What’d you do on Friday evening? Sample tons of goodies from local producers alongside some awesome Willamette Valley wine? That’s exactly what went down at The Allison Inn & Spa in Newberg this past Friday night! I got to be a fly on the wall… well, a fly that tasted lots of delicious food and wine. So not really a fly at all. I was there, and it was great!

After the event concluded, I found myself continually thinking about many of the local producers that were there, and plotting how I was to acquire some of the goodies I sampled. Of course, I could’ve just purchased them that evening, but I’ve never been one to make life easy for myself.

Want a little peek at the bounty of snacks and sips available? Here ya go!

Victoria’s Lavender, Face Rock Creamery, Oregon Olive Mill & Republic of Jam.

Pork BBQ sliders from Jory Restaurant, Goat Cheese-Caramel tarts from Deschutes brewery, and of course- SALT.

Durant, Chehalem, Brick House, Roco, and a new one for me- Deschutes Brewery from Bend.

The Face Rock Creamery people were *not* shy with the samples. A favorite was their twist on an “apple pie”- an oat cake, apple butter and a big ol’ slice of moderately sharp cheddar. The sweet & sharp together are pretty delicious. Deschutes Brewery had a great pairing as well- a little goat cheese-caramel tart, paired with their Spiced Saison, Zarabanda. Jory brought the heat with some delightful little BBQ pork sliders with cole slaw- since I spent the last several years in the South, I have eaten my share of BBQ, and these were delish. I chatted with the chef about how I’d never heard of putting cole slaw ON things until I lived in the South. Now I don’t think I can live without it. Another favorite was the Republic of Jam– they had a apricot-cardamom curry sauce that they served with meatballs. Oy! So good. Guess what’s in my fridge right now? Apricot-cardamom jam. I wasted no time in buying that one.

Is this real?

The Carlton Bakery, if you haven’t been, is a divine feast for the senses. Probably some of the best baked goods I’ve ever had. Plus if you go there, make sure to grab a cappuccino from Brenda at Common Grounds, which is basically in the parking lot of the Carlton Bakery. Woman makes a mean cappuccino.

Who’s that lovely vision pouring wine? Lynn!

There were many awesome winemakers there on Friday as well. Lynn Penner-Ash, Luisa Ponzi, Harry Peterson-Nedry of Chehalem, Rollin Soles of ROCO, Steven Guy from Brick House and several more. The size of the crowd was perfect, allowing everyone to have plenty of time to converse without having to push your way to any one table and fight for space. We’ve all been to those kind of tastings, amiright? 

Cuvée Stroll was part of Cuvée Weekend, but many of the folks I spoke to were locals (Portland/Tualatin, etc), as you could purchase tickets to this event “a la carte.” Definitely worth a quick drive, as you’d be hard-pressed to find so many great winemakers and artisan producers under one roof, short of large food & wine festivals. The Allison provided a lovely and intimate experience. No surprise there.

Many thanks to The Allison and all the wonderful vendors. Cheers!