Posts By: Joan

10 Things I Learned Without Cell Service

December 3, 2018

Guest written by Logan Dralle, founder of Her Oregon Life and Union Wine Company Ambassador

Ah, The Alps of Oregon. Covering 360,000 acres, the Eagle Cap Wilderness is Oregon’s largest wilderness area, and one of the 7 Wonders of Oregon. I call it Oregon’s next best secret, for those willing to put the hours in behind the wheel – it took us about 8 hours to get to our trailhead from Portland.

My friend Crystal and I knew when we requested our PTO dates that we would risk the chance of early snowfall in the Wallowas, but we were all in. Over the course of two days we hiked into Mirror Lake, and summited Eagle Cap.

Here’s what I learned from this trip:

Camp robbers come in all shapes and sizes. Never leave your food unattended.
A Pringles can doubles as coffee ground storage and a backcountry trash can.
The weight of your backpack does matter and so does alcohol percentage. Carrying 35 pounds on your back is hard, so what’s another few pounds in Underwood wine cans at two servings each?
Backpacking without wine is just sitting in the woods.
Cell phone addiction is real. Set it down and remember you are out here for a reason.
Bear sh*& is really big. Be prepared.
You will learn more about yourself. Including how you smell without a shower.
It doesn’t take long for you to miss a real toilet.
Don’t forget to download offline music onto Spotify. Nothin’ like a good ole’ backcountry dance party.
Taking a real vacation is so, so, so important.

In an always-on world full of countless hours spent in front of screens, the best advice I’ll ever give is to pack your bag and get out there. Mother Nature has her ways of reminding you what matters most.

Photography by Crystal Frankenbery

Wine Cocktail: Northwestern Comfort

November 28, 2018

On a dreary, rainy day in Portland we met up with bartender Jon Davidson to craft a cocktail that is anything but grey. Incorporating some of the best of the Pacific Northwest, and a pop of protein, we like to call this drink, “healthy”.

Northwestern Comfort

1 oz New Deal Pear Brandy

1 oz Clear Creek Pear Liqueur

1 oz Underwood Pinot Noir

1 egg white

.75 oz lemon juice

Dash allspice

Dash cinnamon

Combine all ingredients except for the Pinot Noir in a shaker. Shake and strain into a glass. Layer Pinot Noir on top. Garnish with a pear slice.

About The Bartender

Jon Davidson, Bite of Oregon Iron Mixologist Champion, hosts a biweekly mixology segment on Portland’s KATU, Channel 2, featuring cocktails he has created during the course of his fourteen-year bartending career. He currently tends bar at Stanford’s in Portland, and on the side he designs cocktail menus for a variety of regional establishments. Jon favors bold and multifaceted flavors when designing cocktails, and loves to incorporate unexpected ingredients (cumin, anyone?).

Photography by David L. Reamer

10 Things I Learned Working Harvest

October 26, 2018

Did you know that wineries produce an entire year’s wine vintage in just a two month window of grape harvesting? If mother nature doesn’t cooperate, the fruit isn’t picked at the right time, or we get off schedule, things might go awry.

Because of that, Union Wine Company (and most wineries around the world) hire Harvest Interns, the miracle workers that help ensure our harvest runs smoothly. Working directly alongside our winemakers and our production team, this year’s team of 30 Harvest Interns have watched fruit turn to wine (and everything in between).

We asked Sarah Richins, Union Wine Company Harvest Intern, to tell us all about her harvest experience. Without further ado, we’ll let Sarah take it from here.

I started at Union Wine Company last month to work my first ever harvest. We have interns from Chile, Brazil, South Africa, and even Ireland – it is amazing to hear people’s stories and what drew them to working a harvest in Oregon.

Since I started, I have gone from terrified of driving a forklift to operating all kinds of machinery like a pro, I have dug out a tank full of grapes in less than three hours, and I have newfound respect for how much work it takes to craft the perfect Pinot.

Here’s some more things I have learned while crushing the 2018 harvest.

I am way stronger than I think.
Forklifting is like riding a bike – you have to keep practicing, and after you haven’t been on it for a while you can pick it up again (sometimes after a few failed attempts).
Getting dirty is fun, and definitely part of the process – so get ready and always bring a change of clothes.
It’s always important to ask for help. You have to know what you’re doing first in order to execute it properly later.
Staying up until 3AM with coworkers is OK – we all need nights out to dance away to 60s/70s funk. Plus, we work the swing shift, so 3AM is the new 10PM.
Food tastes better after working a harvest. The amount of food I consume now is the same as when I was training for a marathon.
There is no bond like a harvest shift bond. Nothing beats co-workers turned friends.
It’s okay if you have a bad day where nothing seems to be going right – we ALL have those days. Just remember that it will get better and keep your attitude high.
I am even more obsessed with wine than I was before and can’t wait to continue to learn and grow in this field.
Your hands will be dyed purple forever – get used to it.

If you want to learn more about the winemaking process, or just want a killer upper body, I highly recommend working a harvest at Union Wine Co. I can guarantee you will never take happy hour for granted again.

Editor’s Note: if you are interested in working next year’s harvest, please contact ellie@unionwinecompany.com.

Underwood Pinot Cranberry Sauce

October 19, 2018

Here in Portland, colored leaves are taking over every street, evening walks are starting to require a puffy, and after almost two months, harvest is almost complete.

You know what that means? Pinot Noir season is officially here!

(Editor’s Note: even though we drink Pinot Noir year-round, our Oregon staple just feels right during the colder months).

So when you’re pouring that glass for yourself tonight, consider saving some for this delicious cranberry sauce. It is easy enough for a weeknight hors d’oeuvre, yet delicious enough to serve alongside at Thanksgiving dinner. Warning: may cause double dipping.

Underwood Pinot Cranberry Sauce

12 oz fresh or frozen Cranberries
¾ Cup Underwood Pinot Noir
¾ Cup Brown Sugar
½ Cinnamon Stick (1 – 1½ inches)
1 tsp grated Ginger
Zest of one Orange
1/8 tsp ground Nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground Allspice
1/4 tsp of kosher salt

Combine cranberries, Underwood Pinot Noir, and sugar into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add remaining ingredients, stirring occasionally until cranberries begin to pop. After about 5 minutes, reduce heat to low and break up berries with a wooden spoon. The consistency should become a thick jam-like sauce. Stir a couple more times, remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes. Serve immediately or place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. Can be served cold or reheated.

Tip from our crew: When we made this sauce for a winery happy hour, we paired it with Chèvre atop crackers and it was as gone in seconds.

Photography by Emily Triggs

I’ll Have What She’s Having

October 5, 2018

On September 13th, 2018, we blasted back to the past for Feast Portland: 80s vs 90s. Feast Portland is one of the nation’s most beloved food & drink festivals, and is where we introduced our Underwood wine in a can back in 2013.

If you know us, you know we’re not afraid to mix our wines with other quality ingredients to create new wine drinking experiences. We debuted our Riesling Radler wine cooler in 2017, but for Feast, we wanted to take things up a notch and and create a lineup of special wine coolers exclusive for the event.

Our enologist, Jeb, was up to the challenge and may or may not have cracked a few Zima’s to inspire the brainstorming process. After some trial & error, we landed on two limited edition wine coolers: the Ecto Cooler and Wu-Tang.

The Ecto Cooler was questionably green, but don’t let that fool you – its taste was reminiscent of Hi-C, and the Feast attendees couldn’t get enough of it. It was the first keg we emptied and quickly became the drink everyone kept coming back for. Our other special edition wine cooler, Wu-Tang, was an effervescent version of the time-honored Fuzzy Navel that tasted just like a peach ring, but better. These wine coolers were served alongside What She’s Having (our Strawberry Cooler, temporarily rebranded) and the Cosmo Cooler (our Riesling Radler). 2,700+ pours later, our kegs, and our Union Wine Co. staff bartenders, were exhausted.

We decked out our space with 80s and 90s ‘antiques’, or should we say, priceless relics borrowed from our Marketing Ops Manager Joan’s basement.

As we brainstormed what Union Wine Co. would’ve been like if it was around in the 80s or 90s, we thought: weren’t we there all along?

Feast Portland, thanks for letting us relive our glory days. We’re still on cloud nine, and will continue to rock our canny packs around the Industrial Chateau – why did they go out of style, again?