Oregon Wine and Portland Dining Month collaborate for best event yet

 

Meriwether’s, an Oregon Wine A-List restaurant, will be participating once again in Portland Dining Month happening March 1-31. Travel Portland

Portland Dining Month returns Tuesday, March 1 and this year promises to be even more wine centric than years past. For 2016 the Oregon Wine Board has partnered with Portland Dining Month—in its eighth year—to showcase 18 Oregon Wine A-List restaurants.

The Oregon Wine A-List Awards was created to honor restaurants world-wide that support Oregon wines and this year 113 restaurants—some from as far away as Sweden and Tokyo—made the distinguished roster. Incidentally, Roots Restaurant and Bar—located in Camas—is the sole Clark County restaurant on this prestigious list.

Throughout the month of March foodies can delight in three-course culinary wonders at 121 participating restaurants for a budget-friendly $29 per person, 18 of which are Oregon Wine A-List restaurants such as Bluehour, Higgins, Imperial, Meriwether’s and Raven & Rose.

Diners who are on the ball will want to make reservations for Oregon Wine Kicks Off Portland Dining Month—held on Tuesday, March 1—at one of 14 Oregon Wine A-List restaurants. Along with the special three-course menus, wine lovers will also be able to enjoy a three-wine pairing flight for an additional $15-20, bringing this opportunity to a far more affordable version of a winemakers dinner than is commonly available. Winemakers will be on hand for this night only to talk about their wines and what characteristics lend them to pair seamlessly with each chosen course.

Nosh at The Bent Brick with Seven of Hearts, Ned Ludd with Brooks Wines, ¡Oba! Restaurante with Argyle, Restaurant St. Jack with Day Wines and Salty’s on the Columbia with Dobbes Family Estate, to name a few.

Bonus: From now until 11:59 p.m. on February 28, Oregon wine fans can enter for a chance to win two free dinners at one of the Oregon Wine A-List restaurants. Five lucky entrants will be chosen on February 29, allowing ample opportunity to utilize those tickets during Portland Dining Month.

Snagging your spot at any of these worthy eateries through OpenTable ensures you’ll be paying it forward as well as cashing in on a great deal. As in previous years, for every OpenTable reservation the Oregon Food Bank receives a donation from Portland Dining Month.

At $29 per person, it becomes affordable to check out an array of popular and up-and-coming spots that might ordinarily be a little out of range for some folks. A few second course menu items from 2015 included:

• Miso-braised beef short rib with taro root, Asian pear, yuzu kosho slaw –or- Pan-seared salmon with cauliflower, saffron, green apple, trout roe and American caviar at Aviary, located in NE Portland
• Red wine-braised lamb shoulder, soft polenta and orange gremolata at Paley’s Place, a Portland icon in NW
• Cola and Pabst Blue Ribbon-braised pork at Imperial—Willamette Week’s Restaurant of 2015
• Ten-hour braised beef shoulder with potato pancake, warm oyster mushroom salad and beef jus at Laurelhurst Market, one of the Oregon Wine A-List restaurants
• Corn tostada with hoisin, kimchi, avocado and chorizo oil with choice of Sichuan sausage or oyster mushroom at Smallwares, an “inauthentic Asian” restaurant with a well-selected sake menu

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Umpqua upset at Australia’s Six Nations Wine Challenge

Stephen Reustle, owner and winemaker at Reustle – Prayer Rock Vineyards, and his wife, Gloria, held their first media luncheon ever at The Bent Brick in NW Portland recently to celebrate their Six Nations Wine Challenge win with their 2012 Syrah Masada Bloc. Viki Eierdam

After October’s Six Nations Wine Challenge upset, I’m already imagining Steve Carell cast as Stephen M. Reustle and Charlotte Ayanna as his beautiful wife, Gloria, in an upcoming wine flick entitled A Heavenly Vintage detailing their road to winning Best Syrah of the New World much like Bill Pullman as Jim Barrett in the fabulously entertaining 2008 Bottle Shock.

Up against stiff competition from the rest of the United States, Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia—where the epic event was held and the country that enjoys a world-renowned reputation for their Shiraz—Roseburg, Oregon’s own Reustle – Prayer Rock Vineyards won top honors with their 2012 Syrah Masada Bloc.

Up against stiff competition from six New World countries—including Australia which enjoys a world-renowned reputation for their Shiraz—Roseburg, Oregon’s own Reustle – Prayer Rock Vineyards won top honors with their 2012 Syrah Masada Bloc. Reustle – Prayer Rock

The impact of these recent events is predicted to bring the same flurry of interest to the Umpqua Valley as the historic 1976 blind Paris winetasting did to Napa Valley when Château Montelena’s 1973 Chardonnay won the white wine section of this game-changing competition.

Already known as the first winery in the U.S. to produce grüner veltliner, Reustle – Prayer Rock Vineyards is no stranger to recognition in the wine world. This 8,000 case per year winery has racked up over 400 medals in the seven years it’s been entering competitions. Stephen’s all estate-grown grapes are a representation of 14 varietals planted on 40 acres of hillside.

The Bent Brick’s syrah-inspired rice pudding dessert with a chili-infused sauce took on apple pie characteristics with a vintage of Reustle’s decadent Riesling. Viki Eierdam

To celebrate what Stephen referred to as “an absolute highlight in my life,” he and his wife, Gloria, held their first media luncheon ever at The Bent Brick in NW Portland recently. Owner and chef, Scott Dolich, paired Reustle’s syrahs with beautifully fresh, tried and true ingredients that bring out the smoky characteristics of this varietal like earthy chanterelle mushrooms and peppery Belgian endive in the salad, chanterelles garnishing the tender hanger steak and semolina fried onions and even a smoked butter to spread atop Ken’s bread between bites. Interestingly, I noticed the bread was not as popular as it normally is because Reustle’s syrahs are not the high alcohol bombs of old. He intentionally keeps them at a food-friendly, under 14 percent range rather than the 16.5 percent 2013 Mollydooker Blue Eyed Boy Shiraz in one of our flights that made my eyes start watering before I even took a sip.

Stephen’s beautiful wife, Gloria, smiles as he describes Gloria’s Syrah, ‘masterfully both simple and complex, she captivates you with her vibrant color, seductive aroma, and exotic body,’ “and I’m talking about the wine,” he clarified. Viki Eierdam

There’s an elegance and complexity in Reustle – Prayer Rock’s wines that evolves as each glass is allowed to open up. The front of the palate is greeted with intense black fruit and as the wine makes its way from mid-palate to the back the pepper, licorice and baking spice characteristics introduce themselves and intensify with the warming of the wine to body temperature.

A special treat of the luncheon was the opportunity to taste their first U.S.-produced 2005 Grüner Veltliner which is a big white wine grown widely in Austria that has the acidity to stand up to long cellar aging. After 10 years, it presented luscious and full-bodied.

Reustle – Prayer Rock Vineyards is open for tastings from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. The sit-down wine tasting and appetizer pairing in their stunningly-created wine cave is a highlight of any visit.

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