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COOPERS HALL
404 SE 6th Ave., 503-719-7000, coopershall.com.
If you love wine and hate waste, you probably already know about the keg- wine movement, which eschews bot- tled wine for straight-from-the-keg tap service. Coopers Hall Winery has been tapping its selection of Willamette Valley pinots, rieslings, gewürztraminers, and more since 2014. And though its wines can be found on tap at a host of restaurants and bars in Portland, as well as spots in Central and Coastal Oregon, its inner Southeast taproom—a former auto-body shop whose soaring ceilings, abundant natural light, and rows of massive oak barrels make it a popular wedding venue—offers a unique tasting experience. Though the winery is currently not open for walk-ins, it’s definitely worth keeping an eye on its website for upcoming events, themed dinners, and more.
Also recommended: An equally beautiful, barrel-lined tasting-room experience awaits at North Portland’s venerable Seven Bridges Winery, 2303 N Harding Ave., sevenbridgeswinery.com.
ERATH WINERY
1439 NW Marshall St., 503-538-3318, erath.com. Noon–7 pm daily.
Dick Erath was part of Oregon’s viticul- ture boom of the late 1960s, and Knudson Erath, the Dundee Hills winery he co-founded in 1976, played a key role in putting Willamette Valley’s pinot noir on the map. The winery’s Dundee tasting room closed in 2020, but Erath’s Pearl District location—an expanse of wood, concrete, and brick accented with bright colors—welcomes wine enthusiasts seven days a week. The daily wine and estate wine flights, both of which are included with membership to Erath’s wine club, prioritizes signature pinot noirs and chardonnays; you can also opt for the flight of wines from Erath’s limited production Magique collection of red and white pinot noirs. Walk-ins are welcome, but reservations are encouraged.
Also recommended: Boedecker Cellars, whose husband-and-wife winemakers Stewart Boedecker and Athena Pappas made Willamette Valley pinot noir their focus when they opened Boedecker more than two decades ago. 2621 NW 30th Ave., boedeckercellars.com.
FULLERTON WINES
1966 NW Pettygrove St., 503-477-7848, fullertonwines.com. 4–9 pm Wednesday– Thursday, noon–9 pm Friday–Saturday, noon– 7:30pmSunday.
Family-owned Fullerton Wines has been making wine since 2012, with a focus on highlighting the characteristics of grapes grown in seven of the areas encompassed by the Willamette Valley American viticultural area, or AVA. At the winery’s Slabtown tasting room, the seasonal food is as deliber- ate as the wine pours, offering oysters, small plates, hearty cheeseburgers, and a range of Danish smørrebrød with both vegan and pescatarian options. Sit-down tasting choices include a signature flight of five wines and an AVA flight featuring six of Fullerton’s single-vineyard pinot noirs; committed winos can choose from four different wine-club memberships, all of which include monthly tastings and invitations to the tasting room’s monthly five-course pairing dinners. Weekly Wine Down Fridays feature $2 oysters, and monthly “Dueling Food and Wine Pairings” pit Fullerton wines against other urban wineries in a friendly and delicious four-course com- petition that allows attendees to choose from traditional, vegan, and pescatarian plates.
Also recommended: At Helioterra Wines, winemaker Anne Hubatch produces terroir- driven small batches from vineyards in Oregon and Washington. 2025 SE 7th Ave., helioterrawines.com.
HIP CHICKS DO WINE
4510 SE 23rd Ave., 503-234-3790, hipchicksdowine.com. 2–5 pm Friday, noon–5 pm Saturday–Sunday. Since 1999, Portland’s oldest urban winery has consistently brought a much- needed dose of irreverence to the rarefied realm of wine with cheeky names and illustrated labels (exemplified by its trio of Pulp Novel wines Bad Girl Blanc, Drop Dead Red, and Riot Girl Rosé) and a broad range of grapes. Owner-winemakers Laurie Lewis and Renee Neely still prioritize small-batch production with the Hip Chicks label, which includes perennial favorites like Belly Button Wine—a crisp, fruit-forward white—as well as annual bottlings like their Pride Wines; their slate of reserve-label Tier- nan Connor Cellars wines (named for their son) include rich malbecs and ports. At Hip Chicks’ Brooklyn tasting room, visitors can sample some of the most affordable flights in town and attend events like the deliciously goofy annual Easter Candy and Wine Pairing.
Also recommended: Hip Chicks Do Wine is part of the PDX Urban Wine Collective, a conglomeration of independent producers whose seasonal tasting events offer a wealth of wine under one roof. pdxurbanwine.com
STATERA CELLARS
109 SE Salmon St., Suite B3, 503-893-9483, stateracellars.com. 2–8 pm Wednesday– Saturday.
Ten years after kick-starting Statera Cellars with an online fundraising campaign, the small winery with a focus on natural chardonnay finally has a Portland presence, and its recently opened tasting room has a hell of a personality. Wine- makers Meredith Bell and Luke Wylde pour flights and glasses of Statera chardonnays along with reds, rosés, and sparkling options from their own labels (Est. Wine and Lares Wines, respectively) under a Mike Kelley-esque installation of stuffed animals. And Statera eschews standard winery fare for Japanese and Korean snacks and instant noodles jazzed up with crab, kimchi, and more. Tastings are available four days a week, with reservations strongly encouraged.
Also recommended: OK Omens wine director Brent Braun created Post Familiar Wines in order to collaborate with Portland winemakers on limited releases of creative, experimental bottlings. @post.familiar
TEUTONIC WINE COMPANY
3303 SE 20th Ave., 503-235-5053, teutonicwines.com. Noon–6 pm Thursday– Sunday.
As sturdy and consistent as its name implies, Teutonic Wine Company was created in 2005 to bring the taste and terroir of Germany’s Mosel Valley and France’s Alsace borderlands to the vine- yards of Oregon. Its official motto—”Old & Cold, High & Dry, Wood & Wild”— reflects Barnaby and Olga Tuttle’s commitment to rocky, dry-farmed vineyards, natural yeasts, and old-growth vines planted at high elevations where a cooler climate lets grapes ripen longer. Bright, zesty, and aromatic rieslings, gewürztraminers, and Grüner Veltliners are the draw here, but Teutonic’s lineup of affordable bottles also includes pinots, merlots, and blends. Book a private tasting for up to eight people at their Brooklyn tasting room, where a flight of six wines is served with a complimentary cheese plate.
Also recommended: The crisp, fruity rieslings from Love and Squalor, the house label of Portland Wine Company, 3201 SE 50th Ave., portlandwinecompany.com.
This story is part of Taster Magazine, Willamette Week’s new guide to the best of beer, wine and spirits in Portland. It is free and can be found all over Portland beginning Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Find your free copy at one of the locations noted here, before they all get picked up! Read more from Taster magazine online here.