Pour Oregon 2019 is the event dedicated to small production and boutique wineries. It offers an opportunity to taste over 300 wines from 50 Oregon wineries without driving anywhere.
It's mission impossible to taste them all and have a somewhat objective opinion about the quality of wines.
We had an even more significant challenge because as wine industry insiders we only got 90 minutes before the start of the show, and we couldn't taste them all.
So how do you make sense of such a large and diverse tastings if you'd like to explore and enjoy wine, not gulp it? First, you might want to ask yourself why are you going to the event and what your goals are and develop a strategy while keeping in mind that you got just one liver.
Our goal was to get to know as many wineries as possible through tasting their wines and decide whether we want to visit them later. In preparation, we learned about the wineries through "About," "History," "People" or "Team" pages on their websites.
In Oregon and Washington, the number one predictor of wine quality is a professionally trained and/or experienced winemaker working for or consulting the winery. Experientially we found out that enthusiasm and passion alone rarely result in an exceptional wine. As with all professions, you must acquire knowledge and skill first either through school or work and preferably both.
At Pour Oregon, we had a chance to confirm this theory again while tasting wine from both experienced and inspiring winemakers.
Here are some wineries that impressed us with the quality and flavor profile of their wines:
- Watermill
- Hood Crest
- Analemma
- Stave and Stone
- Viento
- Et Fille
- Maysara
- Troon
Kudos to Pour Oregon organizers for offering an excellent opportunity for the small wineries to introduce themselves to the world. If I were to improve one thing, it would be the venue. This event took place in the street plaza of the World Trade Center. Luckily, it was a relatively warm and rare sunny day in Portland in spring. Nevertheless, it felt chili in the shade and a bit cold for the sensory evaluation of the wine.
If it were a cold rainy day like the one when we attended Gorge Wine Portland Grand Tasting couple of weeks back, this would've been challenging to enjoy this day for vendors and guests alike.