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Adega Northwest 2018 Alvarinho
A taste of Portugal in Portland
Bradford Cowin wasn’t sure what his life plan was. College didn’t seem the right path for him, so like many young people, he started working in restaurants. Before long, a sommelier at a well-known spot in Washington, DC took him under his wing.
As the years progressed, he built a successful sommelier career in New York City, Washington DC, Portland, Seattle, and Vail, Colorado. But in 2007, he chucked it all and started over — as a cellar rat at a winery in McMinnville. And he started the climb again, working at wineries in Argentina, Walla Walla, California’s Russian River Valley, and the Willamette Valley.
Seven years later, Bradford launched Adega Northwest in partnership with his mom, as an homage to their Portuguese heritage (“adega” means “wine cellar” in Portuguese).
His goal? To create European-style wines with a Portuguese flair from Northwest grapes.
His location in inner Southeast Portland gives him the unique ability to be close enough to the Columbia Gorge area grapes he loves and yet continue to sell his wines to the restaurants that originally inspired his passion for wine.
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Adega Northwest, Portland, Oregon
2018 Alvarinho
Alvarinho? Yeah, that’s the Portuguese spelling of Albariño — a wine we love, even though there’s not much this side of northwest Spain and Portugal. What little there is in the Northwest is typically found in Southern Oregon, the Columbia Valley, and eastern Washington.
Albariño is truly versatile, running the range from light and acidic, to strong minerality, to floral potpourri bombs.
We do love Albariño as a late winter, early spring wine. This edition from Adega Northwest is refreshing, with aromas of wet stone, fresh cut grass, and honeysuckle. Alongside bright flavors of lemon curd and green apple, there is a surprising roundness and richness to this wine, and well-balanced with crisp acidity.
This wine will be great paired with shellfish, fish tacos with a salsa verde, or even a garlic-laden Caesar salad.
A Cellar 503 selection in February 2022, Urban Wineries Columbia Valley | Albariño
