Tonight was the third annual Harvest Dinner at Amaterra Winery, one of my favorite places in the area for incredible wine pairings with outstanding food, all while taking in gorgeous views of the Oregon coastal range (and it’s all just 15 minutes from the house). I had attended their whole pig roast back in August, which was outstanding, so I knew I was in for something special again this time.
Once again, I was the first guest to arrive for the members dinner, so I hung out in the lobby for a bit before heading downstairs to the barrel room.
Once the event started at 5pm they provided guests with a glass of their 2023 51 Weeks Sparkling Rose of Barbera from the Columbia Valley and let us walk around the downstairs working areas exploring and asking questions of the various workers staged to answer them.
A table was set up with some Hors d’Oeuvers to pair with the bubbly. Left to Right we had: Caramelized Figs with Goat Cheese, Thai Basil and Espellete; a Kuri Squash Bisque with sage whipped creme fresh, apple and smoked maple; and my over-the-top favorite, a Smoked Halibut Gougere with caviar, creme fresh, lemon, dill and chives.
After downing a couple bites of each there was an opportunity to get interactive and do a little grape smashing. Here’s the old school method in action by a novice (me)….
…. and how the pros do it using an 800-pound concrete-filled stainless-steel pot 2-3 times per day, using 20 impactions per fermenting tank….
Around 5:45, once all the guests had arrived, had time to look around, eat some snacks, sip some bubbly and try a sample of the same product right from the barrel, we headed upstairs to one of several private dining rooms.
The table was set for 40 people, but what was really nice about the end of year Harvest Dinner was that the winery had 8-10 of their own employees in attendance within those 40 seats to mingle with guests, answer questions and be rewarded for another outstanding year of production.
With a glass of their 2019 Blanc de Noir Brut in hand I saved my seat at the far-left end of the table (I’m ambidextrous, but I eat left-handed. The world is made for right-handed people, so I always look to sit at the head of the table or on the far-left side so I’m not constantly banging elbows. By the way, remember that you use the opposite side of your brain as your dominant hand, so only southpaws are in their right mind) and headed outside to the balcony to take in that incredible view of the coastal range as the sun was finishing up its work for the day
Once back inside we sat down and the winemaker, Morgan White, (who was sitting to my right and who I got to ask a lot of questions throughout the meal), gave a little talk about what we would be tasting for the evening. Spoiler alert: This woman knows how to make wine.
Each of the four courses had two items. The First Course was paired with the Brut and consisted of Shaved Collard Greens, butternut squash, pomegranate, basil, dill, mint, lemon and a maple-cashew dressing…..
…. and a Market Pear and Apple Salad with Sun Feast Farm greens, romaine hearts, chicory, candied-hazelnuts, table grapes and a tarragon-blue cheese dressing. What a hell of a start to a good meal, but Executive Chef Jami Flatt was just getting warmed up. All of the dishes were served family-style, which I also found very comfortable, friendly and interactive.
For the Second Course the wine served was the Amaterra 2022 Willamette Valley Chardonnay (Just a quick side note… Having grown up in Northern California and spending seven formative years in the Napa/Sonoma Valleys, I can attest that the Chardonnay in Oregon is far superior to California’s butter rich white wines. Oregon’s cooler temperatures and rich volcanic terroir give the Chardonnay here a crispness and lightness not found in California, and it makes for a far superior product.). The first dish up to pair with the Chardonnay was an incredibly scrumptious Olive Oil Poached Albacore Tuna with preserved tomatoes, lemon, dill and capers. The fish was firm but moist and the capers added just the right saltiness to the dish.
To go along with the tuna, the chef served up bowls of Warm Honey-Glazed Carrots with a golden raisin agrodolce, chayote squash, Greek yogurt and warming spices. Very Fall-like.
For the Third Course two wines were paired up. The first was the 2021 Amaterra Pinot Noir, Hirschy Vineyard and the second was the 2015 51 Weeks Pinot Noir “Voetjes” (which means “Feet” in Dutch and harkens back to when the winemaker at that time didn’t have a piece of equipment to do the tamp down of the grapes and put his 7- and 8-year-old kids in the fermenting barrel (like the small one in the video of me, not the big one) to get the job done.
To go along with the wines, the chef prepared first a mouthwatering dish of Slow Roasted Beef Short Ribs, with chantarelles and a red wine jus.
In addition, what turned out to surprisingly be my favorite dish of the night was a Root Vegetable Gratin with sunchoke cream, aged goat cheese, shaved collard greens and crispy sage.
Bellies were getting full, the sun had gone down completely and time was moving along swiftly. Around 730 the final wine and dessert arrived to the table. For the Fourth Course dessert wine the 2022 51 Weeks Muscadelle-Reisling was served together with a pair of pastries. The first was a Pumpkin Basque Cheesecake with pomegranate, vanilla chantilly, and a cranberry-corn florentine. Finally, a deliciously savory Almond Olive Oil Cake with seasonal apple-miso butter, whipped creme fraiche, and toasted almonds rounded out the meal.
Amaterra knows how to host a party, and this one was yet another for the ages. I ended up stocking my wine fridge with four of the wines served this evening. I can’t wait to visit them again sometime soon and I encourage wine lovers in the Portland area, or anyone visiting with some time on their hands, to check them out.
