Coopers Hall, Portland

To me, having a winery in the middle of the city is pretty much the most ideal situation. Unfortunately I don't live in Portland, but if I do, I'd be at Coopers Hall for a glass of wine every day. Not only is the location convenient, all the wines are on tap (aka environmental friendly). This quote from their website truly depicts how much they care about the wine... "Coopers Hall values authenticity, producing wines that we care for in such a manner as we care for ourselves. We view winemaking as an evolving process that changes with the seasons, moods and elements. Our goal is to make wine honestly: to have transparency in our process, experience, and methods. We want the character of our wine to be an expression of us; making each wine changes us as we too change it."

We started off with some sparkling wine to entice the palate and had quite a few appetizers that exceeded my expectation. Ok, let's talk madeleines. I've always viewed madeleines as a dessert or something you have to go with your afternoon tea but these fresh sheep cheese madeleines were out of this world. Served with spring flower-pepita brittle butter, they are a burst of sweet and savory goodness! Next up, we had grilled-to-perfection asparagus (topped with speck cream, bruno alpina parmesan and almond crumble) and some very delightful roasted beets (with sikil pak, cara cara oranges, sunflower vinaigrette, sunflower sprouts and puffed rice). For the main course, Mark had the mushroom orecchiette and I had NY strip. They were both equally amazing. Last but not least, for dessert, we had some VERY delicious brioche donuts with a rhubarb sauce.

Oh, I forgot to mention that even though this is a winery, they have some fabulous cocktails too! I tried the Bees in the Spring and it was so tasty and refreshing! Think aperol, clover honey, lemon, citric acid, cava and soda! Yum!

I think by now you know how much I love Coopers Hall and perhaps I've convinced you to go check it out if you are ever in Portland! The food is exceptional, the space is fantastic, this is hands down one of the best dining experience I've had in awhile. Thank you so much for having us, Coopers Hall!