Kate Norris and Thomas Monroe of Division Winemaking Company spent the past two years designing an urban winery space big enough for their expansion plans. Another requirement was right up there with more space – it had to be fun. The Wine Yard is now open for fun and business.
In April 2021, partners and winemakers Norris and Monroe turned out the lights for the last time at their former home, the Southeast Wine Collective. Their landlord had given them 40 days to move out. Norris and Monroe had always known they would eventually need to move to find a bigger space, they just didn’t realize it was going to happen so soon.
Norris and Monroe regrouped by partnering with Dan Calkins and Jill and Kevin Ross to buy a building of their own in Southeast Portland. The new location, The Wine Yard, opens to the public on June 10.
Monroe said the past two years had been a “feeling of constant limbo” as they wondered if they would ever get to this moment. Now that The Wine Yard is open, Norris knows just what to do.
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“I’m ready to make some wine, open some delicious bottles, and share some fun because fun has had a hard go of it as of late,” said Norris.
The Wine Yard is a 7,500-square-feet wine production space, with a 2,500-square-foot open-air courtyard area that can host wine events when not in use during harvest. In addition to Division Winemaking Company and Rossini Winery, owned by building partners the Rosses, The Wine Yard is also home to Erde Wines, Corcilla Cellars and Colston Biblio.
Several spaces at The Wine Yard will be available to rent individually or together for private events. One of those spaces is the Division Tasting Room, open to the public by appointment seven days a week. There, guests can enjoy the latest Division Winemaking Company releases and wines from Norris and Monroe side projects such as Gamine and Nightshade.
A press release announced that tasting room visitors should also expect to find “featured guest pours from near and afar that the winemakers love.”
The Wine Yard also plans to generate fun by collaborating with Cafe Olli on a summertime pizza and wine series. The Cafe Olli team will bring their mobile pizza oven to The Wine Yard courtyard to serve pizzas from 5-8 p.m. on the following Fridays: June 23, July 28 and Aug. 11, with the possibility of additional dates being added.
Division Winemaking Company will sell wine by the glass and bottle to enjoy with Cafe Olli’s pizza, with guest winemaker pours and local beers also available. Pizza nights will feature music from local DJs and bands. Reservations aren’t needed for the pizza series, and kids and dogs are welcome.
Fun, food and a bevy of talented local winemakers under one massive roof – the spirit of the old Southeast Wine Collective is alive and well at The Wine Yard.
11 a.m.-5 p.m., daily, by appointment, 2005 S.E. Eighth Ave., Portland, divisionwineco.com or [email protected].
— Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive and Wine Enthusiast Magazine. He can be reached at [email protected]. To read more of his coverage, go to oregonlive.com/wine