The Oregon Food and Wine Trail

This article first appeared in my
"Sam Cooks" newsletter.

Over the past decade or so, foodies and normal folk have moved to Oregon to escape the madness of places like Los Angeles, New York, - even San Francisco. Though I visited the state previously, I never really understood what the attraction was until Mary and I spent five days in Portland and the surrounding area in early July.

The first reason is the weather. Even hot days were blessedly free of humidity, and nights were always cool. Then there are the people. They re so nice and friendly it's almost scary. Wine writer Heidi Yorkshire, a transplant from Los Angeles, told me that when she first moved to Portland, she thought the cars were sold without horns because nobody used them.

The third reason is an increasingly sophisticated food and wine scene. I've written about Oregon chefs and products, such as hazelnuts, in past Wine Spectator Tastes columns. Oregon is the nation's largest producer of hazelnuts (or filberts, if you prefer). I was too early for the hazelnut harvest this year, but I did visit Columbia Empire Farms (a large producer of hazelnuts) in time for the Marionberry harvest.

Never heard of a Marionberry? No, it's not named for the former mayor of Washington, D.C. It is a cross between the Chehalem and Olallie varieties of blackberry and derives its name from Marion County, the region of Oregon where it flourishes. (Ninety-nine percent of the nation's blackberries are produced in Oregon.)

Like other blackberries, Marionberries (also called Marion blackberries) are quite perishable, so most of them are made into jam. Within four hours of picking, the berries are frozen, then made into jam over the course of the year. The end of last year's crop was being made into jam as this year's harvest was about to start. The jam, by the way, is delicious, full of ripe fruit flavor and not overloaded with sugar. If you needed another reason to try Marionberry jam, how about that blackberries are very high in anti-oxidants, important in helping to prevent diseases such as cancer.

If you want to try Columbia Empire Farms wonderful Marionberry jam (which also comes in cute squeezable Doodleberry plastic bottles that kids will love), other jams like huckleberry and lingonberry, and terrific hazelnuts, log onto www.yournw.com, the site of Your Northwest, the company's retail stores.

Where there is great raw material, great restaurants are bound to follow. One such restaurant in Portland is Wildwood, which provided us with the best meal of our visit. Chef Corey Schreiber has developed a well deserved reputation for his culinary skills as well as his use of indigenous products. Co-owner and wine director Randy Goodman set up a terrific degustation menu with the likes of Wood Roasted Leg of Willamette Valley Lamb with figs glazed in balsamic & lavender, creamy ricotta polenta, and beet greens. He also paired each course with a dazzling array of wines.

We also had fine meals at Southpark restaurant and the restaurant at the Heathman Hotel, the latter a classy small hotel where we stayed. (Heathman Restaurant Chef Philippe Boulot is a 2001 James Beard Award winner) In Dayton, in the heart of the wine country (less than 90
minutes from Portland), we visited old friend Jack Czarnecki. Jack and his father before him ran Joe's, a legendary eatery in Reading, PA. Now he and his wife Heidi operate the Joel Palmer House, a beautifully restored old home. As he was in Pennsylvania, Jack is passionate about mushrooms (he's written three books on the subject). But now he gets to pair them with those great Oregon Pinot Noirs.

• Wildwood, 1221 NW 21st Avenue, Portland, 503-248-9663
• Southpark, 901 SW Salmon St., Portland, 503-326-1300
•  Heathman Hotel, 1001 SW Broadway at Salmon, Portland, 503-790-7757
• Joel Palmer House, 600 Ferry St., Dayton, 503-864-2995

Speaking of Pinot Noir, now is the time to drink Oregon Pinots to your heart's content. The 1998, 1999, and 2000 vintages are all outstanding. We got our first taste of Oregon wines on their native soil at The Cellar Door, a superlative wine retail operation co-owned by Wendy Lane, whose Lane Marketing (particularly in the person of Lisa Hill) made our stay so enjoyable.

Bryan Shuttleworth and Craig Perman select the wines, and boy, do they make some great picks. While every Pinot Noir I tried on my trip was worth buying (you almost can't go wrong with the above three vintages), I was particularly impressed with the Chehalem Pinot Noir I had at The Cellar Door. While it is known for Pinot Noir, Oregon is no one-trick pony when it comes (Chateau Benoit does a nice job in both categories). Further south in the Umpqua Valley, Oregon is also developing warmer climate wines like Syrah, even Tempranillo, the primary red grape of Spain. At The Cellar Door, I sampled a knockout Tempranillo from Abacela winery.

The Cellar Door sells most of its wines locally, but they do ship out of state. Even if your state isn't enlightened enough to allow such shipments (like Pennsylvania, where I live), you can get some great picks from The Cellar Door's hot sheet. Just email Bryan at: bryan@thecellardoor.com to be put on the mailing list. Tell him Sam sent you.

Finally, on a non-food note, make sure you visit the Japanese Garden in Washington Park when you re in Portland. It's spectacular.