(Wines&Vines) - The North American wine industry has learned to capitalize on its scenic appeal, infinite variety and innate hospitality, leveraging these assets with links to local tourism to generate traffic. Direct-to-consumer tasting room sales fuel thriving year-round wine clubs, and most cellar doors are open every weekend—at least during the growing season, whenever that may be. States from Virginia to Washington proclaim annual “wine months” to promote their wares and destinations.

Wine Tourism Day is not, however, the creation of any winery organization or government marketing department. The fledgling event May 11 is the brainchild of a small travel company that specializes in active excursions worldwide. Zephyr Adventures started in 1997 with inline skating events, branched out into bicycle and foot trekking and now offers culinary/beer/wine tours.