Meet Charron O’Brien.
Charron is our amazing harvest chef who is completing her final internship for NECI with us and for this we are thankful.
Just a few of the dishes we’ve enjoyed so far…
chevre + arugula salad with peaches, fresh picked blackberries + local hazelnuts
steamed mussels in pinot blanc
salmon + baby bok choy
charcuterie plates
happy employees
View more photos and updates on harvest via the Anne Amie facebook page.
Thank you Charron!
I have just left Little Rock and the Capital Hotel. It is bittersweet, in that I have other stops on my journey through the South, but I could easily settle in for an extended stay at such a wonderful hotel with such an excellent staff. Two people specifically are to thank for their hard work and attention to detail- the two Lees. Lee Richardson is the executive chef at Ashley’s, the crown jewel for dining in Little Rock, and his counterpoint front-of-house, Lee Ingold, is the maitre d’. Collectively they run a tight ship- by ship, I mean restaurant.
It was my third trip to Little Rock, the first being the Emeril fundraiser, when I first was able to experience the wonderful skills of chef Lee. The night after the fundraiser chef Lee sat me at a table and, without a menu as a guide, food started arriving and kept coming, course after amazing course, until I literally could not take another bite! It was right then, in my food stupor, that I hatched the idea of a wine dinner at Ashley’s. It took a few years to materialize, but here is the menu and some photos from the dinner. If you’d like to see more photos from the dinner check out Ashley’s kitchen blog.
As you can probably see from the photos and from the tenor of my post I have a soft spot in my heart for Ashley’s and much of it has to do with the two Lees and their wonderful staff. That said, the entire experience at the Capital Hotel from the moment one arrives is one of polished calm. Thanks to everyone at the Capital Hotel. I’ll be back!
Every Friday we bring in our leftovers and challenge each other to a pizza-off. Today we were joined by our friends John Merritt from Frontier Packaging and Cinematographer Ben Garvey who is the producer of the Oregon Pinot Camp movie.
John, Ksandek, Ben, Jason, Thomas & Annie in preparation mode
Katie’s garlic spears + cream sauce vs. Kim’s jalapeno sesame seed surprise
guest appearance by house band “ethyl acetate”
ben + thomas face off with tim + katie
shadow + henk wait for scraps!
thomas, jason, henk + kim
dedication + concentration
= perfection
PS - tonight we have the first of our flicks ‘n flights series. we’ll be showing the movie amelie. join us at dusk. who knows, there might be left over pizza. it’s free + you’re all welcome. we will have wine for sale along with charcuterie plates.
for more info call us at 503-864-2991
happy friday!
To paraphrase the Vermont state song-
“They say home is where the heart is
These green mountains are (not) my home (but they could be).”
I’ve traveled to many places and seen some amazing sights, but what makes a place truly special AND what lures me back time and again are its people. Vermont is one of those rare places that has both natural beauty and genuinely great people.
I am going to take a stab at something I am not really known for- brevity. I am going to set aside my penchant for narrative and just let the photos from my very brief, but jam-packed trip to Vermont speak for themselves. To say the least, Kim assigned me a rather ambitious itinerary. Click on the previous sentence for a perfect example of what I mean! You can see why I was tasting Amrita a 6 in the morning with chef Curtiss Hemm! Thank you again, Kim- REALLY! I have a new marketing idea- “Amrita. It’s not just for breakfast anymore!”
The following is a photo journal of my time in Vermont:
The exterior of Hen of the Wood restaurant- an old grist mill from the 1800s
and the location of my first wine dinner.
A*summer* view from the back patio dining area.
You’ll notice it wasn’t so green when I was there. It is still
an amazing setting in which to dine. The interior is just as dazzling, with its
rough-hewn beams and stone walls.
Chef Eric Warnstedt created edible works of art, paired with
Anne Amie wines selected by William McNeil. I was able to show
up at the restaurant after a long working day and just relax and discuss our wines
enjoy the company of our guests.
My second wine dinner was at NECI (New England Culinary Institute).
As you can see from this photo taken by Hannah Marshall, the presentation
of our food was as beautiful as it was delicious. This was an exquisite pairing of
food and wine from Chef Michael Gunyan and Ed Boadway.
It was also an opportunity to show off our newest wine in the Anne Amie line-up-
the 2007 Prisme’. Judging from the response of the guests, it was a hit!
The next morning I hopped on the road to drive from one end of the Vermont
to the other. Road trip!!!
Nothing keeps me alert and on the lookout for an errant moose like sugar.
There’s no better place to stop for sugar in Vermont than Ben and Jerry’s!
Interesting how much they use “Amrita Blue” in their color scheme….
This is a road sign we don’t see in Oregon! Polls show 9 out of 10 moose
prefer Amrita over the leading Oregon white wine blend!
The entire visit culminated in a portfolio tasting with our distributor in
Vermont- Farrell. Fred Delivert, aka “Fresh Toast” , from Martin Estate
in Napa, and I became fast friends. He is a wonderful guy who just happens
to also make tasty wines.
Going back to what I said at the beginning of this post, very seldom
am I lucky enough to visit a beautiful state with such wonderful people.
This is a photo from after my NECI dinner. Unfortunately, Fresh
Toast was cropped out of the photo, but imagine him on the far left
of this group photo. Included from left to right- Elena (Farrell), Hannah, Matt,
me, Donald (Farrell), and Susan. Thanks to everybody in Vermont that made
a tough working trip so much fun!
Thomas
Portland’s winter can stretch on like wet asphalt, with no discernable horizon in sight. Like the Inuit, who have numerous words for snow, we in the Pacific Northwest have a vast lexicon for rain. When I feel that underneath my layers of Gore-tex and fleece I am sprouting vestigial gills, I yearn for a place in Portland where the cement skies of winter do not loom overhead like a tenement ceiling. I yearn for food that seems to be filled with light- flavors that transport me south, across the equator to the Southern Hemisphere. For there it is summer when the light is at its most anemic here. And, like Portland in the summer, I imagine sidewalks lined with cafes. Humanity milling about. Guitar music drifting from an open door. Laughter spilling onto the street.
I grew up on Florida’s panhandle, just blocks from the ocean. In our backyard, like most others in our neighborhood, we had citrus and bananas. I spent the time I wasn’t required to be in a school room at the shoreline, fishing and mucking about in the water. Light filled every crevice. Heat radiated from every surface. Sand could be too hot to cross to make it to the tepid water of the Gulf of Mexico. Getting to the water’s edge often required literally running a gauntlet of scalding beach.
There is a part of my cellular makeup that yearns for heat, for sun, and for the fresh, “alive” flavors of summer- of my youth! The tang of a fresh fruit puree, the buttery richness of avocado, the crunch and pleasing texture of fresh vegetables are what I desire most in the doldrums of winter. The place I go to rescue me from myself is Andina, in Portland’s Pearl District.
That’s exactly where I headed recently to escape flurries of snow and the unseasonably cold winter we have had this year. A brisk walk from my truck brought me to the entrance of Andina. I opened the door to a heady blend of cinnamon and cilantro, of laughter and chatter. I slid into a booth, joining others for a meal. Looking out the plate glass window I watched light spill on bundled people tracing the steps I had just made as I dashed by minutes before. Inside the amber-hued restaurant I enjoyed the view of winter through the glass.
A round of “entradas” later, the table was overflowing with color. Every dish was a distinct study in both texture and flavor. The crunch of jicama, zing of lime, buttery yucca, briny ceviche , a sweet-tart sauce of tamarind. Each bite offered new tastes and textures and led to feeling of respite from the shades of grey outside.
This matched with a superb wine list makes Andina one of my favorite restaurants in Portland, both summer and winter. Wine director and sommelier Ken Collura has assembled a wonderful assortment of food-friendly wines from around the globe. On my most recent visit I had to see how our 2007 Amrita paired with the food on the table. Amrita’s bright citrus and lean minerality was enhanced by the food on the table and vice versa. For the price of round of entradas and a few glasses of wine everyone at the table was treated to a little bit of summer in the middle of winter.
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
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!
Thomas glided into the kitchen lead by his nose, and eyes
growing wider with each advancing step asked, “What are you making?”
“Shall I see what I can forage from the garden?” Thomas
asked, and was already out through the door before I could respond.
30 minutes, a sunburst squash, one handful of fresh savory and thyme, two zucchini, and some leftover veggie stock later, and we had ourselves a nice end-of-summer stew close to completed. As we rummaged around the kitchen looking for that one missing ingredient that would transform our stew into something special, we found ourselves involved in a conversation that I frequently try to incite when Thomas is around. “What can I learn today about winemaking that I don’t know yet?”
“Reduction, great idea!”
My exclamation was met with a glare from Thomas implying that no good can possibly come from even a little bit of reduction.
“This is going to make a great sauce!”
Thomas reached for the ’07 Rosé and I grabbed some ‘07 Amrita and we washed our lunches down sip by sip. For a casual lunch made of leftovers and garden-fresh veggies, this was an incredibly satisfying lunch. It also became very clear that we could have served any of our white wines with this summery stew. Our ‘07 Müller Thurgau and ‘07 Pinot Gris were equally great matches, each enhancing the dish in their own way.
The crisp, clean, summer wines made such a simple meal into something special. It was easy and fun to throw everything together, and was a good reminder of why I like working here.
We can’t share our lunch with everyone but we can make it easier to see how great these wines are with your own summer fare. From now through Labor Day we will be selling 4 packs of Pinot Gris, Amrita, Müller Thurgau, and our Pinot Noir Rosé for just $50.
The forecast calls for warm weather this Labor Day Weekend, and we have chilled wines ready for you, just bring your picnic and we’ll see you in the tasting room or out on the terrace.
Director of Hospitality.
The Splendid Table is a one-hour program on American Public Media that celebrates culinary, culture, and lifestyle giving public radio listeners a fresh take on their love of food and drink. A few weeks ago host Lynne Rossetto Kasper (pictured left), producer Sally Swift and a group of excited foodies came to tour the Willamette Valley and enjoy the bounty of our region.
The tour kicked off with a wine tasting on the roof of the Ecotrust building in Portland on one of the hottest days of the summer (yesterday and today being the hottest).
With the Oregon Wine Board (OWB) as their guide, the guests sampled wines from A to Z/Rex Hill, Anne Amie, Brick House, Broadley Vineyards, Raptor Ridge and Soter Vineyards.
Above Thomas and I try to to keep stay cool while pouring our 2007 Cuvée A Amrita, 2007 Cuvée A Rosé and 2005 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Pictured below is Thomas alongside the lovely and talented Stephany Boettner of OWB.
This Thursday, July 24th, Anne Amie welcomes Troy MacLarty of Lovely Hula Hands as guest chef for a Pre-International Pinot Noir Celebration dinner. Troy spent four years at the world renowned Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California before moving to Portland where he spent time with Ripe Family Supper, Saucebox and Simpatica Dining Hall. Troy is passionate about local products and we are excited for his culinary creations at this special winemaker's dinner.
and Pinot Noir from 
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