Although it seems that Portland’s main sport is eating, drinking runs a very tight second. It’s no exaggeration that Portlanders love to dine, and when we do, there’s often something local in our glass. And with the opening of the newest urban winery in the city, there are even more choices for locally made wine.
Urban Crush Winery is slated to open in mid-July, taking over the SE PDX space that House Spirits Distillery once occupied. Angel Vine Wines, Willful Wines, D’Anu Wines and Cinzia will all call the new winery home. Not familiar with any of these wineries? Have no fear, they have seasoned winemakers at the helm, all of which have been making small batches of wine in other places, including down in the Willamette Valley.
Angel Vine, for example, has been making wine in a shared facility in Carlton since 2007. Focusing primarily on Primitivo and Zinfandel sourced out of Washington state, the winery also owns a five-acre vineyard in Willamette Valley’s Eola-Amity Hills planted with Pinot noir.
So why build a winery here in the city? When asked, Ed Fus, owner and winemaker of Angel Vine Wines explained, “I wanted to create something in Portland that was more focused on the winemakers. That’s what made it compelling to seek a place in PDX where we could become a foundational player and have a fun place to follow our passion.”
With a lively bunch of industrious distillers, brewers and fellow winemakers as neighbors, the new Urban Crush Winery will offer wine lovers the opportunity to chat with the people making the wines being poured in their glasses. And while there will be plenty of Oregon Pinot noir available, these winemakers also buy grapes from Washington State. Once open, Urban Crush Winery will also offer varietals less common to our area including Zinfandel, Primitivo, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese and Viognier.
With a mid-July open date, mark your calendars so you can be one of the first visitors at Urban Crush Winery. They are located at 2025 SE 7th Ave in SE Portland. And while you wait, be sure to read up on all the wineries that will be sharing the space.
Cin cin!
Angel Vine Wines
Cinzia (website coming soon)
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