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Hip Chicks Do Wine 2020 Wine Bunny Rouge
Don’t take yourself too seriously
Renee Neely and Laurie Lewis are the women winemakers behind Portland’s oldest urban winery, Hip Chicks Do Wine. Their warehouse-turned-winery in industrial Southeast really jump started the urban winery movement in Portland more than fifteen years ago.
Laurie and Renee fell in love with Oregon wine while visiting the Willamette Valley and decided to turn their passion into a full time career. Like many winemakers in the Willamette Valley, they got their start with the wine gurus at Chemeketa Community College and quickly realized that they didn’t want to be farmers. They just wanted to focus on making the best wine they could, particularly enjoyable and ready-to-drink fruit-forward wines.
But while they take their wine making seriously, their approach to wine is anything but snobbish. The have collaborated with local artists to create fun and unique wine labels. They have a line of wines devoted to their love of the film Pulp Fiction and a line of wines called Wine Bunny.
More than anything, they want you to have fun drinking their wines and enjoy the experience of visiting their bright and colorfully cozy tasting room.
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Hip Chicks Do Wine, Portland, Oregon
2020 Wine Bunny Rouge
Laurie and Renee love to experiment, particularly with blends.
When I first visited, they shared a huge range of wines including multiple dessert wines! They love to take in new varietals, experiment with blends, and consistently turn out wines that their devoted followers love.
With a name like “Wine Bunny” and a kitschy label, you might expect a sugarbomb designed for unsophisticated palates. But no, this is a beautifully dry wine that allows the fruit to shine through, revealing aromas of spiced strawberry followed by flavors of bright cherry, cranberry and boysenberry with a hint of cloves.
The grapes - 29% Petit Verdot, 29% Syrah, 21% Cabernet Franc, 14% Malbec, and 7% Merlot – were vinified separately and only the best barrels came together for this blend after 13 months in 20% new American oak barrels.
A Cellar 503 selection in February 2023, Urban Wineries Columbia Valley | Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Syrah
