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A Southern Oregon winery, Tesoaria Vineyard and Winery opened The Portland Tasting Room on North Williams in 2013, and starting June 16, it will unleash all-vegan Thursdays, with an a la carte menu of seasonal mezze plates, pizzas, sandwiches, and dishes by chef Max Germano—all designed to pair with its rather broad portfolio of wines, from sparkling moscato to Malbec. Vegan wine-paired brunches are coming bimonthly beginning July 24, too.
"We have a lot of vegan wine club members," founder and winemaker John Olson tells Eater. "I'm not vegan, but I eat more vegan than anything else, and I'm finding our wines pair very well with vegan food."
With menus following the seasons weekly, chef Germano hasn't settled on what to serve for the inaugural Vegan Thursday. Most things in The Portland Tasting Room are done from scratch, from mayo and wine-infused mustards, to all of the breads and pizza crusts. Potential vegan dishes include Cashew Cheese Stuffed Peppers over tabouleh with sweet romanesco and mint oil (paired with either Tesoaria's riesling or Bulls Blood red) and Rosemary Shortcake with apricot jam, apricots, fried rosemary, and rhubarb and strawberry gastrique (paired with either Bella Rose "Secco" or Moscato sparkling wines).
Olson says Tesoaria Winery has grown organically thanks to its wine club, and this is an important detail, if you consider the winery grew from 800 to 10,000 cases in seven years and works with a whopping 30 or so grape varieties. Olson says he opened Tesoaria's Portland wine bar and restaurant only after the winery's Portland-based wine pick-up parties became too popular, and he's never really been one for advertising.
Vegan Thursdays will be offered every Thursday beginning at 5 p.m., beginning June 16, and dishes range from $4 to $12 dollars for the most part. When vegan brunch kicks off July 24, each course will come with two wine pairings—one red, one white. From there on, brunch will be served every other month, with announcements and reservations coming via the website.
