Urban Wineries Catching on in Portland

By: Julie Blakley | August 04 2010
Posted in Portland - Find It - Portland

On a recent trip to the San Francisco Bay Area, I was intrigued to see that a new phenomenon in the wine industry had gripped the city. Located in close proximity to arguably the country's most famous wine country (yes, Napa), urban wineries had taken root within the confines of San Francisco and the industrial areas in the East Bay (read more about the urban winery scene there in SF’s Urban Wineries: Bright Bottles, Big City).

Photo: Julie Blakley

"Urban wineries in the East Bay of San Francisco are scorching hot,” explains Alan Goldfarb, former senior editor of AppellationAmerica.com, who is now director of communications for Tudal Winery in Napa Valley and Cerruti Cellars in Oakland.

Ok, great. Bay Area residents love urban wineries, but what about Portland? Portland is also located in close proximity to renowned wine country (read my three-part series on Portland area wineries here, here and here) and we also have a vibrant food and wine scene. If San Francisco can do it, why can’t we?

As it turns out, Portland actually has three urban wineries (two of which, Boedecker Cellars and Grochau Cellars, share a space in Industrial NW), which allows Portlanders to experience wine tasting and winemaking without making the drive.

“I love the closeness,” said Joanne Thompson, who is a big fan of tasting at Grochau Cellars. “When you have kids, going out to Yamhill is tough. It’s an all-day thing.”

Her husband, Mark Thompson, added that urban wineries cater perfectly to his 88-year-old father-in-law, who loves wine, but has a hard time making the trek to wine country.

Proximity is definitely a huge bonus for urban wineries located in the city. In fact, I had the opportunity to check out all three wineries in the course of just one short afternoon, spending only about 20 minutes total in my car.

Hip Chicks Do Wine

My first stop was at Hip Chicks Do Wine, which is located in Industrial SE and after recently celebrating 11 years in business, has led the charge on the Portland urban winery scene.

Photo: Julie Blakley

Portland transplants from Montana and Texas, Hip Chicks’ founders Laurie Lewis and Renee Neely fell in love with the Willamette Valley and Oregon wines, and dreamt of establishing a winery within Portland city limits, using grapes from vineyards in Oregon and Washington.

Lewis and Neely knew they wanted to be located in SE, close to many Portland neighborhoods to make their wine accessible to all kinds of people who don’t necessarily have the time or energy to drive all the way to the Oregon wine country.

Their motto is “Serious Wine. Serious Fun,” and the vibe at the tasting room is definitely casual and un-pretentious. It was Neely and Lewis’ goal to create a fun, casual environment where people could comfortably enjoy their wines whether they had seasoned palates or knew very little about wine.

Photo: JUlie Blakley

The Wine:

Hip Chicks specializes in a wide variety of blends, and makes very few pinots (something slightly atypical for an Oregon-based winery). My favorites were a red blend called Red Bunny Rouge and a dry yet tropical-flavor-infused ’08 Pinot Gris that was perfect for the hot day I was tasting on.

Taste for yourself: Hip Chicks Do Wine’s Portland Winery and Tasting Room, open daily 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Or visit their new Newberg Tasting Room, open daily 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

Grochau Cellars

Sharing a space with Boedecker Cellars in NW Industrial, Grochau Cellars just recently opened their tasting room to the public this past June. Although owner and winemaker John Grochau has been making wine since 2002, he has only recently made tastings more accessible to the general public in its space in NW Portland.

Unlike Hip Chicks, which does very few pinots, Grochau focuses on Oregon Pinot noirs, with 80% of his wine production in Willamette Valley Pinot noirs. The other 20% is mostly Rogue Valley Syrahs and Sauvignon blancs.

Grochau came into winemaking through his experience working in the restaurant business (he was a long-time employee at legendary Portland restaurant Higgins), and later commuting out to and working in the wine country, where he got to see how the process worked “from bud break to bottle.”

When asked why he choose to open an urban winery, he said, “I live in the city and it’s what I always wanted to do.”

“I have no desire to live out there [in Oregon wine country]. I’m a city boy. It’s more fun here and it brings the wine closer to the consumer,” says Grochau. “I also hate the make the ‘green’ point, but sustainability-wise, it makes sense. It’s less fuel, fewer cars, and it’s theoretically more sustainable that way.”

The Wine: As a big fan of Oregon pinots, I enjoyed every variety of the wine Grochau served me. However, their ’04 Willamette Valley Pinot, which was bold and rich, yet easily palatable with a peppery finish, was definitely my favorite. I also really enjoyed the “hedonistic” red blend Matador, which was complex, meaty and would pair great with summer barbecue.

Taste for yourself: Grochau Cellars Tasting Room, open Saturday and Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment.