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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 2017)
30 // COASTWEEKEND.COM BOOK SHELF // GLIMPSE // WILDLIFE // POP CULTURE // WORDS // Q&A // FOOD // FUN UNCORKED RAMBLINGS Urban wineries bring a new vibe to the wine scene By STEVE SINKLER FOR EO MEDIA GROUP Suddenly, Portland has become one of the hottest wine regions in Oregon. While Portland is techni- cally inside the Willamette Valley, the wineries located there don’t have their tasting room surrounded by acres of beautifully manicured vineyards to add to the expe- rience. Instead, these urban wineries typically work out of cinder-block buildings with roll-up garage doors opening to their industri- al-looking tasting room. The vibe can range from energetic to frenetic, but it’s always fun. Two of my favorite urban wineries, Angel Vine and D’Anu, make their precious beverages at Urban Crush, located in Portland at 2025 SE Seventh Ave. Winemak- ers Ed Fus (Angel Vine) and Joe Williams (D’Anu) have worked together for years to make wines that comple- ment each other. Angel Vine is the only Pacific Northwest winery focusing on zinfandel. Fus sources his fruit from some of the most well-known vineyards in the Columbia Valley, including Stonetree and LeCollines vineyards. I really enjoy Angel Vine’s red blend The Hellion, which is a delicious blend of primitivo, petit sirah and zinfandel. Named after one of his daughters, The Hellion is big, bold and unapologetic. If you’re grilling a ribeye, you might find The Hellion is a wonderful companion. Genus: Salix Pussy willow SUBMITTED PHOTO This maturing catkin reveals pollen-covered anthers (male plants). By LYNETTE RAE McADAMS Steve Sinkler The D’Anu lineup offers more classic Oregon selec- tions, such as pinot gris, chardonnay and pinot noir, with wines that hail more from Washington, such as sangiovese and cabernet sauvignon. D’Anu’s 2014 chardonnay earned double gold medal recognition from judges at the Savor North- west 2016 wine competition, held here in Cannon Beach. This food-friendly chardon- nay delivers tropical fruit flavors with a soft mouthfeel and would be a wonderful paired with Dungeness crab. Another of the hottest Portland urban wineries is the Teutonic Wine Company, located at 3303 20th Ave. SE. Teutonic is known for its crisp Mosel-style white wines, but the winery also offers a selection of Burgun- dian-influenced pinots. My current favorite is Teutonic’s Battle of the Cracken pinot noir, which is a delicate fruit-forward pinot. This wine would be a perfect companion with grilled salmon or portobello. TEUTONIC WINE COMPANY Teutonic’s Battle of the Crack- en pinot noir is a delicate fruit-forward pinot. If you haven’t visited an urban winery yet, you should definitely do so. I’ve had people tell me it’s not the same as going to a win- ery with vineyards. While that is true, don’t hold that against urban wineries. If you’re a beer drinker, when was the last time you went to a brewery surrounded by acres of hops? For those of you who drink gin, rum or tequila, does your favorite distillery have sugar cane or agave growing out back? Probably not. So, don’t hold urban wineries to a different standard. These downtown producers of liquid nirvana just might knock your socks off. Steve Sinkler is the owner of Puffin Wines and The Wine Shack in Cannon Beach. He writes a monthly column about wine in the Cannon Beach Gazette. Prolific in all temperate and cold regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with more than 300 species worldwide, willows grow alongside streams and creek beds and throughout wetland areas — basically anywhere the soil stays moist. Here on the coast, where rain is frequent and water ubiquitous, multiple species within this large family all feel right at home. Although only one species, Salix discolor, can technically claim the com- mon name “pussy willow,” most scientific discussions, including this one, use the term to refer not to a specif- ic tree or shrub, but rather, to the life stage of flowering that occurs for almost all willows. In this phase, every branch of the plant forms multiple budlike structures, called catkins, which are actually tightly packed arrangements of individual blossoms. Each blossom is accompanied by its own set of soft, silvery hairs; when pressed together, they create a kind of velvety overlay, which helps blan- ket and protect sensitive reproductive parts as they develop underneath. As catkins mature, they open to reveal either pol- len-covered anthers (male plants), or sticky stigmas (female plants), and are reliant upon insects for SUBMITTED PHOTO A sure sign that spring is on the way, pussy willows, which are members of the genus Salix, can be found in abundance throughout the Columbia-Pacific region. pollination. Lacking bright- ly colored flowers, which would act as attractors, they secrete a strong, pun- gent nectar instead, and this viscous liquid becomes a literal lifesaver for hungry bees that awaken in late winter, when food is scarce. Willows grow quickly and are easy to propagate; historically, they have been used by many cultures. In early times, the strong yet pliable branches were woven into baskets and fur- niture and also fashioned into nets for fishing. In an- cient Greece and Egypt, the leaves were steeped in hot water and taken to break a fever. Native Americans chewed on the stalks and stems of young plants to relieve pain. In 1828, the active compound in willow bark, salicylic acid, was iso- lated in its crystalline form by a French pharmacist; almost 60 years later, it was developed into the drug we know today as aspirin. A true harbinger of spring, pussy willows start blooming locally in late February and make a wonderful uplifting bou- quet. Whether you plan to source them from the florist or your own back- yard, take note: The time will soon be right to get out there and grab ‘em by the catkins.
