Anne Amie Vineyards, Carlton Oregon

Rosé - Not just for summer anymore

Katherine Cole of the Oregonian wrote a great article last week about Oregon rosé.  Her point being that rosé isn't just for summer sipping anymore.  Pinot Noir rosé is a great accompaniment to fresh fall cuisine, it's just as food friendly as it's big brother pinot noir and usually half the price. 

If you're a local or visiting Portland, here are some sweet spots to sit and savor some good Oregon bounty paired with good Oregon pinot noir rosé...

Many of our favorite local restaurants and wine shops have been supportive of our 2007 Cuvée A Pinot Noir rosé all year long.  Sip it by the glass with one of chef Troy MacLarty's amazing creations at Lovely Hula Hands on North Mississippi or with one of the organic and delicious vegetarian selections at The Farm Café off Burnside at SE 7th.  Try it at Amalie Roberts sweet little wine bar Kir on NE 7th with her famous smoked trout.  Amalie is a true lover of rosé offering up to 10 by the glass at times!  You can also find it by the glass or by the bottle at the french bistro Sel Gris.  Located in Ladd's Addition on Hawthorne, this restaurant has amazing dishes best enjoyed sitting at the bar counter where you can watch chef Daniel Mondok working his magic in the kitchen.

Another place to enjoy our rosé on premise is at Lupa on Mississippi, one of my favorite wine bars owned by one of my favorite wine girls.  Lupa is small and intimate and a perfect place to cozy up on the fall nights ahead.  And p.s. Amanda bakes and sells her own cookies too.  yum. 

Thanks to our Henry Wine Group rep Bonnie Crocker for sharing her love of our rosé with these accounts!

Enjoy,

Kim

Travelogue New York: Planes, Subways, Trains & Automobiles - Part I

Last month I traveled to New York to spend time with our distributor Domaine Select Wine Estates.  Day one was my first NY City "work with" with Mauro who visits accounts all over Manhattan.  These wine reps are incredible - after one day of walking miles and miles and riding the subway many times, I was beat!   You can see Mauro pictured below with his rolling case full of wine (which p.s. he has to carry up and down subway stairs!)

Mauro and I visited a number of retail shops throughout the day including Pasanella and Son owned by a local designer Marco Pasanella.  Wines are arranged by the foods they pair with and the shop is vintage cool.  

We stopped for lunch at the historic Bridge Cafe located right beside and almost under the Brooklyn Bridge.  This gem is hidden down on the old cobblestone streets of the financial district - was built in 1794 and is the oldest drinking establishment in NYC.  They serve both our pinot noir and Amrita by the glass.  The food was incredible.  One taste of the roasted autumn squash bisque with ingredients so fresh I felt like I was back in Portland.  

My favorite find while in NYC was the very hip new wine shop and bar Clo, recently opened by sommelier Andrew Bradbury (formerly of Las Vegas' Aureole) in the Time Warner Building.  Clo sells wine by the pour in an enomatic system and has an incredible digital catalogue (pictured below) that beams down on the bar counter giving consumers instant information at their fingertips.  I visited the bar initially to see hand blown glass decanters that my boyfriend created for Clo (glass cases surround the bar showcasing awesome glassware - lucky for us they're all available for purchase).  Imagine my excitement when I saw Anne Amie's Deux Vert Vineyard Pinot Noir alongside the other great wines! 

Day 1 was a great experience getting to meet like minded wine enthusiasts and seeing much of the great city of New York in the process.  Exhausting but worth it - thanks Mauro!

Stay tuned for New York Day 2 and my visit to the land of Bill & Hillary Clinton and the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow...Westchester.

September Club Party

I started my day off with six pounds of bacon. 

I suppose I should begin by explaining that I’m from a school of thought that states, “There is not a dish on earth that couldn’t be improved with a little bacon.”

Needless to say, this was a great way to begin my day.

 

 

For those of you that have been paying attention to my posts, you undoubtedly have gathered that one of my favorite parts of this job is food. I like the challenge of pairing food and wine in new and interesting ways. Oftentimes, the food I create is something I would never really make in my own home. It could be that when I’m at the winery I have the luxury of a bigger, better kitchen, that I am willing to attempt more complex preparations. In order to maintain some level of balance in my repertoire of hors d’oeuvres, I like to offer one complex dish and also a spin on some more classic American fare. Mac’n’Cheese went quite well with Oregon Truffles, roast beef was great with Juniper Aioli, and now the BLT. 

My rationale for pairing our flagship Pinot Noir with a BLT…                                                                 

Maybe I just wanted an excuse the torment everyone in the winery by filling the air with the sweet-smoky smell of maple glazed bacon. In practice, however, my argument is that great wines can elevate ordinary foods to the extra-ordinary and our 2005 Winemaker’s Selection brings the right kind of complexity and versatility to a seemingly straightforward dish like a BLT.                                                                           

I paired the 2007 Cuvée A Amrita with a chilled salad. It’s such a lively white wine that it makes the simplest foods taste exciting.  I wanted to try and match some of the exotic flavors and let the food and wine complement each other. Another flavor that I probably spend too much time thinking about is fennel. Inspired by the green papaya salad from Pok Pok in SE Portland, I combined flavors of lemongrass, cilantro, ginger, and papaya with a mild pickled fennel and let the Amrita complete it.

 

Papaya & Fennel salad waiting for Amrita                  

                           The 2007 Chardonnay tastes as good as it looks          

It’s all good fun to make tasty food to eat with our wines, but it’s the people with whom I get to share everything that make it worthwhile. I have the pleasure of being able to share outstanding wines with winery guests, many of whom are Club Members. When the weather is good, we all get to take advantage of the spectacular view from the terrace. I also have the chance to get to know many of our members.

                                                                              The Cargills, Harpers, and Pagellas 

Hosting events like this past Saturday’s Club Shipment Pick-up Party is a nice change of pace from the usually busy tasting room. We have the whole place just for Club Members and are able to interact more than we can from behind the tasting bar on a busy afternoon. It didn’t hurt that the weather was perfect either. The evening ended with a beautiful sunset over the coast range. From bacon to sunset, last Saturday was a good day at Anne Amie. Thanks to everyone who made it out to the winery to share it with us.

Cheers,

Ksandek Podbielski
Director of Hospitality

 

 

 

Whidbey Island Washington

I have a very bad habit of taking photos while I'm driving.  It's terribly easy to get carried away with the pacific northwest sunsets.  The photo above is one I took on my way to Whidbey Island, Washington a few weeks back when I was headed up for an in- store tasting with Cole from our WA distributor, Cascade Trade. 

Whidbey Island is simply gorgeous.  The south island and more specifically Langley is a sweet little town full of artists, amazing shops and restaurants and you can feel the sense of community the moment you get off the ferry.  Cole and I started our Saturday morning at Useless Bay Coffee Company where we sat out in the sunshine and enjoyed coffee and live music before heading to the tasting. The in store tasting was at Vino Amore a great little wine shop owned by husband and wife team Brian and Gail pictured behind the bar below (who are not only entrepreneurs but great local actors as well!). 

After our day of tasting we headed to the wonderful Prima Bistro where we were joined by Chef Sieb Jurriaans and Star Store owner Gene Felton.  I didn't get to spend nearly enough time there but thankfully it's very close so I'll be back.  For all of you looking for a peaceful little getaway, Whidbey's the place - and drink some Anne Amie wine while you're there!

Thanks to Cole, Brian & Gail and Chef Sieb for a fantastic day on Whidbey!

P.S. Congratulations to Cole (pictured below on our ferry ride back to the mainland) and his wife on the arrival of their first child - Camile Rose Ratliff a couple weeks ago!

The Rose City Wine Opener

The dangling lights and modern architecture of Portland’s Gerding Theater at the Armory set the stage for an elegant evening at the Rose City Wine Opener on August 28th. Ksandek and I represented Anne Amie with our 2007 Pinot Gris and 2005 Winemaker’s Selection Pinot Noir.  The event is held by The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to raise money for cure-research and to provide support to those living with Cystic Fibrosis.   

Along with Anne Amie, a great collection of Oregon wineries were on hand to pour tastes or their wines for guests. The live auction followed by a massive silent auction was the focal point of the fundraiser, though admittedly the wineries played a major role in moving everyone through the evening. Perhaps it was the stunning venue, or maybe all the good wine available, regardless of what caused it, there was an undeniably exciting buzz to the event which made it fun to be a part of.

For me, the best part of the night was when a guest introduced herself to me as Erica, and explained that her daughter is living with Cystic Fibrosis. She was delighted to share that it meant a lot to her to see such a strong showing of support. It reminded me of how easy it is to forget how valuable good health is and how much it means to those who don’t have it. It’s truly rewarding to give what we can to those that need it, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation has done an amazing job of doing great work, and doing it with style.   

To learn more about the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Rose City Wine Opener please visit: http://www.cff.org/Chapters/oregon

Salud!

Katie