Pairings Portland, 455 NE 24TH AVE.PORTLAND, OR 97232

Pairings Portland is a wine shop and bar located in the NE area of Portland, Oregon. On a whim we stopped by this boutique wine shop just across the street from some local food restaurants. In the past we had walked past the building several times but this time decided to stop in to see what it offered. What a find! This is a wine shop that only offers organic wines, but these wines are from around the world. Okay, so a lot of wine shops offer world wines but none that we have stopped by offer an array of wine pairings that Pairings Portland offers.

Wine Pairings

Wine pairings are well marked.

We had thought that when we idly talked about wine pairings with sewing and mowing the lawn that we were stretching the concept of wine pairings; however, Pairings Portland goes much further into the realm of wine pairings. For example, the shop offers wine pairings for cyclists. Pair a unipiper with a Domaine Trotereau Quincy’13. The Caustious Biker is paired with the Château Eugéníe Cahors Tradition ’11. Pairings Portland pairs wines with TV shows and movies, astrology, dogs and much more.

However, Pairings Portland is a whole lot more than just wine pairings. If you have questions about wine this is undoubtedly the wine shop to stop at. For instance a full page sheet is about biodynamic farming & vineyards. The paper includes the “9 Things to Know.”

Wine Tasting

Terry tasted five wines. The first was a sparkling Cabernet Franc Rosé from Domaine de Nerleux. This La Folie was a crémant that had an orange color with small bubbles making a center mousse.  The wine had red berry fruits and was crisp. The second wine was a 2014 Ovum Gewürztraminer. This Oregon wine was a yellow color and very floral. On the taste there were roses and some tropical fruits. The wine was smooth and slightly sweet.

The next three wines were reds. A Mendocino, California wine, 2013 Donkey & Goat Five Thirteen, was a blend of five of the 13 Rhone varietal grapes commonly used in a Châteauneuf-du-Pape. The blend consisted of Grenache, Syrah, Mourvédre, Cinsault and Counoise. The wine was an opaque dark ruby with a silky black fruit salad taste. It had tannins and a full body. The aftertaste was fruity.

The last two wines were crafted from Tempranillo. The Dominio IV 2011 Tempranillo Columbia Gorge Three Sleeps Vineyard was a dark ruby color. The velvety taste was fruity with noticeable blackberries and blueberries. The wine had tannins and a full body with a fruity finish. The aftertaste had fruit yielding to baking spices and a hint of leather. The Viña Olabarri Tempranillo 2004 was from Rioja. This opaque dark purple colored wine was very smooth and had a black fruit salad taste. Also notable were the  blackberries, blueberries, licorice and spices. The wine had bold tannins and was full bodied.

Pairings Portland has a laid-back atmosphere. The interesting wine pairings are accompanied with a gentle wine education.

Cheers,
Kathy and Terry