Contemporary international tastemakers have largely consolidated opinions about what makes a great red wine: boozy, rich in dry extract and glycerol, heavy with fruit and oak. Fortunately for those wine lovers with more eclectic tastes, many talented makers around the world resist homogeneity and preserve historically-prized grapes that produce light wines of mineral and spice character, aromatic punch, and high drinkability. Substance without weight, complexity without ponderousness, these and other gravity-defying sensations are on offer for the adventurous. Enter the almost-forgotten world of Poulsard, Pineau d’Aunis, Grignolino, Caiña Longo, and more.

In and of itself, we will admit that wine is not a terribly spooky thing, and such, does not blatantly endear itself toward Halloween festivities. This said, we’ll be getting into wines that are kooky, sometimes off-putting, and always fascinating. Our flight will consist of wines that are not commonly found on shelves or restaurant glass pour menus: oxidative whites, gamey reds, and eclectic fortified wines are the name of the game tonight.

For the lion’s share of wine history, the most prized and expensive wines were those that retained a noble kiss of natural, unfermented grape sugar. Times and tastes have changed, but what makes these wines great thankfully has not: the combination of ripe acidity, velvety textures, explosive aromatics, and balancing sweetness. We will explore the major categories of wines with residual sugar, explaining methods of production and, for some wines, the vital contribution of Botrytis Cinerea (aka “Noble Rot”) to the process. We will also delve into the versatility at the table that makes sweeter wines such welcome accompaniments to foods well beyond “dessert.” Sauternes, Porto, Madeira, Riesling and others will be tasted!

Natural wines are a major phenomenon in the wine world; such wines emphasize the influence of terroir on grapes, and low-intervention winemaking processes. This said, the world of natural wine can be terribly confusing, so we’ll be debunking some myths and addressing what makes a natty wine so “natural”. Given that producers of natural wines tend to be on the smaller scale because they rely so heavily upon hands-on (rather than purely mechanized) labor and vinification techniques, our flight will get into stuff that very well might shock and surprise your tastebuds (for better or worse!).

No doubt that skin contact and rosé wines have been experiencing a renaissance in recent years. While the majority of these wines tend to be gluggable delights, there are certainly more structured and complex wines that have been around for many centuries. We’ll be diving into the whole spectrum of skin contact wines, both still and sparkling, and discussing vinification techniques for each wine in our flight before getting into a guided tasting.

While one might usually associate summer grilling with IPAs and calorically light beers, we’ll be pouring wines that pair especially well with grilled foods, from veggies to seafood to meats, and discussing why these wines go well with these summer delights. Our flight of wines will consist primarily of big reds that show oak influence and express aromas and flavors that mesh well with grill marks, but we’ll also be hitting up a couple of whites that elevate vegetarian and pescatarian dishes.

In this class, we’ll be covering traditional method sparkling wine from a variety of regions other than Champagne; these wines are made using the same techniques, but given supply and demand, offer better bang for your buck! We’ll be exploring the differences between ancestral (tank) and traditional (in-bottle secondary fermentation) method sparkling wines, with a focus on the latter. A flight of six sparkling wines will be poured, helping you to better select bubbly wines for all the celebratory moments in your life.

In partnership with Cowbell, Portland’s eminent cheese wholesaler and retailer, we’ll take you through a flight of six wine and cheese pairings of various styles. Sam Rollins, the winner of the Cheesemonger Invitational, will join us from Cowbell in helping us to understand wine and cheese pairings (just writing that sentence makes me drool). The bottom line: you’ll never be unprepared to bring wine and cheese for social gatherings ever again.

Need a great gift for a wine lover in your life? This class is for you. Because Saint Valentine and his angelic flying naked baby companion himself told us to, we’re pairing up a flight of wines and artisanal chocolates from local chocolatier Wildwood to unlock olfactory and taste bud explosions. Wine and chocolate exemplify how food and fermented grape juice make eachother taste better…just like you and a partner elevate one another!

Come learn what makes Trappist biers special through the lenses of brewing, enjoyment, and societal appreciation. We'll taste through 6 Trappists biers from Westmalle, Trappist Rochefort, Orval, Zundert Trappist, and Tynt Meadow. You will discover nuances of flavor and aromas for each of these unique biers, and come to appreciate the differences between and similarities among the Abbeys that brew them. Along the way, we will cover some of the rich history of Trappist breweries and the Cistercian lifestyle, including a few “behind the scenes” glimpses into Abbeys that are off limits to tourists!

Kick off your weekend with a 45 minute signature barre3 class at our N. Williams Studio then head over to the neighborhood's newest wineshop, Ora Et Labora for a bubbles flight from France, Italy, Spain and the US with a pairing of cheese, crackers, fruit & nuts.