What's next on the Portland tasting menu horizon? A new alternative for people looking to skip the booze pairings—fresh juices crafted to pair perfectly with plates from amuse bouche to dessert.

Chef Will Preisch of Holdfast Dining recently announced his modernist tasting menus will feature a juice pairing option at the pop-up restaurant's new Southeast Portland brick-and-mortar location. "Juice pairings were common on menus in Scandinavia [where Preisch traveled and cooked before opening Holdfast]", the chef shares. "I really enjoyed a non-alcoholic pairing, and we have only done it a couple of times at Holdfast, but on those occasions it has gone over really well. We would just like to be able to deliver the same Holdfast experience regardless of if you drink wine or not."

What can diners expect? Preisch explains the juice pairings will "be a combination of fresh juice, some preserved and maybe even some fermented, and just like our wine program they will be paired with the food." 

We've also seen juice pairings on offer at Oso Market & Bar (as in the upcoming Post-Holiday Winter Cleansing Dinner) as well as plenty of juice-powered mocktails around town, like Imperial's Against the Fence (with sparkling apple cider, pok pok som apple shrub, lemon, and bitters).

It's only a matter of time before we can identify Portland's first star juicemmelier.