I recently attended two wine festivals in the past two weekends: first the Big Sip, in its first year and at a hotel in downtown Portland. The other, the Sip McMinnville Wine and Food Classic, in its 18th year at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. Shortly before that, I had also gone to Portland Seafood and Wine Festival, but I don't have as much to say about it except its lack of featuring much seafood despite its name on the billing.
One of the benefits of living in Portland is that we have access to so many wines produced locally. You can get to the heart of wine valley in only an hour, couple hours, or few hours, depending on what region and subregion you are shooting for- there are many AVAs in Oregon. Yet, even though these wineries are not that far of a drive away, many also actively promote themselves to the Portland residents by participating in food and wine festivals with a booth and bringing their wines for tastings for minimal fees (often 50 cents or $1) during the spring, summer, and fall season and selling bottles out of that booth.
These recent two festivals in particular were scheduled at back to back in weekends, and even shared the "Sip" in the name, but had different purposes. Big Sip was promoted towards good wine buys as discounted prices, which is exactly what it had. Meanwhile, Sip McMinville was a showcase of in order to see what vendors you knew or were just learning about had to offer. Both also offered a Groupon deal a week or so before the event.
First, Big Sip- there were about 35 wineries offered, but some were being represented by distributors, not the wineries themselves. For the Groupon deal of $27, it covered admission, grabbing a glass (but no one took the glass home- they were just the generic kind there for convenience and certainly better then using plastic cups but without having to waste printing and taking souviner glasses home), a "$10 value" cheese plate, and 15 tasting tickets. That's half price off – and that's about the right price for what it was.
One thing I liked was at the door, instead of the typical map with list of vendors, they had a list of all the wines on the floor in alphabetical order along with the regular price for a bottle, price for the bottle at the Big Sip event, savings, and amount for a case (some also 3 or 6 packs). This was particularly nice so that instead of having to circle the floor to see what everyone was offering and was a easy way to highlight prices when it came down to buying decision time at the end, instead of having to scrawl down prices along with my tasting notes since sometimes in the midst of tasting and other people at the table you might forget/have a blocked view of the price list, if even displayed. Some of the prices really were 15-30% off. Who I visited:
- Airfield Estates. I had never heard of them before, and their labels are fun – their estate is situated by an WWII airbase. They only had 5 of their wines there, but they offer a lot of different styles in their portfolio. Although I didn't buy what they offered, it perked my interest in them. I have to say they have one of the better winery websites I've seen.
- AlexEli Vineyard. Also new to me, and focusing more on whites, which is too rare here, and they have reversed it: of the five wines they had, they had the pinot noir but the rest were riesling, gewurztraminer, and white blends! Phil seemed to have a prime spot on the floor so I hope others also appreciated and will encourage AlexEli Vineyards. I did with their dessert gewurz, Gewürztraminer Blumen Von
- Cana's Feast. They are trying to do an Italian style with their wines, at their winery you can visit and try their wine with Italian food, so sounded like a possible future lunch visit on the next day/weekend trip to the Yamhill Valley
- Cathedral Ridge. Tried their 07 Syrah and 07 Bordeauxhd blend of syrah, cab, and merlot. These weren't bad, but they didn't stand out to me either. I personally like syrah to be allowed to powerful and full, and these seemed more of a tame tease but would be likable to those who prefer something more smooth
- Edenvale. They were offering their 03 Late Harvest Viognier, 05 Reserve Syrah, 05 Reserve Tempranillo, and 07 Reserve Viognier at 2 tickets a tasting of each when everyone else asked for one (or would overlook it when you purchased a bottle). Every time I taste them, I feel sorta meh- I admire that they are willing to hold their wine as long as it takes before releasing them, but I am not seeing enough complexity payoff
- Hawkins Cellars. Their 09 Syrah was interesting, as it started with more fruit then ended on a note of spice. I don't have another descriptor that I had written after the taste.
- Marshal's Winery. They seemed like a rough and tumble, smaller operation, and reminded me a bit of table wine you could get in Europe that did the job but didn't get in the way or particularly sing in terms of character
- Namaste Vineyards. I appreciate what they are trying to do with white wines, and I need to keep my eye out to try their white port- a port made with Chardonnay and local Clear Creek Distillery brandy- doesn't that sound interesting? Their website is terrible, thank goodness they are so personable at their booth, they should probably do more festivals.
- Quailhurst. They offered a vertical tasting of their pinot noir from 02, 03, 04, and a couple other bottles. Although I was tempted by the discount to their regular price, since I know I have twice as many red as white and most of my red are pinot noirs, I need to be more selective and not get my head turned by "a deal".
Besides getting a few more names for me to keep an eye on, the Big Sip had satisfying snacks in between the tastes (or before… or after) going for it. Since it was located at the Doubletree by Lloyd Center, it was easy to get to by public transit, and also meant that people were not depending on the Big Sip for food as there are plenty of options in the area. Still, Big Sip had cheese trays which seemingly everyone had in hand- did everyone who came buy the Groupon?
Also, for $1 a piece, you could get a lovely bite of egg salad with pickled beet and sprinkle of paprika on a baguette for some protein. The peeps just make that display, don't they?
The Pinot Noir style is what I had a lot of at Sip McMinville, and it was especially interesting to compare the pinot noirs from the Willamette Valley to those from Southern Oregon as well in taste testing amongst various wineries. It was like a March Madness Pinot Noir bracket.
In fact, even before arriving at the event, we stopped off at Anam Cara Cellar's tasting room to start our tastings at 11 🙂 . We have visited Et Fille before who was guesting that day at this tasting room. Et Fille sources one of their wine's grapes from Nicholas Vineyard which is Anam Cara also uses, so it would be an interesting comparison tasting the two. I personally really like the Nicholas sourced wine from Et Fille and have their 07- so it was no surprised that I liked their 08 Nicholas too. Anam Cara's 07 Nicholas Estate Pinot Noir had a similarly great nose, silky mouthfeel, and light berry with toast, and their 07 Estate Reserve adds a bit of smooth butterness from the French barrel.
Then it was stepped up even more, with their 07 Mark II with its smokiness and their Heather that has more velvet berry. We were torn between the siblings of Mark and Heather, but I prefer Mark. I only bought a bottle of their Nicholas Estate Riesling though- its clean bright taste that is round but not sweet is a great find for a Riesling. And, I need more whites in my cellar, thank you! The 08 Gewurztraminer from Anam Cara is sweet and mellow- but since I have similar profiles in my collection, similar to the pinots, I was able to rationalize a pass for now. But, it was wonderful to meet Anam Cara, I'm sure we will meet again.
At the Sip McMinnville, the highlights were that it was inside the Evergreen Aviation and Space museum, so it had better atmosphere, and the many rows that it had for the booths helped divide people up so you were in a crowd but were never crowded. In terms of wineries visited:
- Rizzo's upcoming petit verdot with its pepper spice, this was the third time I've been to their booth, but when I tasted this one, I knew I had a crush finally on a bottle that I had to have. Eagerly awaiting its April release.
- Bradley Vineyard. It was nice to see them since I visited them in the Umpqua Valley and still remember their 08 Baco Noir very well, as well as their Pinot Noir vertical tasting- at this visit the 07 has a lean towards spice, while the 08 has a lean towards creaminess. If I was going to buy Pinot Noirs, this is the winner and where I would go (well, assuming I didn't want to spend $60 to buy Mark II from Anam Cara- which is equivalent of two bottles of Bradley's pinot). I didn't think their 09 Baco stood up to their 08, so am willing to wait and see a future year though given my current cellar. We also tried their Sugar N spice Gewurtz, but I didn't think the port style was to my taste of what I wanted with a dessert Gewurtz
- Rivers Edge, another one I had visited before in the Umpqua Valley, and I remember their pinot noir jelly and Black Oak pinot noir well- I had tasted it from the barrel then (actually I went back and snuck a second free tasting) and wondered how it would grow up as it aged. Well, now I know. We compared the 08 Black Oak with their 08 Umpqua Valley, 07 Barrel Select, and 09 Dulcet Cuvee. The Black Oak was first place for me, but there was debate between the Black Oak and the Barrel Select.
- Tesoaria Palotai. I think they must want to be passed by word of mouth only, based on their website. Well, that's fine, more Moutage for me. Besides picking up the bottles of Moutage I had known immediately I wanted when I first tasted it at the Seafood and Wine festival, tasting it again a month later doubled how many I wanted so I am not torn between enjoying it and hoarding it. We also tried his Zinfandel, which was a wild animal Zin compared to what you would normally expect thanks to its extra spice tone- it's rebellious nature immediately appealed to me. We also tried their Merlot with its complex berry profile, and the new Atilla which this time uses Barbera. The style here still remains a bold smack that sometimes needs some timeout time to smooth over- just have the fortitude to power through tasting all his offerings and take notes, and take your time.
- Tried Macindoe's 08 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley which had a nice round body but some spice in the profile to perk it up, Stoller's 07 Pinot Noir that had a soft round body, Maysara's 08 Jamesheedand 07 Estate Cuvee… all of which were definitely high on the pinot noir bracket but didn't make it to the final round
- Dominio Wines. First time meeting, tried their Viogner Dragonfly, Tempranillo/Syarah Spellbound, and then Estate Syrah Song of an Uncaged Bird. Besides the names, the winery also has its own interesting take on its taste profile, and since they apparently offer many more at the tasting room then the three at this event, seems like someplace to check out and see what they are developing
- Also visited Coelho for the espontaneo marechal foch and dessert wine, Lone Oak's Syrah, and Pudding River's Chardonnay and Viogner… probably won't be checking in with them again as they were not my taste
- Ancient Cellars and Eliana didn't have anything new yet from when we had last seen them, so they didn't count in the bracket this time because they are already in my cellar.
- By the time got to Zena and Edenvale, my palate was done with reds: I only knew by immediate gut feel whether I wanted it or not, and I only wanted it if it was bringing me something new… but not this time anyway.
We finished up Sip McMinville with pressing our noses against the glass wall because the Spruce Goose building was already closed, and then off to a great recommendation and dinner experience at Dundee Bistro. We made it right around 6:40ish without a reservation and were given two two-tops at the bar area pushed together, which was fine as long as we didn't have to wait.The other drawback besides being too late to see the Spruce Goose (and wishing they had clearly told us hours of the buildings if they were going to vary from the event since the cost of the ticket included museum admission) was the lack of food. Well, there was food, just not really quality food worth the price- maybe Canby Asparagus Farm being the exception which is why the long lines while others had no lines. For an event that is open 12-9pm, they didn't have much to feed the people who needed more in their stomach. The best thing I saw there was actually a $1 taste at the Abbie and Olivers booth – and those were 6 little bites of cheese. I'll be covering the cheeses in a future post, as I bought 3 of those 6 cheeses- I'm writing this on a rainy Sunday, but this post is getting way long.
The food at Dundee Bistro at least was great- the dinner menu was crafted with a great variety of combinations of flavors and both light and heavy dishes, obviously picking from what is fresh and available and local, though it seemed the dessert menu was not so much thought through as it seemed like it could be from anywhere, anytime. It seems they really do change through their menu daily as advertised, and even checking their menu today after a visit last night I really do see a change in most of the menu. Everything tasted fresh and mostly well executed, it was clear the kitchen is on its game, or at least was this visit. There were only a few mistake in the food plays- the short rib and pork loin entrees were totally on, but the pulled pork sandwich with cheddar, bbq, spinach and truffle fries didn't need the mustard competing with the bbq in the sandwich.
Meanwhile, while I still really liked my truffle fries with lemon aioli, a sprinkle of parmesan would have really made that a whole other level. I was tempted by the beef short ribs that were described as "falling off the bone" with a leek risotto and applewood bacon, onion Oregon blue cheese & broccolini YUM- but I had a feeling it would be super heavy and rich and I would fall asleep on the way home.
So instead I tried to go lighter and healthier and simpler with their homemade taglietelle with Oregon black truffle, pea shoots & grana padano. I think a sprinkle of breadcrumb or nut slivers like almond to add a little crunch texture but not detract from the truffle would have made the dish perfect, and also taking out the pasta from the water 2 minutes earlier so the pasta was more al dente instead of the same texture as the pea shoots… At least this confirmed for me that the pasta was indeed homemade as it is much easier to overcook fresh pasta- and these weren't overcooked, just past al dente by a bit. But these are texture enhancement requests. Adding a splash of black truffle oil in mixing the pasta before topping it with the Oregon black truffle would have been the extra credit taste profile upgrade because I was looking for more pungeant truffle. Overall, these are minor nitpicks.
Though I would like to recommend it, I cautiously wonder how crazy Dundee Bistro is going to be as the area gets into during peak winery visiting season- better count on a call ahead first. I wonder what it is like particularly because when even a table sitting during just at the beginning of the dinner rush is told one of the appetizers (the Applewood Bacon & Cauliflower Beignets) were already out… didn't you just open less then 2 hours earlier for dinner? But I appreciated that they comped truffle fries to share while we waited for our entrees.
Meanwhile, another diner at my table was told he had received the last pulled pork sandwich- which was one of the 6-7 main courses (not counting the pizzas and pastas, which you could arguably have as an entree rather than a large shared appetizer). Really, it's not even 7:30 yet… seems like they may have some logistical management problems there. I'll try it again and have to see. Overall, Dundee Bistro seems like something you could teleport directly to/from Napa, it was so spot on with what a restaurant surrounded by so much bounty in its locale should offer and would be like in its philosophy.
If you are a reader not from this area, you may not be familiar with this "Napa-Sonoma" parallel of Oregon. There is a Napa Valley-like area consisting of a synergetic effect of wine tasting rooms and lodging, dining, local farmers and various kinds of artisans in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. There are other AVAs (and sub AVAs) in Oregon, and I haven't done much exploring as much as I do want to in order to better understand how to pick out where would be a good winery weekend getaway- but I did visit Umpqua Valley once. My weekend visit to the Umpqua Valley last year and my experiences during the Umpqua Valley Barrel Tour made me think it was a closer parallel in terms of atmosphere to Sonoma. Unlike in the Willamette Valley, Umpqua Valley wineries were often harder to find. On the other hand, I saw lots of signage in the Willamette Valley directing you to tasting rooms and wineries). Also in Umpqua, there was little in dining options that would stand up as a peer match to the wines produced locally: basically it's not as mature of a community to attract visitors.
Dundee Bistro and the new Red Hills Market seems to be proof of otherwise in the Willamette Valley. On our way to Sip McMinnville and on the way back home, this similarity and slow transformation into a Napa like community resonated even more as I saw it myself as I checked out the new developments. 99W is like a younger sibling to Napa's Route 29. It's still forming itself, so there's still a bit of turnover here or there, but it is definitely heading in that direction to become a gourmet district, not just groupings of wineries in a location. A stronger food industry presence locally could probably help keep people to stay, versus just driving in and out- I know I would prefer that if there were good options to make it worthwhile. Yay, synergy, keep it up!
Such a perk to live in Portland- it is an ecosystem of deliciousness that just keeps getting better and better.
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