Producing the Indie Wine Festival has us thrilled on many levels but one of the most exciting aspects is bringing our New York connections into the Oregon scene and showing them first-hand why  what happens here matters. Here’s a preview of one of our most admired friends and national wine & spirits influencer’s opinion of his recent experience judging our wine festival.   

“…The last time I tasted through Oregon in depth was fifteen years ago, when the situation was much different. It’s no longer a question of the pinot noirs standing up to Burgundian ideals or the pinot gris addressing Alsatian standards, but of the wines actually expressing an ideal of Oregon’s regional terroirs. That, to me, was very exciting and eye-opening.

The tasting was intelligent and judicious; with members of the on-premise trade, journalists and winemakers all at the same table, the discussions were balanced back-and-forth, not simple number-crunching, but sympathetic and hugely informed palates arguing pro and con for the wines. This was a tremendous experience for me, quite different from and far more pleasurable than other tastings and competitions I’ve sat on.”

–Toby Cecchini,  The New York Times and GQ.  

Less than a week until the 2009 Portland Indie Wine Festival!
This Saturday, May 2nd, 40 of Oregon’s top artisanal wineries and some of Portland’s most celebrated chefs and restaurants will invade the Portland Wine Project for the 5th annual Portland Indie Wine Festival. Get your tickets today at https://www.indiewinefestival.com/tickets/

For more info on the festival and the 2009 participating wineries and restaurants click here.

PIWF/LAD team member Katie Burnett at the Oregon Wine Symposium Indie Wine Festival booth

Here’s the scenario… It’s been 2 weeks since you’ve been grocery shopping. Your pantry is bare except for some dried pasta and a few onions. Your fridge is empty, except that last cup of yogurt and some hard cheese. Voila!

You’ve got the essentials for a delicious and inexpensive meal that will blow your mind with simplicity and flavor.

This pasta dish came about when Nostrana Chef and Owner Cathy Whims had an abundance of Nancy’s Yogurt sitting in the fridge, and leave it to the James Beard nominated chef to create a dish that sings to the heavens out of a few humble ingredients. The tanginess of the Nancy’s cultured yogurt, contrasted with the sweet carmalized onion, is then bridged together with a hard cheese like parmesan and freshened up with the spring flavor of chives.

Our local back-to-basics, food and farm publication, Edible Portland, loved Whims’ recipe just as much as we did. And after they published it in their Spring issue, blogs like bread & honey discovered how much they loved it too! This is a recipe that once you’ve tried, you will return to it time and time again.

Edible Portland

Every Wednesday, House Spirits Distillery brightens our week by serving up $5 cocktails at various restaurants and bars around town.

This Wednesday, they’re off to The Country Cat Dinnerhouse & Bar in Montavilla – one of my favorite spots! Check it out.

RPM @ The Country Cat from 5 – 7 p.m.
The Country Cat / 7937 SE Stark St, Portland, OR / 503.408.1414

Eugene Magazine featured a story on Lane County businesses that give to the local community and included Springfield based Nancy’s.  Nancy’s supports the local community through several organizations including Mainstream Housing, KidSports, Eugence Celebration and the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition.

We are so happy to welcome our new German intern who not only has a masters degree in social media and communications but is teaching us about German beer. We’re so pleased to add a European perspective to our team and show her all the things we love about doing PR in Portland. Welcome Kim!

Sharing a glass of 2005 Argyle with Kim Kersting who joins LAD from Munster, Germany

Congratulations to Chef Cathy Whims of Nostrana for being nominated for a James Beard Award! Cathy was nominated for Best Chef in America’s Northwest Region and is the only Oregon chef in the running for this specific award. Awards are announced during a ceremony on Monday, May 4th in New York City.  To view other nominees click here.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed a lot more conversation about art lately.  People are talking about exhibitions they’ve seen, a friend’s artwork, poetry, a new singer they’ve discovered, etc.

I predict a huge new opportunity for artists in this economic fall out.  Not that people are going to start art collections right now.  But it seems to me that it’s the beginning of a significant shift in values.  So long prestigious shopping, hello recent cultural acquisition.

Sure, we’ve always had the painters in SoHo and the actors in Hollywood and the dancers on Broadway but art hasn’t typically played a prominent role in daily suburban conversation or culture.   Our art knowledge and involvement has not been something by which we measured our contemporary relevance.

However, with bonuses gone, vacations only something the bold plan, home equity a ghost of its original value, we are now searching for the next thing to fill the void and I think it’s going to be all things creative.  So, if there is a tiny piece of optimism to focus on these day, I say it’s the elevation and weaving of art back into our daily lives.

Let me know if you’ve noticed this too.  Thanks!

I AM a granola addict. The toasty oat crunch, chewy dried fruit, sweet cinnamon and brown sugar combination – mmm. It’s my ideal way to kick-start the workday, when paired with a cup of java and newspaper. This Saturday when I opted against attending the Farmers Market due to weather (it’s the Californian in me), I decided to brighten my day by creating my favorite breakfast treat – Granola.

First step: the recipe. I opted for Ashley Gartland’s recipe from FOODday, which piqued my interest back in January – it might have been the name, Husband-Mocking Granola… I didn’t clip it, but with OregonLive’s new nifty recipe search engine, I quickly found what I was looking for.

Here is the recipe as it appeared in FOODday on January 20, 2009:

Instructions