Review: Wines of Portlandia, 2025 Releases
It’s been seven long years since we visited with the Portlandia winemaking operation, a relatively small producer that leans into hipster iconography and low prices to push wine from the PNW. I say that because two of the wines we’re looking at today — a rose and a sparkling rose — are drawn from grapes grown in Washington, not Oregon.
Close enough to Portland, anyway.
Thoughts follow.
NV Portlandia Rose Sparkling Wine Columbia Valley – Made, perhaps surprisingly, from syrah. Juicy and fruity, the wine is a deep exploration of strawberry with a pinch of baking spice to keep things interesting. While increasingly floral as it develops, you can’t keep all that fruity strawberry at bay for long. The finish is full of it. Throughout, the wine is creamy, with ample effervescence, and it should offend no one looking for a fizzy rose to sip on. B+ / $20
2024 Portlandia Rose Columbia Valley – Extremely floral with overloaded peach notes, almost candylike. Tasted blind this could easily be confused for a viognier, thick with stone fruit, white flowers, and eventually citrus-driven lemon curd and a pinch of baking spice. Not at all what I was expecting, as there’s none of that standard strawberry character on offer. Treat it like a bold white rather than a rose: A- / $10
2022 Portlandia Oregon Pinot Noir – Effusive fruit on the nose leads to a rather extracted, slightly pruny quality on the palate, which ultimately makes its way to clear notes of rhubarb and anise. Time in glass helps the wine find its footing, but the balance feels off, the finish quite doughy and unfortunately underdeveloped. As a value wine, however… B- / $18
2022 Portlandia Oregon Pinot Noir
USD18
