OREGON WINE TOURING GUIDE 17 WILLAMETTE VALLEY Oregon’s largest wine region, the Willamette Valley, is also home to the state’s most diverse and dynamic agricultural region. Growers cultivate berries, hazelnuts, honey, cereal grains, and loads of fruits and vegetables. Add a robust community of commercial foragers in the Cascade mountain range, and you’ve got a recipe for a vibrant local dining scene. For many, velvety Pinot noirs and bright Chardonnays remain the region’s standard bearers, but some wineries are diversifying vineyards with experimental blocks of Gamay, Syrah, Riesling and other varietals — and local chefs create dishes that continue to inspire with every new bottle. McMinnville has two new ambitious dining destinations that focus on the connection between land, food and drink. At ¯okta, Matthew Lightner — formerly of Portland’s acclaimed Castagna and two-Michelin-star Atera in New York City — serves a seasonal tasting menu with molecular gastronomy’s foams and sculptures. The vibe is more casual down Third Street at Humble Spirit, where cellar workers mingle with visitors, who can enjoy a burger from the restaurant’s own pasture-raised beef alongside a glass of slightly chilled Pinot noir from J.K. Carriere called “atypical.” Humble Spirit’s director of hospitality, Andrew Mosblech, loves the classic complement of wild fungi or rich meats with Pinot noir, but he also pairs heritage-breed Tabula Rasa Farms pork with an up-and-coming varietal, Gamay, because the “bright acidity” and floral aromas do so well with its flavorful fat. For chef Brett Uniss’ grilled trout and green goddess-dressed herbs, he opts for a Grüner Veltliner from Martin Woods Winery or Evening Land Vineyards’ Chenin blanc. Not far away, at McMinnville’s Hayward, a restaurant located in the women-owned culinary collective of Mac Market, chef Kari Kihara cooks to showcase the spirit and community of this charming wine country town. “Our food is reflective of the kitchen team, we cook the way we like to eat," she says. "What we love about our space is that our farmers and winemakers will often be sitting next to you enjoying dinner." Her hyper-seasonal menu lends itself to family-style dining with popular dishes like fermented carrot cavatelli and pork and chickpea grits. Opt for the House Party, and expect a creative and fun five-course tasting menu with wine or cocktail pairings. There's always plenty of neighboring winemakers on the rotating wine list ranging from elegant Pinots by Martin Woods and The Eyrie Vineyards’ to more eclectic wines like the Pinot gris pét-nat from rising star CHO Wines. In the Southern Willamette Valley, Eugene’s thriving dining scene relies on favorites like Marché, where you can count on lush filets of chinook salmon with locally foraged truffles accompanied by a glass of Pinot noir from the vineyards just outside of town, or Lion & Owl, serving brunch with carefully curated bubbles and other wines from small Willamette Valley producers like Walter Scott in the Eola-Amity Hills. Downtown, Party Bar shucks oysters at a tidy raw bar and offers upscale Pacific Northwest cuisine with a Southern touch, including plates of its renowned sweet-tea-brined fried chicken. Owned by a couple who love discovering new and unusual wines, the operation offers its best finds also at the adjacent retail and bottle shop, Party Market & Wine. Recently, co-owners Tiffany Norton and Mark Kosmicki have been enjoying Fossil & Fawn’s surprising Gewürztraminer — whose tannins developed over 200 days of skin contact enhance their locally raised chicken — and an Alsatianstyle white field blend that has “a really rich body that makes it good with locally grown, roasted winter squash,” according to Kosmicki. The Marigny’s copper-colored carbonic Pinot gris has been a favorite glass pour, complementing everything from oysters to seared albacore. “It’s got a lot of fruit like a good white but also a great tannic structure,” he says. Clockwise from left: Parisian gnocchi at Mac Market, a beautiful modern space in McMinnville (2); Tabula Rasa Farms CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: MAC MARKET (2); TABULA RASA FARMS
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