Coopers Hall

Wine & Spirits Magazine, October 2014

Two Shinola bicycles bask near stainless steel fermentation tanks and a canary yellow forklift at Coopers Hall, a tap room and urban winery in industrial southeast Portland. Sunlight streams through the 8,000-square-foot space; the room hums with hipsters in skinny jeans perched at either the long bar or the banquette lined with bistro tables. A wall of 44 taps, 36 devoted to keg-only wines, makes this a citywide destination.

The place is a collaboration between AlexEli Vineyard and ChefStable, the ever-changing tap list curated by sommelier Joel Gunderson. He works directly with Northwest winemakers to secure limited-release and innovative pours ranging from the Grochau Cellars melon de Bourgogne (only one barrel made) to an alicante bouschet produced on-site.

Sip a series of two-ounce tastes with bites from chef Roscoe Roberson—seared padrón peppers to start, perhaps, followed by the steak frites with dill chimichurri or the rotisserie chicken with spiced vinegar and green garlic. If you fall for a wine—say, the Andrew Rich Roussanne—you can take it to go in a reusable glass bottle to savor later.

This review appears in the print edtion of the October 2014 issue. W&S Link here: https://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com/food/entry/coopers-hall.