What's Weird Wine?
Try an experiment: the next time you walk into a bottle shop, request the weirdest wine.
Your ask will immediately mark you as unfamiliar with wine. The industry prefers to discuss memorable and distinctive wines, perhaps made through innovative processes, as befits a craft centered in Bordeaux, where wines have been produced since before the time of Christ. But this is Portland, where the wine industry is in its infancy (170 years old), and a very local definition of weird prevails.
Our homegrown weird has less to do with oddness, and more to do with individuality. The “Keep Portland Weird” slogan emerged in the early aughts as a pro-small-business rallying cry to ward off an incoming wave of corporatization, but it quickly morphed into a pervasive plea for self-expression, with flashes of the pep of a young city. These days, Portland “weird” is something of a cultural value, synonymous with ignoring the siren song of large-scale capitalism while dancing to the beat of one’s own drummer, an ethos that has shaped the latest generation of winemakers. Which is to say that today’s local vintners were born and bred to produce weird wines.
We invite you to sip and slosh your way across wine country like we did, finding creative winemakers within an hour of Portland who are bucking industry norms. While overcoming profound challenges like labor shortages and wildfires, these entrepreneurs are producing fresh takes on what wine is, to bring us luscious, surprising wines and ciders, and an ecosystem of unexpected, quirky producers to keep your taste buds surprised and satiated. —Arianne Cohen
Image: courtesy kyle johnson
3 Wineries to Visit
We challenge you to visit the three most inventive wineries around town: Hiyu Wine Farm, Cho Wines, and Savage Grace.
By Katherine Chew Hamilton and Tamara Turner
Image: Thomas Teal
Cloud Wine
The dreamy wine pairings of sommelier Ron Acierto sharpen the plot and weave the experience at acclaimed restaurant Okta.
By Jordan Michelman
Image: Michael Novak
Coferments
It’s a cider lovefest in Portland, home base to an avid cofermenting scene. We picked six for you to try.
By Hannah Wallace
Image: Michael Novak
Bottle Shops
If you're not chatting up these knowledgeable owners and workers, you're missing out. Stop by at least two of the Portland bottle shops that make these quirky wines so famous.
By Jordan Michelman
