Posts Categorized: News

A Night in One of Oregon’s Fire Lookouts

Union Wine Co Pickett Butte Lookout

On a quiet Thursday afternoon at the beginning of February, we found ourselves slowly winding our way up a dirt logging road in the dark and damp Umpqua National Forest. Following some loose directions printed offline, I pushed in the code that released the lock and we passed through the large metal gate, navigating the last half mile up the muddy drive into a clearing. The fire tower, and our home for the night, came into view as we crested the hill in Krista’s Honda Element.

Underwood Wine fire lookout

We were fortunate enough to arrive just a few short days after the most recent snow cover had melted, making the road passable all the way to the base of the tower. In the winter, they don’t plow the road, occasionally forcing some guests to snowshoe to the hut. Just as we arrived, the sun started to peek through the clouds to welcome us. The temperature was toasty compared to Portland, and after hauling our supplies several times up the steep 40 ft of stairs, we were hot enough to hang around in our t-shirts. We busted open our snacks, cracked our cans of Underwood Pinot Noir and settled in for some relaxation; ie. guest book reading and dog snuggles.

Underwood Wine Pickett Butte

Underwood Pickett Butte

Pickett Butte, rebuilt in 1958, is one of many reservable fire lookouts in the PNW. Along with thousands of other lookouts, it was built in the early 1900’s after a fire swept through Washington, Idaho, and Montana, burning over 3 million acres. The government’s solution was to hire folks to inhabit these lookout towers during the driest seasons of the year, monitoring weather patterns and forest activity. Although many have since then burned down or decommissioned, some are still used for fire surveillance to this day. During the off-season, many structures become rentable to the general public. But reservations are often hard to come by. So, if you’re lucky enough to land one, make sure you take advantage of a unique opportunity to stay above the clouds with 360 views.

When the light started to fade on us, the temperature dropped and the sky turned pretty shades of pink and orange. We pulled on our puffy coats and stepped out onto the deck to silently watch the show, wine in hand. The peaceful sounds of the wind and the forest were all we could hear.

The rest of the night was spent cooking Indian food—the smells of warm spices filling the tiny 14×14’ room—playing games, drinking Underwood Wine and catching up as the propane heater warmed us and the clouds hung low over the horizon.

Underwood Wine Pickett Butte

Underwood Wine Pickett Butte

When we woke up at first light the next morning, we were magically perched inside a cloud. What an unreal feeling to be engulfed in this damp, white fog, the trees of the forest looking ghost-like just feet away. Slow to rise and make coffee, not wanting to eject ourselves from our sleeping bags, we took full advantage of a chance to be extra lazy in our cozy cabin in the sky.

Union Wine Co Pickett Butte

Pickett Butte Oregon

Eventually, thoughts of the long trek home drove us out of our beds and into action. Using the basket and pulley system rigged on the catwalk, we lowered our belongings back to solid ground, packed up the car and waved goodbye to our little home on stilts, grateful for the opportunity to step away from civilization and experience this small sliver of history.

Words and Photography by Brooke Weeber.

Thai One On: A Refined Bar Set for a Refined Cocktail

Underwood Pinot Noir Cocktail

Here at Union, we do our best to stay humble. We don’t believe in putting on airs or pretending to be anything but the best we can be. And we hope this attitude shows through in all of our products. We don’t go out in constant search of the next best coolest thing, but that being said, we are always on the lookout for objects of beauty, style, and design. We recently came across this Shaker and Bar Set and it was love at first sight. Designed by Leather goods legend Frye, in a collaboration with Crate and Barrel, the acacia wood and antiqued gold-finished stainless steel was just too amazing to pass by.

Underwood Pinot Noir Cocktail

But to put such a stylish and refined set of tools to an appropriate task called for creating an equally stylish and refined cocktail. Enter the Som Cordial…

Underwood Pinot Noir Cocktail

If you are familiar at all with the Portland dining scene, then it’s safe to say you’ve been a fan of Andy Ricker and his Pok Pok empire for many years. One of the first chefs to bring real street-style Northern Thai food to Portland, Andy led a revolution in the local culinary scene. Starting by cooking out of a literal shack between two houses on SE Division Street, Andy has grown his empire steadily.

Several years ago he started to bottle and sell his flavored drinking vinegars called SOM. These have very concentrated flavors and are meant to be mixed with club soda—a refreshing staple in Thailand that helps ease the spicy heat of the cuisine. From that start, Andy refined the mixer from straight flavored vinegar to cordials, a non-alcoholic mixer that serves the same purpose but is a bit more debonair. You can read a short explanation HERE from the New York Times.

Since winter is still with us, we are still having fun creating new Underwood Pinot Noir cocktails. Without the overwhelming notes of cinnamon or nutmeg (kind of overused during the winter months in our humble opinion), this cocktail keeps the weight of red wine but adds the sweetness of Clementines and the subtle tartness of the Som Cranberry Cordial. Everything is tempered with just a splash of club soda for an intense yet refreshing cocktail.

The Thai One On

2 oz Underwood Pinot Noir
1 oz Som Cranberry Cordial
Juice of 1 Clementine or Tangerine
Splash of Club Soda
Ice

Simply enough, combine enough ice for 1 glass, add this and the first three ingredients to the shaker and in the infamous words of Andre 3000, ‘…shake it like a polaroid picture!’

Underwood Pinot Noir Cocktail

Underwood Pinot Noir Cocktail

Pour ice and liquid into the glass and top off generously with club soda. Repeat as many times as necessary.

Underwood Pinot Noir Cocktail

There are many flavors of the Som drinking vinegars and Som Cordials and we recommend trying them all.

Bon Appétit.

Photography, Text, and Recipe by David L. Reamer. (@dlreamer)

Simplifying New Year’s Eve: A Sparkling Batch Cocktail

Underwood Bubbles French 75

Whether you are entertaining at home or just pre-gaming before a big night out on the town, perhaps at the Local & Legendary Tony Starlight’s Soft Seventies Rockin’ Dinner Show (it’s amazing BTW) it’s always fun to get New Year’s Eve started off on the right foot with a delicious cocktail. And since there is bound to be a few bottles of Bubbles around the house, we thought the classic French 75 would be a great suggestion.

A relatively simple drink to make, the French 75 got its start around WW1, when it was said that the drink had the kick of being shelled by a powerful French 75mm Field Gun. Here at Union, we believe in drinking responsibly, even on New Year’s Eve, but just one won’t hurt.

And we figure you won’t be drinking alone, so we decided to set you up with a batch cocktail—one who’s base can be made ahead of time and kept in the fridge. That way, when your guests arrive, just stir with ice, strain, and top off with Union’s Underwood Bubbles. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

You can use your favorite Gin, but we recommend Portland’s own women-owned-and-run craft distillery, Freeland Spirits Gin. We have been loving this locally made brand lately and highly recommend checking them out.

Underwood Bubbles French 75
French 75
(This recipe is designed to make 4 drinks.)

6 oz Freeland Spirits Gin
3 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice*
2 1/2 oz simple syrup
2 C ice cubes
1 bottle Underwood Bubbles

*Since Meyer lemons are in season right now, we recommend them, but regular lemons are fine too.

***********

STEP ONE:

Measure out the first three ingredients into a glass mixer and place in the fridge until your guests arrive. When ready to make up the cocktails add the ice and stir well.

Underwood Bubbles French 75
STEP TWO:

Strain the chilled base into 4 coup or other stemmed glasses. No need to be super fancy or even have all matching glasses—sometimes its fun to mix and match your vintage-ware.

Underwood Bubbles French 75
STEP THREE:

Top off all the glasses with some ice cold bubbles and you are ready set go! It’s that simple.

So, from everyone here at Union, we would like to wish you and yours a safe and happy new year! Whether staying in by a roaring fire, or heading out for a night on the town, have a blast but please stay safe, keep those pinkies down, and for gosh sakes, take a LYFT!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Underwood Bubbles French 75
Photography and Text by David L. Reamer.  (@dlreamer)

New Traditions: Christmas Tree Hunting in Mt. Hood National Forest

Mt. Hood is an icon of Portland and the Willamette Valley. The mountain that sits at 11,250 feet in elevation can be seen from numerous parts of the valley. Whether you are stuck on I-5 traffic, on a leisurely drive in the gorge or hiking up in forest park, Mt. Hood peaks through on clear days.

Union Wine Co Christmas Tree Hunt

The Mt. Hood National Forest, which stretches around 1,067,000 acres around the base of the mountain, is a treasured playground that we Oregonians try to take advantage of all year round. Summer activities include camping, swimming at the many lakes and rivers and going on long warm hikes. In the winter there is snowshoeing and skiing, and for those looking for the perfectly unperfect tree, Christmas tree hunting.  

Union Wine Co Christmas Tree Hunt

For some of us who have grown up in the Pacific Northwest, a holiday tradition has been to go out into the woods to find your tree rather than heading to the local tree farm or tree lot.   

Union Wine Co Christmas Tree Hunt

Union Wine Co Christmas Tree Hunt

Union Wine Co Christmas Tree Hunt

We believe the holidays are about spending time with friends and family. So, this year we are sharing new traditions with friends and their young families.  

If you haven’t gotten a tree already, we suggest switching things up this year and start a new tradition. When the weather is just right, it’s a perfect day to get some fresh air and create new memories for your family that will hopefully be passed down for generations. Don’t forget the sled, a few cans of Underwood Bubbles for mom and dad and your $5 permit for the tree. Cheers!

Union Wine Co Christmas Tree Hunt

Our Newest Adventure: Underwood Nouveau

Underwood Nouveau

At Union, we often joke that we work hard and play harder, but the truth is our work is fun, so it’s more of a play hard, play harder situation. We get to pioneer new ideas, celebrate our successes, laugh at the mishaps, and be among friends while we do it all. Which brings us to our newest adventure: Underwood Nouveau.  

Our Underwood Nouveau is a riff on a Beaujolais Nouveau, which is traditionally made from Gamay grapes (also called, Gamay noir à Jus blanc grape) in the Beaujolais region of France. Always looking for an Oregon angle, we decided to use our Pinot Noir grapes in the Underwood Nouveau for a fresh take on our traditional Pinot noir. The Gamay grape is actually a cousin of the Pinot Noir grape and flourishes in very similar climates.  

Normally, it takes us a year to make our Underwood Pinot Noir, while our Nouveau takes just over a month — from pick to sip. We created it to celebrate our first grape harvest of the year and introduce the true expression of our 2019 vintage. It’s fruit-forward, light, and fun, meaning we had a lot of fun making it, and you’ll have a lot of fun drinking it. Nouveau is known for being a fresh, fruity wine that celebrates the first pour of the season. 

(image credit Blue Heron Vineyards)

Underwood Pinot Noir Nouveau grapes

The first step to creating our new wine was to pick the grapes. We started hand-picking the grapes for this year’s Nouveau batch on the early morning of September 24th and the fruit arrived at our winery and was unloaded by sunset. It was an all-hands on deck situation here to get it done in one day, but we prevailed. We picked the grapes in whole clusters. No crushers or de-stemmers were used.  

Underwood Pinot Noir Nouveau

Underwood Nouveau Pinot Noir

Underwood Nouveau Dig Out

Union Wine Company

To ferment the grapes, we used a process called “carbonic maceration,” a fancy name for a straightforward, natural process that can produce vibrant, lively, fresh, and also some very serious wines. Here’s how it works: the full bunches of grapes are placed into stainless-steel, temperature-controlled vats, which are then sealed and filled with CO2 to remove the oxygen. This triggers a process within the grapes known as intracellular fermentation. Once alcohol levels reach around 2% abv, the grape skins split and release their juice. This takes about 10 days.  

During this time, the grapes at the bottom are gently crushed under the weight of the others and begin to ferment, releasing more CO2. This gentle, yet speedy, process releases the berry flavor without releasing the bitter tannins from the grape skins. The carbonic maceration process is stopped when the fruit is removed from the tank and pressed.  

Underwood Nouveau

The process was a success! In the end, our Nouveau tastes bright and fruit-forward with notes of cherry, plum, and currents. 

Underwood Nouveau Canning

To introduce our Nouveau with the proper fanfare, we worked with a designer to create a can that would speak to the beauty of art nouveau. He nailed it. We love the design.   

A can made perfect sense for this project because a Nouveau is meant to be sipped right away, not stored. Our Nouveau should be popped open anytime, anywhere during the fall season it honors.   

We’re excited to have the opportunity to introduce a wine that embraces the spirit of Union — don’t take yourself too seriously, have fun, and enjoy the moment. Just remember to do it with your pinkies down.  

Union Wine Company Nouveau