Fullerton Wine Pairing Dinner

Fullerton Wine has a tasting room in the Slabtown area on NW Pettygrove, with a unique perspective of offering wine to highlight all the AVA (American Viticultural Area) of the Willamette Valley. To help this vision, winemaker Alex Fullerton and father Eric offers fine wine and they love pairing with food, offering dinners and dueling pairings with other winemakers. I’ve attended and loved a dinner previously, and recently attended another one with their new executive chef Andrew Thomas who recently started offering winemaker pairing dinner menu options for non-meat those reducing meat eaters.
Rosemary Focaccia Bruschetta Roasted Summer Vegetables, Gremolata, Toasted Spice Pepitas Fullerton Wine Pairing Dinner Wood Fired Grilled Steak, Whiskey Braised Cipollini Onions, Thyme Brown Butter, New Potatoes, Romesco Sauce

In a very inclusive move, the wine pairing dinners are offered so that diners can select from a Traditional (omnivore) menu, Pescatarian, or Vegan food pairing. So those with dietary restrictions are thoughtfully accounted for which is worth spotlighting, beyond their convenient location within Portland and great wines. It’s also fun to see how they efficiently create the twists in dishes to meet the restrictions. Here’s an example walkthrough of the Fullerton Pairing Dinner June 16 & 17, 2023 to see what an experience might be like.

We started with a welcome pour of 2021 Three Otters Ros茅. This easy to drink and very affordable summer pleaser started as a competition between father and son on who can make the best Ros茅 (whole cluster pressed vs skin contact over 6 days) and both were blended together when Alex discovered the sum was better together. You’ll notice the family love of otters on the wine label as well as part of the family crest and if you look carefully, an otter calendar hanging inside the tasting room.
Fullerton Wine Pairing Dinner welcome pour of 2021 Three Otters Ros茅

First Course

Seasonal Vegetable Gazpacho, Cucumber, Tomato, Red Onion, Peach, Croutons
This course was the same for both of us and was well balanced with the acidity and sweet of the fruit. It was paired with the bright 2022 Three Otters Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley AVA.
Fullerton Wine Pairing Dinner Seasonal Vegetable Gazpacho, Cucumber, Tomato, Red Onion, Peach, Croutons Fullerton Wine Pairing Dinner Seasonal Vegetable Gazpacho, Cucumber, Tomato, Red Onion, Peach, Croutons

Second Course

Aleppo Seared Scallop with Israeli Cous Cous Salad Roasted Summer Squash, Blistered Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh Scallion, Basil Ladolemono Dressing
馃尡Vegan: Israeli Couscous, Crispy Chickpeas, Roasted Seasonal Squash, Blisters Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh Scallion, Basil Ladolemono Dressing
Both were paired with 2018 Lichtenwalter Vineyard Pinot Noir, Ribbon Ridge AVA which is one of my favorites from Fullerton, with a smooth blend of fruit with spice accent in the flavor profile that’s subtle but distinguishable.
Fullerton Wine Pairing Dinner Aleppo Seared Scallop with Israeli Cous Cous Salad Roasted Summer Squash, Blistered Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh Scallion, Basil Ladolemono Dressing Fullerton Wine Pairing Dinner Vegan course of Israeli Couscous, Crispy Chickpeas, Roasted Seasonal Squash, Blisters Cherry Tomatoes, Fresh Scallion, Basil Ladolemono Dressing

Third Course

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Signature

Creative Mexican by Clandestino PDX

On Monday – Wednesday you can find creative Mexican plates and glasses of intriguing wines from Clandestino PDX, a pop-up now in residence at Lil Dame by Dame Collective (in the old Beast/Ripe Cooperative space). If you haven’t had an opportunity to visit, make a date for these weekdays to treat yourself to a cozy dinner and a food and wine mini adventure.
Clandestino PDX - Left Ceviche of yellowfin tuna, guava, avocado, lime on tostadita, Right Carne tartara - beef, yuzu kosho, serrano on tostadita Clandestino PDX - Quesadillas - carnitas, quesillo, guacachile

Clandestino joined the collective to start serving up Mexican inspired dishes in December to rave review by tastemaker and written word wrangler Karen Brooks of Portland Monthly who called Clandestino Portland’s Best New Mexican Restaurant. Try to make reservations as the space in inclement weather is very cozy and with recent media coverage may even be full for the night, even on a Monday. You can see how small the open kitchen is, so they also can only realistically do only so many covers per evening. As spring and summer weather open up the outdoor seating and they dial in their menu they’ll have more capacity.

Be sure to try several half glass pours during your visit! You can trust and after selecting your dishes let the staff pour their recommended pairings – you can even ask for a different pairing per person like we did for each dish. Not only are the selections carefully curated to be all winners with the food and diverse in provenance and flavor profile, but that helps support both sides of the collective.
Clandestino PDX - part of the Dame Collective

The way it works is the food sales are kept by the chef, Dame keeps the beverage, and overhead and staff costs are split by both resident chef and Dame. So patronize both with your check! I’ve always been a fan of the pop-up model (I even used to cover pop-ups for Eater PDX) – restaurant industry life is hard in terms of long hours and margins in balancing inventory with limited shelf life. Pop-ups allow for some reasonable work time boundaries with more control of when open for business and taking breaks, and an ability to get some work life balance. It’s great business sense for the brick and mortar owners and visiting chefs and part of PDX’s supportive hospitality community.

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Shallow Seas Ros茅 and a Smoky Corn Side Dish recipe

It’s September 10, and I don’t know how the time flew by so fast! I hope everyone had a fantastic summer, and that we are enjoying these last long days of sunshine before we are back to Portland winter weather and getting the much needed rains after this hot and dry summer. I am trying to get in as many more days of dinners on the outside front porch as I can, and I have a really amazing聽ros茅 wine I’ve enjoyed a couple times that I wanted to recommend to you. The Shallow Seas Ros茅 from Real Nice Winemakers, is a local wine that has really stood out this summer from multiple ros茅s I have had – I’ve brought it twice to two different parties with many foodies as attending guests, and at both parties, it was a huge hit.

Shallow Seas Rose from Real Nice Winemakers

The Shallow Seas Ros茅 has an AVA that is 100% Willamette Valley, sourced from Hyland Vineyard, Olsen Family Vineyard, and Westmount Vineyard. I first had it in the spring where I brought it to a friend’s birthday party and we paired the wine with roast pig and other side potluck dishes, including my smoky corn side dish that I’ll share the recipe shortly.

Shallow Seas Ros茅 with roast pork and smoky corn? Yes, it is an unusual pairing I know but it worked because this ros茅聽is a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Riesling, and has a beautiful blush pink color. The Riesling grapes in the blend gives this聽ros茅 and extra acidity and minerality that paired well with the crispy skin of this Chinese roast pig聽 and smokey corn. These crisp flavors ground the slightly sweet strawberry and peach of the wine, and is what makes it stand out so much from most聽ros茅s and pair excellently with a wide variety of dishes. With an SRP of $18 it’s also incredible value too.

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Seafood Sundays – Pizza Party at Teutonic Winery

On the instagram feed of Paul Willenberg, I have long admired and drooled at the pizza creations he has shared. Then, this past Sunday, after 10 years of perfecting, the homemade sourdough pizza dough of Paul Willenberg finally made it’s public debut for a Seafood Pizza Sunday at Teutonic Winery on July 24th.

After 10 years of perfecting, the homemade sourdough pizza dough of Paul Willenberg finally made it's public debut for a Seafood Pizza Sunday at Teutonic Winery on July 24th. After 10 years of perfecting, the homemade sourdough pizza dough of Paul Willenberg finally made it's public debut for a Seafood Pizza Sunday at Teutonic Winery on July 24th. After 10 years of perfecting, the homemade sourdough pizza dough of Paul Willenberg finally made it's public debut for a Seafood Pizza Sunday at Teutonic Winery on July 24th. After 10 years of perfecting, the homemade sourdough pizza dough of Paul Willenberg finally made it's public debut for a Seafood Pizza Sunday at Teutonic Winery on July 24th. Here Paul is preparing Pizza alla Bagna Cauda Fennel and Radicchio on a base of blended Sicilian Anchovies, Butter, Olive Oil, Garlic and Crushed Red Pepper After 10 years of perfecting, the homemade sourdough pizza dough of Paul Willenberg finally made it's public debut for a Seafood Pizza Sunday at Teutonic Winery on July 24th. After 10 years of perfecting, the homemade sourdough pizza dough of Paul Willenberg finally made it's public debut for a Seafood Pizza Sunday at Teutonic Winery on July 24th.

I trust Paul’s taste on everything – I first met Paul over beer on a Google Hotspots Brewvana bus tour聽in 2011, and then was re-introduced to him via Nodoguro when he was their Beverage Director and blew me away with the sake and wine pairings with the continually changing menu but hits it out of the park with the way his pairings compliment or contrast and/or even match the theme. Ask him what to drink, and trust him 100%.

I went with the Clam pie paired with Cameron Winery 2014 Saignee of Pinot Noir and then the Pizza alla Bagna Cauda Fennel paired with Teutonic Alsea Estate Pinot Noir
Clam Pie with Local Cr猫me Fra卯che, Manila Clams, Domestic Guanciale, Red Onion with Cameron Winery 2014 Saignee of Pinot Noir Pizza alla Bagna Cauda Fennel and Radicchio on a base of blended Sicilian Anchovies, Butter, Olive Oil, Garlic and Crushed Red Pepper paired with Teutonic Alsea Estate Pinot Noir

There were three different kinds of seafood pizza baked in the very hot Mugnaini wood fired oven offered.

Clam Pie with Local Cr猫me Fra卯che, Manila Clams, Domestic Guanciale, Red Onion
After 10 years of perfecting, the homemade sourdough pizza dough of Paul Willenberg finally made it's public debut for a Seafood Pizza Sunday at Teutonic Winery on July 24th. Here Paul is preparing Clam Pie with Local Cr猫me Fra卯che, Manila Clams, Domestic Guanciale, Red Onion After 10 years of perfecting, the homemade sourdough pizza dough of Paul Willenberg finally made it's public debut for a Seafood Pizza Sunday at Teutonic Winery on July 24th. Here Paul is preparing Clam Pie with Local Cr猫me Fra卯che, Manila Clams, Domestic Guanciale, Red Onion Clam Pie with Local Cr猫me Fra卯che, Manila Clams, Domestic Guanciale, Red Onion before going into oven Clam Pie with Local Cr猫me Fra卯che, Manila Clams, Domestic Guanciale, Red Onion

Pizza alla Bagna Cauda Fennel and Radicchio on a base of blended Sicilian Anchovies, Butter, Olive Oil, Garlic and Crushed Red Pepper
After 10 years of perfecting, the homemade sourdough pizza dough of Paul Willenberg finally made it's public debut for a Seafood Pizza Sunday at Teutonic Winery on July 24th. Here Paul is preparing Pizza alla Bagna Cauda Fennel and Radicchio on a base of blended Sicilian Anchovies, Butter, Olive Oil, Garlic and Crushed Red Pepper Pizza alla Bagna Cauda Fennel and Radicchio on a base of blended Sicilian Anchovies, Butter, Olive Oil, Garlic and Crushed Red Pepper

Shrimp Toast pizza of a Shrimp Mousse with Sesame and Sriracha
Shrimp Toast pizza of a Shrimp Mousse with Sesame and Sriracha

And, if you haven’t heard of Teutonic Winery, they made excellent Germanic style wines (I particularly love their wines with Asian foods though their large variety of whites and pinot noirs have a range that can fit any food) while also rocking out to pretty fun music that makes their wine tasting room seem more like a patio party you want to sit and drink and linger at rather than just taste a fancy flight.
Teutonic Wine Company Teutonic Wine Company

They are offering Seafood Sundays all summer long – here’s the schedule of the special visiting seafood and wine friend at each.
Teutonic Winery Seafood Sunday

Their Portland tasting room is located at 3303 SE 20th Ave and Powell with plenty of easy parking and their patio is family and dog friendly. I get there taking the streetcar and only need to walk 6 blocks from the Yellow Line SE 17th Ave & Rhine St MAX Station. On the other 6 days a week they are open which are not Seafood Sunday you can enjoy Scandinavian fare from the food truck The Wild Hunt (same people as Viking Soul Food cart) that is parked there and open Wed-Sat evenings or partake in their other awesome special themed day, Teutonic Winery’s Metal Monday with homemade corn dogs and metal music and $1 off if you wear an accepted metal T-shirt (I mean, how can you not love these guys…).

Which of these 3 pizzas sounds like you? ave you heard of Teutonic Winery before? What would you prefer Seafood Sunday, Metal Monday, or trying Scandinavian fare with their wines?

Signature

Tesoaria Wine and Vegan Food Pairing

I admit I’ve been a wine club member and even longer a fan of TeS贸Aria wines. Recently聽they have started offering vegan tapas on their daily聽tapas menu to accompany their dozen or so聽wines that are available at any one time to taste or purchase by the glass, in flights, or in bottles, and many of those wines are award-winning. At the time of the brunch, they were up to 97 medals!
Award winning wines at Tesoaria Award winning wines at Tesoaria

And now, starting today they have set aside every Thursday for what they call Vegan Thursday:聽Shut Up and Eat Your Vegetables night where all the tapas will be vegan – the menus are available starting at 5 PM. They also will be offering a vegan brunch with wine pairings by reservation only (one seating) 聽every few weeks. It’s not often that you see vegan food paired with wines, and it’s worth highlighting for my vegan friends out and there – and even if you’re not vegan, the Tesoaria Wine and Vegan Food Pairing is so good you will want it anyway.
Tesoaria Wine and Vegan Food Pairing at a vegan brunch - owner and winemaker John Olson describing the wine Tesoaria Wine and Vegan Food Pairing at a Vegan Brunch - yes pairing vegan food and wine- owner and winemaker John Olson describing the wine
The name for TeS贸Aria Vineyard & Winery comes from combining Terra (earth), Sol (sun), Aria (air and music) which are three important parts that make their wines so unique. Owner and winemaker John Olson and his family love music, and it is part of the TeS贸Aria experience. At their wine members pick up parties I’ve often enjoyed hearing his children play music and sing, and they host live music in the Portland Tasting Room on Saturdays. While aging the聽wines in the barrels, TeS贸Aria plays music through Bose speakers to keep the wine moving – as well as possibly imparting a little extra terroir.
Music is part of the Terrroir of Tesoaria Wines

The TeS贸Aria Wine and Vegan Food Pairing Brunches聽will be offered every few weeks as a special event 聽– aka, they will not be weekly so check their events listing on the website and聽sign up for their mailing list to be in the know.聽The next Vegan Brunch at the Portland Tasting Room is Sunday, July 24th, 11am $45, tout compris. Limited seating, RSVP required to events @ tesoaria.com

The food is inspired newly each time so expect to see new creative additions all the time by Chef Max Germano and Sous Chef Daniel Escalle (seen here preparing the Vegan Cassoulet during the vegan brunch) for what will be on the menu.
Tesoaria Vegan Brunch - Sous Chef Daniel Escalle preparing the Vegan Cassoulet.

Here’s a look at the inaugural vegan brunch I attended to give you an idea of what the experience could include with the 4 courses with the wine pairings.

Tesoaria Wine and Vegan Food Pairing: Vegan Brunch

1st course

Chicory Salad with Roasted Apricot Vinaigrette and croutons paired with 2015 Vermentino Secco and 2014 Field Blend #1. The greens in this salad included endive, frisee, arugula and interestingly some wasabi greens to add a hint of spiciness.
TeS贸Aria Wine and Vegan Food Pairing Brunch 1st course Chicory Salad with Roasted Apricot Vinaigrette and croutons paired with 2015 Vermentino Secco and 2014 Field Blend #1 TeS贸Aria Vegan Brunch 1st course Chicory Salad with Roasted Apricot Vinaigrette and croutons paired with 2015 Vermentino Secco and 2014 Field Blend #1

Candied pepitas with radishes and macerated apricots add additional texture and flavors to the plate that I thought were best brought out by the Field Blend #1 since each dish gave me a chance to go a White vs Red: Who Did It Better comparison.

The Field Blend is the red wine that is a tribute to old school wine making where winemakers are more focused on the flavors then getting hung up on specific varietals. TeS贸Aria, by the way, cultivates more than 25 different varietals from the Southern Oregon Umpqua Valley, Celestina Vineyard in Medford Rogue Valley, riesling from Willamette Valley, and some from Northern California.

2nd course

Homemade Cashew Cheese Stuffed Peppers with Tabouleh, Sweet Romanesco and Mint Oil paired with 2015 Riesling (sourced from Willamette) and 2014 Bull’s Blood (a Hungarian style red wine). He has a specific way he tells the inspiration story behind the Bull’s Blood name though rest assured there is no bull harmed in the story or in the wine making. One new trivia I learned though is that the聽Kadarka grape they use for this red were smuggled vines from Hungary that he inherited (he’s a rebel, but didn’t smuggle them in himself, phew)!
TeS贸Aria Vegan Brunch 2nd course Cashew Cheese Stuffed Peppers with Tabouleh, Sweet Romanesco and Mint Oil paired with 2015 Riesling and 2014 Bull's Blood TeS贸Aria Wine and Vegan Food Pairing Brunch 2nd course Cashew Cheese Stuffed Peppers with Tabouleh, Sweet Romanesco and Mint Oil paired with 2015 Riesling and 2014 Bull's Blood

With the surprise spiciness from the peppers I thought the Riesling was the winner of this pairing to balance out the dish, though normally I like drinking the Bull’s Blood on it’s own!

3rd course

Vegan Cassoulet with Fava Beans and Maitake Mushrooms, Chickpea Croutons, Roasted Vegetables, White Miso, and Tahini paired with 2015 Bella Rosa and 2012 Vindetta Reserve.
TeS贸Aria Vegan Brunch 3rd course Vegan Cassoulet with Fava Beans and Maitake Mushrooms, Chickpea Croutons, Roasted Vegetables, White Miso, and Tahini paired with 2015 Bella Rosa and 2012 Vindetta Reserve TeS贸Aria Wine and Vegan Food Pairing Brunch 3rd course Vegan Cassoulet with Fava Beans and Maitake Mushrooms, Chickpea Croutons, Roasted Vegetables, White Miso, and Tahini paired with 2015 Bella Rosa and 2012 Vindetta Reserve

Cassoulet is traditionally a peasant dish with beans and meat, and聽I enjoyed here how the use of mushrooms and miso really gave an extra thickness to the cassoulet to make it meaty like without actual meat. For me the Vindetta Reserve red wine was my preferred pairing of the two.

4th course

Dessert came as a Rosemary Shortcake with Apricot Jam, Apricots, Lemon Olive Oil, Fried Rosemary and Muscat Agave Nectar. The apricots are macerated in the Bella Rosa that here is also paired with the dish (2015 Bella Rosa Secco).
TeS贸Aria Vegan Brunch 4th course Rosemary Shortcake with Apricot Jam, Apricots, Fried Rosemary paired with 2015 Bella Rosa Secco and 2015 Sparkling Moscato TeS贸Aria Vegan Brunch 4th course Rosemary Shortcake with Apricot Jam, Apricots, Fried Rosemary paired with 2015 Bella Rosa Secco and 2015 Sparkling Moscato

The other wine pairing here is the 2015 Sparkling Moscato, showing off their recently started聽TeS贸Aria Sparkling Wine Program – this particular Moscato just won a Silver Medal at the 2016 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition and they were confused/surprised when he entered the wine in a growler! You聽see, the sparkling wines of聽TeS贸Aria are on tap and you can purchase them by the (refillable!) growler here in the tasting room.

Other Excuses/Rationalizations to stop by the Portland Tasting Room:

  • On Tuesdays the Portland Tasting Room hosts Pizza Tuesdays where every Tuesday, housemade pizza is complimentary and certain wines are on special. Open house from 6聽– 9 PM聽or until they are out of pizza.
  • They also hold Hangry Hump Day every Wednesday at The Portland Tasting Room. Chef Max’s complimentary yummies and Wine Specials vary based on the week which in the past can be as varied (and making for fun wine pairings!) as from fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, lamb gyros, chicken teriyaki, to chicken tikka masala or smoked chicken biscuits with mac and cheese and more. Open house from 6pm to 9pm or until the food is gone.

The vegan only nights are only on Thursdays, but they have also added vegan options to their always available tapas menu that includes choices like
Tasting Boards with the Tesoaria Sparkling Wine at the Sparkling Wine Release Party

  • the vegan Olive Tapenade made with Castelveltrano and Kalamata olives with herbs and toasted bread;
  • Cheese Board with house baked bread;
  • Charcuterie Board that includes Ghost Pepper Salami and housemade charcuterie items;
  • the vegan Mezze Board with Hummus, Lebneh, Marinated Olives, Roasted Almonds, Cucumber and Flatbread;
  • Focaccia Pizza (including vegan pizza option);
  • Smoked Salmon brined in聽TeS贸Aria Bella Bianca wine before being cold smoked;
  • House cured ham sandwich with brie and house made mustard, greens and lemon chive vinaigrette
  • TeS贸Aria Housemade Candy Bars with salted almond shortbread and vanilla caramel topped with dark chocolate and Maldon sea salt!

On the Thursday Shut Up and Eat Your Vegetables Vegan Takeover day, a recent visit yielded for me choices like

  • Samosas with curry cauliflower and potato with a spiced tomato sauce, suggested pairing 2015 Riesling but you can try whatever wine you’d like, I prefer red wine to white myself and there are plenty to choose from, many are award winning as you can see from the 100 medals Tesoaria has won with their wines
    Tesoaria's Thursday Portland Vegan Takeover Menu - Shut Up and Eat Your Vegetables, Samosas with curry cauliflower and potato with a spiced tomato sauce, suggested pairing 2015 Riesling though you can do whatever pairing you choose - I prefer red wine to white myself and there are plenty to choose from, many are award winning as you can see from the 100 medals Tesoaria has won with their wines Tesoaria's Thursday Portland Vegan Takeover Menu - Shut Up and Eat Your Vegetables, Samosas with curry cauliflower and potato with a spiced tomato sauce, suggested pairing 2015 Riesling but you can try whatever wine you'd like - I enjoyed a red because I prefer red to white wine
  • Portobello Sandwich with house made that day ciabatta, romesco, pickled peppers, roasted fennel greens, suggested wine pairing 2014 Bulls Blood though here I tried the 2014 Primitivo which was just as excellent!
    Tesoaria's Thursday Portland Vegan Takeover Menu - Shut Up and Eat Your Vegetables, Portobello Sandwich with house made that day ciabatta, romesco, pickled peppers, roasted fennel greens, suggested wine pairing 2014 Bulls Blood though here I tried the 2014 Primitivo which was just as excellent!
  • Som Tam Salad Rolls with a charred peanut and black garlic sauce, suggested pairing 2015 Vermentino or 2015 Bella Bianca; the charred peanut and black garlic sauce provide a savory and funky taste to mimic fish sauce but in a vegan way
    "Tesoaria's
  • Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil Cake with macerated apricots, strawberry rhubarb compote, and fresh cherries, suggested wine pairing sparkling muscat, one of the sparkling wines of Tesoaria that you can get to go in a growler!
    "Tesoaria's Sparkling muscat in a growler bottled for you from the tap at the Tesoaria Tasting Room on North Williams

Their tasting menu also includes 5 flight options that include tapas paired with three glasses of wine – cheese, charcuterie, the wine maker’s flight with chef’s choice (1 of the wines will be the live barrel), or a library wine flight with chef’s choice of tapas to pair with the wine.
Open house at Tesoaria with a dozen wines to taste Open house at Tesoaria with a dozen wines to taste

Suffice it to say you will not lack for choice for types of wine to try at TeS贸Aria. Usually there are a little more than half a dozen white wine and聽a dozen red wines to choose by the glass or to make a wine flight, plus 2-3 sparkling wine you can try. Purchase a bottle of wine from the live barrel and they will hand bottle for you聽and write a custom message.
TeS贸Aria offers live barrels in their Portland Tasting Room for you to taste and will hand bottle if you puchase a bottle TeS贸Aria offers live barrels in their Portland Tasting Room for you to taste and will hand bottle if you puchase a bottle

TeS贸Aria wines are only available directly from the winery through their tasting rooms, mailing list, and wine clubs.

Locations of聽TeS贸Aria Tasting Rooms:

  • The Portland Tasting Room: 4003 N Williams Ave, Portland, OR 97227
  • The Roseburg Tasting Room & Winery: 512 N Curry Road, Roseburg, OR 97471

Tes贸aria Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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