SE Wine Collective 

SE Wine Collective

SE Wine Collective invited me to come in and see the wine-making process and enjoy some food the other night and I am so glad I went. I already knew they had great wines, but I didn’t realize that most of those wines were being made right there at SE Wine Collective! They have 10 winemakers, making 9000 cases of wine a year.

I had the opportunity to try 4 of the wines made here by 4 different wine-makers and each one was excellent, completely different from each other, but excellent. I tried the following:

• Gamine 2013 Syrah
• Division 2014 PINOT NOIR
• Stedt 2015 OR Rose (Gamay Noir)
• James Rahn 2015 Hyland Riesling

As you can see from the photos I also enjoyed an incredible meal while visiting SE Wine Collective. In fact, it was hands down the best meal I’ve ever had in Portland. I took my friend Sally and she agreed that it was the best meal ever. Joining us for dinner was cofounder and co-owner Kate Norris. She spent a year in France learning how to make wine and I must say it was a year well spent. The wine she makes is incredible.

Chef Althea Gray Potter

The food was just as good as the wine. Chef Althea Potter is a cooking ninja and I think she might be the best-kept secret in Portland. She was kind enough to visit the table and tell us about each dish. It was fascinating to learn where she gathers her ingredients. Here in Portland, there is a Beginning Urban Farmers program near SE Wine Collective where they teach people how to run a thriving farm in an urban environment. It is here that she gets her vegetables. Fun fact: they are the only restaurant currently purchasing from them. How cool is that? If all of that wasn’t cool enough, it turns out that Chef Potter makes her own Stracciatella cheese. The cheese is pictured in the top photo of the post and it’s mind-blowing. You must go here if for no other reason than to eat this cheese.

Their egg flight was unbelievable too. I do not know what is in the deviled egg mix, but wow. As you can see they are each topped with something fun: beets, peppers, trout, and prosciutto. You can get all four for $7 or for $5 during happy hour.

All happy hour items are $5. Happy hour is from 4-6 PM. You can also get $8 featured wine during happy hour.

Below was another happy hour item we tried the Farm lettuces salad. Notice the edible flowers in the salad? Chef Althea sources edible flowers and herbs from another local spot, The Side Yard. She uses local ingredients as often as possible like Jacobsen sea salt and Bee Local Honey.

This here is the $17 Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder with romesco, roasted potatoes, chickpeas and salsa verde. Now, for those of you who have dined with me, you know I always get the pork. They had no way of knowing this since they had never met me. This was the same pork dish everyone else was getting and is on the menu. This pork dish was phenomenal and it is priced cheaper than comparable dishes I’ve had at other places in town. 

And of course, we had to have dessert! We were totally stuffed but somehow managed to put this away no problem. It is the Half baked chocolate chip cookie with salted caramel ice cream for $11.

Update 5/23/17- I stopped in for another spectacular meal and want to share the photos. Again, everything we had was wonderful. The meal kicked off with a deviled egg flight and asparagus & ricotta toast. They always seem to have some sort of seasonal toast.

Smoked carrots – $13

Pork Shoulder – $19 Every single time I have had pork here it has been excellent!

Panna Cotta – Not only was this dessert good, it was gorgeous. I love the way everything served here is plated so beautifully.

About SE Wine Collective