Posts Tagged: Union Wine Company

Perfect Pairings

May 31, 2019

At Union Wine Company we love to support and collaborate with other fellow artisans in our community.

Our favorite cheesemonger, Steve Jones of Cheese Bar and Chizu, has been honing his skills for 15 years and just released his very first book: CHEESE BEER WINE CIDER: A Field Guide to 75 Perfect Pairings. Co-written by Steve Jones and Adam Lindsley (and photographed by your humble narrator, David L. Reamer) you can order a copy of CHEESE BEER WINE CIDER at Powells Online or keep an eye out for copies at your local bookstore or wine shop.

It is, as the title says, a guide to pairing specific cheese with their appropriate ‘adult beverage’ counterparts. We thought this would be a great opportunity to have Steve formally taste three of our Underwood wines—Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Rosé—and choose a cheese that he thinks would go well with each. If you are going to be doing some entertaining in the next few weeks, or if you just want to have an indulgent late spring picnic, this will help you to know the best cheese to accompany your favorite cans. So, without further ado…

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UNDERWOOD PINOT NOIR paired with SUMMER COMTÉ.

Comté is a cow’s milk cheese from France’s Massif du Jura region. It has a very earthy taste (think mushrooms cooked in brown butter) but also has a slight sweetness which pairs quite well with our Underwood Pinot Noir. There are various styles of Comté, but this one gets its name from the season it is produced, when the cows are dining on the lush and verdant summer grasses.

UNDERWOOD ROSÉ paired with 1605 MANCHEGO

This very popular aged Spanish sheep’s milk cheese comes from the windmill-dotted La Mancha plateau immortalized in Don Quixote. (The producing farm, 1605, actually takes its’ name from the year the book was first published!) Much like the terroir of its origin, Manchego is dry, pale and very sheepy. As it ages, the cheese’s nuttiness and buttery qualities increase, making it absolutely delicious, and a perfect pairing to our Rosé.

UNDERWOOD PINOT GRIS paired with JACQUIN BUCHERON.

Bucheron is from what is called the Bloomy-Rind Family. A French goat’s milk cheese, it has its origins in the Loire Valley which is accepted as the home of chèvre. The Jacquin Family has been making cheese in the Loire Valley for four generations. Bucheron, from the French word for “log”, has two distinct parts: a gooey section that has started to break down just below the rind, and, a more traditional, dryer, white chèvre filling the center. The contrast between the salty cream of the buttery ring and the lemony, goaty center make for a complex flavor, as well as a great pairing for our Pinot Gris.

Big thanks again to Steve Jones for taking the time to share his knowledge and palette for this little culinary experience. A good time was had by all!

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

Creating the Perfect Springtime Cocktail

May 24, 2019

There is a particular Portland phenomenon we have been noticing for years. Every Spring there is one weekend when, with no conscious cues or communication, everyone in town decides it’s time to cut their lawn. It’s that first perfect weekend, when the rain has let up, the grass is a little too tall and healthy, and so the ol’ lawnmower gets dusted off, gassed up—or charged up (it is Portland after all)—and put to the task.

During that weekend, all of Portland is filled with that unmistakably sweet, musky scent of freshly cut grass. The kids are playing in the yard, the parks are full and Spring has officially Sprung.

Enter Lucas Plant, bartender and cook extraordinaire, Navy man, father, and all-around charming guy. Lucas has worked at many of the best spots in Portland from Clyde Common to Central to Oven & Shaker. Currently, Lucas is a “Luxury Spirits Broker” for Coastal Pacific, but he is also part owner of Bull In China. We asked Lucas to create a cocktail that captured the happiness of the first weekend of Spring and all the nostalgic flavors it evokes.

Lucas set to the task and concocted an intriguing cocktail, (whose name, coincidentally, originated from the memoir, ‘I Couldn’t Smoke the Grass on my Fathers Lawn” by Charlie Chaplin’s son, Michael.)

Grass Clippings

3 1/2 oz Kings Ridge Riesling
1/2 oz Bee Local Honey Water
1/2 teaspoon Bee Local Bee Pollen
1/2 teaspoon Steven Smith Powdered Matcha Tea No. 7

STEP ONE: Combine all ingredients in a shaker with lots of ice.

Lucas uses a professional bar spoon, but a 1/2 teaspoon measure works just as well.

STEP TWO: Shake like your life depends on it!

STEP 3: Strain (to remover solids) into another shaker with no ice.

STEP FOUR: Shake again as if your life depends on it. This step is very important as it aerates the liquid and releases all the pollen and matcha flavors.

STEP FIVE: Pour into a chilled coupe glass and enjoy.

Many thanks to Lucas for lending his time and talents to this post. And, if you dig the custom apron he is sporting, check out Portlands own OROX Leathers.

Also, head over to Bull In China for all your professional (and unprofessional) bar accoutrements.

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

10 Things We Learned at a Rose City Rollers Bout

May 17, 2019

At Union Wine Co. we love to support our local community. The Rose City Rollers are an organization of brave, talented and creative folks that we are proud to partner with. We admire the people and the game, even though it took us a minute to learn to call it a bout.

The Rose City Rollers have been a part of the Portland community for the past 15 years. Since the beginning it has been a welcoming group for the players and fans alike. We chatted with a couple of players from the High Rollers team and they stated that a primary reason for joining a roller derby team was to make friends. Nooga Knockout is originally from Chattanooga, TN, where she first started playing roller derby. She moved to Portland 3 years ago and knew that she would find a community in a new city through roller derby. When she first started she didn’t have much skating experience. She said at first it was scary, but the more she does it the more natural it feels. Now, as soon as she puts on skates, she feels comfortable.

10 Things We Learned

The game is called a bout, there are 2 periods that each last 30 minutes. In each half, they fit in as many 2 minute jams as they can.
The only person who can score is the jammer. The jammer wears a star helmet cover.
The jammer can pull her helmet cover (also known as a panty) off twice per jam and give it to anyone else on her team who might be able to shoot through a gap and score.
Inline skates are prohibited, players must wear four-wheeled roller skates.
The best-dressed fans have some sparkle on.
Don’t miss the epic halftime show.
5 skaters are on the track for each team at a time, unless someone goes into the penalty box. Each team consists of 15 skaters in total.
The skaters are referred to as a Pack.
Roller Derby skaters choose a nickname to use as an alter ego, they are usually witty, referring to something about themselves or pop culture.

A few examples:

- Eve Anne Hellical
- Bonnie Thunders
- Beyond Thunderdame
- Big Bang Fury

10. And of course, watching a bout is best enjoyed while drinking Underwood canned wine.

Mezcal Rosérita

May 3, 2019

Cinco de Mayo is Sunday and we are ready to go with our resurrected—and improved—Rosérita! We’ve updated this cocktail with our team’s favorite liquor: mezcal. If you’ve never tried mezcal, we highly recommend giving it a shot. The smokiness from the mezcal and the fresh, robust fruit flavors of our Underwood Rosé creates a balanced and tasty blended beverage.

Our favorite thing about mezcal is that it can be made from different varieties of agave, while tequila is only made from one. This allows different mezcals to have more complex and unique flavor profiles compared to tequila.

Para todo mal, mezcal, y para todo bien, también.

Cheers!

Mezcal Rosérita

Serves 4

4 cups ice
10oz mezcal
6oz Underwood Rosé
4oz strawberry puree
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of half an orange
2.5 oz Green Chartreuse
1.5 oz agave nectar
10 dashes grapefruit bitters
Salt for your glass rim

Put all the ingredients together in a blender and blend until slushy. Pour into glasses with salted rims and add a lime wedge. Enjoy with friends or co-workers on a sunny afternoon.

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.