We interrupt the Thirty Oregon Grapes in Thirty Days series to bring you a special post about the Pairings Dinner that I was fortunate to attend last night at Willamette Valley Vineyards! Who doesn’t love a good wine dinner?

I live about an hour from the Willamette Valley Vineyards Estate in Turner, so I was able to catch a gorgeous sunset on the drive down. I was a little bummed that it was dark by the time I got there at 6:30 (WINTER! Grrr), because the view from the Estate has got to be a stunner during the daytime. The space is large, cozy and inviting.

The Pairings dinners, as I understand it, were just started this January. They continue for the month of February, Friday evenings at 6:30. Each dinner is four courses, paired with (at least last night) a combination of their Estate wines and the Griffin Creek bottlings from Southern Oregon.

Food porn will follow. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.

The first course was Baked Willamette Valley Cheese Co. Brie with raspberries, almonds and a coriander arugula salad with citrus-raspberry gastrique. It was paired with their 2012 Estate Chardonnay. This Chard is medium-full bodied, with a nice touch of spicy oak and toast. The red fruit in the salad was an interesting offset to the citrusy qualities in the wine; texturally it worked, and the coriander was picked up by the oak ever so slightly:

Cheeeese.

The following course was Cedar Planked Rosemary Brined Steelhead Salmon (you can’t be in Oregon at a wine dinner and not have Salmon, amiright?). It was accompanied by roasted brussel sprouts with house-cured bacon and molasses lime anise syrup. To sip alongside was their 2012 Estate Pinot Noir, 93 Points rated by Wine & Spirits. My highlight from this marriage was definitely the molasses syrup, it played nicely off the carmel-y, ripe quality of the wine. Of course you can (almost) never go wrong with Salmon and Pinot, but I liked the slight richness of the molasses with this particular Pinot. A big warm vintage like 2012 can stand up to something like molasses. Cheers to that!

Don’t eat the cedar plank.

The next course was my personal favorite: Tails & Trotters Pork Osso Bucco & Sweet Potato Hash, with Rogue Creamery smoky blue cheese & tobacco onions. This was served with the 2011 Griffin Creek Syrah from the Rogue Valley. I’ve been on a real Southern Oregon kick lately, and really liked this wine. It was layered with black cherry, blackberry liqueur, burnt coffee (sounds gross, tastes good), woodsy/earthy veins and a sweet tobacco/brown sugar finish. Some underlying smokyness in the wine played really well with the smoked pungency of the blue cheese. Great success!

The portion sizes were well-thought out, so I actually did have room for dessert: a Chocolate-Hazelnut Beignet with Tillamook Marionberry Pie Ice Cream. Mm-hmm. For sippage, there was a 2013 Sweet Tempranillo. I’d been craving ice cream, but refused to buy any at home for fear I’d eat the whole pint in one sitting, so I was particularly glad to see the ice cream. I don’t even have next-day regret, either.

This is definitely an awesome event space that I’ll surely return to in the Spring! I can only imagine sitting on that porch during the sunset! The Pairings dinners are $50 per person, and check out the calendar here if you’re interested in attending one. Cheers!