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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.