wine tasting, and a discussion with key family member growers about the current state of tree fruit farming in Washington and agriculture generally in the United States. Guests will also have an opportunity to visit Pybus Market for lunch and shopping (at your own expense). This local gem is a converted steel mill situated alongside the Columbia River that has shops, restaurants, bike rentals, fresh farm produce and local artisans — think Pike Place Market but better weather.

The Foreman family has been farming in central Washington since the mid-1970’s. The family grows apples, pears, and cherries on farms ranging from the Canadian border to Oregon, including crowd favorites such as honeycrisp, cosmic crisp, and Rainier (yellow) cherries. The operation includes wine grapes as well, with five vineyards operating in Washington and Oregon that produce a variety of polished and opulent wines especially suited to the terroir. Guests will have the chance to sample cherries fresh from the tree (Rainier, Chelan, Lapins, Skeena, Bings) in the morning and wines from family winery, Watermill Wines, in the afternoon.

While sampling the family wines, guests will hear firsthand from James Foreman, AB ’04, and Alan Groff, PhD ’04, about the current state of tree fruit farming and agriculture in Washington and the United States. Tarrifs, trade, labor shortages, rising input costs, variable demand — these headwinds have brought new challenges and opportunities to the family farm in the past decade. If you have ever wondered what it is really like to be a farmer in the 21st century, this is the event for you.

To provide some background on the wines for the oenophiles out there, the wines are primarily grown in the Walla Walla Valley AVA, a premier, diverse wine region located in southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon, established in 1984. It features over 120 wineries, with a focus on red wines (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Merlot) thriving in a warm, dry climate with distinctive sandy loess and basalt cobble soils. Walla Walla Valley AVA wines are generally defined as complex, full-bodied, and balanced, featuring dark fruit, savory notes, and structured tannins, especially those grown in the nearby Rocks District, where several family wines are grown. The family-owned winery, Watermill Wines, also produces a variety of whites for those with lighter palates.

Who’s Invited:

• Harvard Alumni from the College and all the Graduate Schools

• IvyPlus undergrad/grad alumni (Stanford, Penn, Columbia, MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, etc.)

• Guests of Harvard and IvyPlus Alumni

• We expect this event to sellout, so secure your place today

• Registration ends Tuesday, 6/23/2026, 23:59 PT

A day in Wenatchee Cherry Picking, Lunch, Wine Tasting,

and Learning about Agriculture and Farming

with Allison Foreman, AB '06, JD '09

• Wenatchee, WA is a 3 hour drive East from Seattle

• Google Map of Hotels in Wenatchee (at your own expense)