More than a decade ago, winemakers Ksenija Kostic House and John House would wake up at 6am, leave their home on Northeast Killingsworth, and commute 27 miles southwest to Newberg’s Chehalem Winery. Each way, they’d talk about the then-undersung white wine grapes grown in the Columbia River Gorge and Willamette Valley: bright, acidic Oregon Rieslings, floral and honeyed Gewürztraminer. Oregon’s white wine scene was (and is) still primarily dominated by chardonnay and pinot gris; since Ksenija’s first Oregon harvest in 2007, the couple had a vision of championing these other white varieties. It’s what inspired them to found their own wine label, Ovum, in 2011.

Today, Ovum wines appear at bottle shops from London to Manhattan. In conjunction with the ultra-Germanic Teutonic Wine Company in Southeast Portland, the label kick-started the region’s white wine renaissance. Now, the area has several options for cool kid Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Aligoté, though Ovum remains one of the major players.

The winery’s radio single is the couple’s Big Salt, a triple threat of Muscat, Riesling, and Gewürztraminer celebrated by critics on a national scale, though it’s just as much a local phenomenon—bottles sell out in a matter of months (weeks in the early years), with grocery stores showing off big displays after each annual release. Still, the stories behind Big Salt—or Ovum more broadly—have been somewhat elusive. Ovum doesn’t always list its grape varieties on bottles, and the Houses often choose not to name their vineyards. Visitors from around the world have reached out hoping to stop by their winery or tasting room; for years, the closest the Houses had was the subterranean wine bar Les Caves, which Golden Cluster winemaker Jeff Vejr managed.

Now, as Vejr steps away to focus on his wine labels and restaurant, the Houses have reopened their hidden Alberta wine cave as Bar Nina—part wine bar, part tasting room, with a Big Salt–specific seasonal pop-up in the space once home to Le Clos.

More than a decade after they first moved to Northeast Portland, the couple treats Bar Nina as a new home a few blocks away, an intimate open “house” touring the couples’ career and personal inspirations. Consider it a peek inside their personal cellar, stocked with rare releases and decades-old wines.

“We’ll still have fun natural wines, but this is a place where people can learn and also taste the finest wines of the world,” John says. “I don’t want to be exclusive and elitist—I hate elitism in wine, it’s such a turnoff—so we would like to be able to pour anything by the glass. That’s our goal.”

Les Caves devotees who step into Bar Nina, named for the Houses’ daughter, won’t immediately notice much of a change. The live edge wooden tables, built by John, remain throughout the space. So does the comfy cave-within-a-cave tasting nook built into the eastern wall. Even on the wine list, Bar Nina kept Les Caves’ strong collection of fortified and aromatized wines, its dealer’s choice “mystery pour,” and a hearty grilled cheese. But Bar Nina also offers a larger range of Ovum wines, like its 2022 Rare Form “For Love Nor Money” Riesling from the some of the earliest plantings in the Willamette Valley, or its 2021 Memorista, a primarily-Riesling that nabbed a whopping 96 points from Wine Enthusiast.

Also on Nina’s list: wines from John’s import company, La Luz Selections—think rowdy and briny white wines grown just a few miles from the world’s biggest surfable wave, or mercurial Rías Baixas Albariño. The broader wine list primarily focuses on Europe, with a few of Ksenija and John’s personal favorites from growing regions in France, Italy, Spain, and, perhaps most notably, Portugal, built on the relationships John has made as an importer. Similarly, Bar Nina will keep decades-old bottles stocked; the opening menu has things like 1999 Gran Reserva Rioja, 2006 André Clouet Champagne, and 1980 Kopke Port by the glass. “We’re going to get our hands on some rare releases,” he says. “You could come in here and maybe get a 1979 single vintage. Why not have cool, hidden, rare things?”

While Les Caves’ food menu was much more focused on grilled cheeses, Bar Nina is a sampler platter of fun treats the Houses love. Cantimpalitos—juicy, bite-size spiced Spanish sausages, the snacky child of chorizo and a cocktail wienie—appear alongside chicken liver mousse with plum jam, as well as goat cheese truffles with ajvar, a Serbian pepper spread. “My mom brings it from Serbia every year,” Ksenija says. “Our daughter, Nina, loves it.”

Above ground, in the warmer months, what was once the garden and greenhouse of legendary Alberta restaurant Aviary is now Big Salt Bar, a summery outdoor tasting room for Ovum’s Big Salt label. The Houses wanted to fill the space with plant life and Mediterranean vibes, recalling summer trips visiting Ksenija’s family in Europe. “We love the idea of sitting outside in Greece at these white and blue tables,” says John. “Sometimes it’s a little too hot for comfort, but the wine makes it okay.”

Big Salt has become Ovum’s more playful label—experimental but approachable, trying things out and seeing what happens. Take, for example, the winery’s Orange Rosé: after stumbling across a farmer in Hood River with 1980s pinot gris plantings, grown on a south-facing slope staring down Mount Hood, they decided to make a skin contact gris with the wine. “It was hibiscus in color, Ocean Spray cranberry,” John says. “It looked awesome but was nearly impossible to drink.” Instead, the couple blended it with Big Salt to make what they call “orange rosé.”

At Big Salt Bar, the Houses will pour four different Big Salt wines, including its “reserve,” as well as cool exclusives. The shop will keep fun experiments from the cellar kegged, so people can try things before they hit the bottle. Currently on tap: cab sauv and muscat blends from Ovum’s even wilder brand, EZY TGR. When the weather cools and Big Salt retreats for the year, the Houses will keep the bar in play in small ways—they have images of pizza parties or pop-ups from their friends, both in the Portland restaurant scene and the broader wine world. “We’re so lucky to be supported by so many different restaurants and be friends with other wineries and importers in the biz, why can’t we have a shared space in Northeast Portland to do special events?” John says. “On Alberta, which has never been better?”

Bar Nina and Big Salt Bar are now open at 1719 NE Alberta Street.