Helvetia Vineyards & Winery Update
Spraying
Our Fifth Annual Memorial Day Salmon Bake
Memorial Day serves to remind us of the many sacrifices made on behalf of our country while, for many, the holiday heralds the upcoming summer. Come join us on Sunday, May 29th or Monday, May 30th for an afternoon or two of music with Lynn Conover and friends as well as a salmon bake prepared and presented by the Wilbur Slockish family, tribal fishers from the Yakama Nation and the Warm Springs tribes. Dinner will include Columbia River salmon broiled on an alder fire along with fry bread and other accompaniments. Mark your calendars and watch for additional details. RSVP HERE!
Suckering
John at Helve tells us about suckering, one of the first stages in the long adventure of Earth to grape to wine.
Earth Day at Helvetia
Earth Day Dinner Menu
Appetizer
crostini
duck prosciutto and confit with arugula
shrimp egg salad with parsley, capers, and scallion
white bean puree with caramelized leek
salad
stoneboat greens with radishes and hazelnuts with sesame/rice wine vinaigrette
main
paella with mussels, clams, fish, sausage and salami
chili-rubbed beef in mole’
rapini with chili
leek with egg
vegetarian fish option
dessert
fruit cobbler with whipped cream
Helvetia to bring together CSAs and movie makers for an incredible Earth Day celebration.
Helvetia Winery will celebrate the 46th anniversary of Earth Day with local farmers CSA demonstration, a discussion on sustainable agriculture and a Farm to Plate dinner. The events will take place on April 23rd at the Winery from noon until 8pm.
Community Supported Agriculture farmers will be on hand for Helvetia Winery’s first CSA demonstration from noon until 5. Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer.
Gaining Ground: The Making of the documentary
Elaine Velazquez and Barbara Bernstein will be in the Jakob Yungen House to discuss their awardwinning documentary, Gaining Ground, which tells the story of farmers making extraordinary changes in their farming practices in order to feed their local communities sustainably grown produce and grains. The food documentary explores the problems of our food system through personal stories and illustrates what we can do to seek solutions. A screening of the trailer of the movie, along with an open discussion with the two filmmakers is planned.
GAINING GROUND is a feature-length documentary film by Elaine Velazquez and Barbara Bernstein that tells the stories of farmers making extraordinary changes in their farming practices so they can feed their local communities sustainably grown produce and grains. From farms in Oregon’s fertile Willamette Valley to underserved communities of color in Richmond, California, GAINING GROUND reveals the tenacity and courage of these diverse urban and rural farmers, committed to serving and empowering their communities.
Farm to Plate Dinner: Eating Locally
A special farm to plate dinner will be prepared by CSA farmer Aaron Nichols with locally sourced foods paired with Helvetia Winery’s selection of library wines. Tickets to the farm to plate dinner are $50 a person, and available online. All other Earth Day events at Helvetia Winery are free. Tasting fee for Helvetia wines is $15, and waived with the purchase of a bottle of wine. As always, tasting fees are waived for members of our Wine Club.
We hope you plan on celebrating Earth Day with us, and look forward to your visit.
Helvetia Winery takes Sliver
Helvetia Winery’s 2014 Estate Pinot Noir receives Silver Honors at Cascadia Wine Competition
HOOD RIVER, Ore. – The fourth annual Cascadia Wine Competition took place this month and we are honored to announce that Helvetia Winery was awarded a silver medal for our 2014 Estate Pinot Noir.
The judging attracted more than 1,000 entries from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho. Twenty-two wine professionals from across the Pacific Northwest served as judges.
The Cascadia Wine Competition is sponsored by CascadiaNow!, a nonprofit organization formed to foster awareness of the Cascadia bioregion.
Our 2014 Estate Pinot Noir was harvested on October 8, our earliest harvest until 2015. This wine is a robust, fruit-forward pinot with aromas of black cherry, vanilla, tobacco and black pepper and flavors of blackberry, current, and hints of cacao. Its lingering finish pairs well with salmon, beef or pork tenderloin or a meat dish with mole’.
According to the sponsors, all wines were tasted blind by a panel made up of 12 women and 10 men including winemakers, sommeliers, journalists, retailers and marketers. Ken Robertson, longtime columnist for Wine Press Northwest magazine, served as chief judge. The judges do not know the winery or the price while they are evaluating the wines.
The competition is managed by Great Northwest Wine, an award-winning news and information company owned by Degerman and Perdue. Between them, the two have more than 35 years of combined experience writing about the wines, vineyards and chefs of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho. They founded Wine Press Northwest magazine in 1997 for the Tri-City (Wash.) Herald and edited the quarterly glossy consumer magazine through 2012.
Cascadia Wine Competition judges
The judges for the fourth annual Cascadia Wine Competition were:
- Kristine Bono, tasting room manager, Goose Ridge Estate Winery, Richland, Wash.
- Amberleigh Brownson, co-owner/sommelier, Eat Restaurant, Bellingham, Wash.
- Daniel Carr, co-owner/executive chef, Visconti’s Restaurants/Cured by Visconti’s, Wenatchee, Wash.
- Big John Caudill, sales manager, Cuvee Northwest, Yakima, Wash.
- Mary Cressler, sommelier/journalist, Vindulge.com, Portland, Ore.
- Jay Drysdale, winemaker, Bella Wines, Naramata, British Columbia.
- Ilene Dudunake, owner, A New Vintage Wine Shop, Meridian, Idaho
- Don Elsing, tasting room manager, Fielding Hills Winery, East Wenatchee, Wash.
- Shelly Fitzgerald, sommelier/wine educator, Columbia Winery, Woodinville, Wash.
- Megan Hughes, enologist, Barnard Griffin, Richland, Wash.
- Ellen Landis, sommelier/journalist, Vancouver, Wash.
- Richard Larsen, research winemaker, Washington State University, Richland, Wash.
- Chris Nishiwaki, journalist, Mercer Island, Wash.
- Leslie Preston, co-owner/winemaker, Coiled Wines, Garden City, Idaho
- April Reddout, wine program manager, Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center, Prosser, Wash.
- Stephen Reustle, winemaker, Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards, Roseburg, Ore.
- Yashar Shayan, proprietor, ImpulseWine.com, Seattle
- Pat Spangler, owner/winemaker, Spangler Vineyards, Roseburg, Ore.
- Coco Umiker, winemaker, Clearwater Canyon Cellars, Lewiston, Idaho
- Gordy Venneri, co-owner/co-founding winemaker, Walla Walla Vintners, Walla Walla, Wash.
- Randa Wolf, wine director, Columbia Gorge Hotel, Hood River, Ore.
- Jean Yates, president, Oregon Wine Marketing, Monroe, Ore.
Wine Trail 2016
We are proud to be participating in the 8th Annual North Willamette Valley Wine Trail Weekend. It’s a great way for you to taste wines from Oregon’s North Willamette Valley.
Helvetia Winery is the northern most spot on the tour, and we invite you to start your tour with us and work your way through your choice of wineries. We will be giving mini-tours of our winery along with a demonstration of our bottling process.
Pack a picnic and enjoy our pristine pastoral setting in historical Helvetia, but be sure to save some room for a smoked salmon tasting, as we will have tribal caught salmon on hand. Gifts and jewelry from Native Artist Lillian Pitt will be showcased in our 100 year old farmhouse.
We look forward to sharing our passion for pinot with you, and we will have maps to send you on your merry way to visit our other friends with nearby wineries. It’s the perfect staycation, or a great way to entertain guests for the weekend. From experienced wine lovers to novice wine tasters, the North Willamette Wine Trail has something for everyone.
Save $5 off the weekend using coupon code save5
For additional info visit North Willamette Vinters.
The Burning of the Böögg coming to Helvetia
Long before there was Burning Man, there was the Burning of the Böögg .
The Swiss tradition, with roots dating to the Middle Ages and beyond, ushers out old man winter and welcomes spring.
Once a marker of the vernal equinox, the Burning of the Boogg is part of the celebration known as Sechseläuten : a Swiss German word that literally translates into “The six o’clock ringing of the bells”. Changing to summer working hours traditionally was a joyous occasion because it marked the beginning of the season where people had some non-working daylight hours. Think of it as a daylight savings time of sorts.
Nowadays, it is tradition to ask the Böögg to forecast the weather for the coming summer. During the Sechseläuten ceremony, the pyre with the Böögg on top is set alight at 6.00pm on the dot. It is said that the faster the fire reaches the snowman figure and his head explodes, the finer the summer will be.
This year’s Burning of the Böögg is set to take place again at Helvetia Winery and Vineyards on April 3rd, and is sponsored by the , which was originally the homestead of the Yungen family from Switzerland. Bring your kids and expose them to this Swiss tradition, which includes food, music and the Burning of the Böögg .
Below is a video excerpt from 2012’s Burning of the Boogg celebration.
Helvetia Winery’s Feast of St. Patrick
Helvetia Winery’s annual Irish tradition combines great food, music, and wine.
St. Patrick’s Day is around the corner, time to toast the luck of the Irish and the joys of Celtic heritage with a glass of Helvetia Wine (or for those so inclined, a Guinness). Chef Dave has assembled his traditional Irish buffet, and it pairs well with our selection of wines. Just bring your voice and a day of general blarney will ensue. We hope you can join us.
On the Menu:
KERRYGOLD CHEDDAR COLCANNON TORTE
BUNRATTY RED CABBAGE
LONDONDERRY IRISH STEW
BALLYSHANNON CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE
DUBLIN ROASTED SAUSAGES WITH GUINNESS MUSHROOM SAUCE
CHOCOLATE BROWNIE BREAD PUDDING
WHAT: Helvetia Winery’s Feast of St. Patrick
WHEN: Sunday March 13th, 2016 2-5pm
WHERE: Helvetia Winery – 23269 NW Yungen Rd Hillsboro, OR 97124
It’s Girl Scout Cookie Time: with WINE
It won’t earn you any merit badges, but you can add a grownup twist to Girl Scout Cookies by pairing them with wine. This Sunday, from 2-5pm, we will be putting this theory to the test at Helvetia Winery’s first ever Girl Scout Cookie and Wine Pairing event.
We will be putting Vivino’s trendy innovation to the test, and putting a Helvetia spin on which cookies bring out the best nuances of which of our wines. The cookies are free, and the $10 tasting fee is waived with your bottle purchase. Come join us as we get to the bottom of this mystery….
RSVP today, so we’re sure to have enough cookies on hand. It’s a great way to spend a fun afternoon. What could be better than cookies and wine?
Batch PDX to Return to Helvetia
Batch PDX chocolatier who coined the term “Chocolate Hedonism” is back again in time for Valentine’s Day
Jeremy Karp’s special selection of Batch PDX truffles will be in the Winery this weekend through February. Batch PDX took the world of chocolate by storm in 2013 when Jeremy developed a line of artisan truffles that has Food & Wine, Portland Monthly, Willamette Week and The Oregonian singing it’s praises.
Batch PDX uses all local ingredients, and puts an avant-garde twist on the traditional truffle with inventive ingredients like ghost peppers and passion fruit. Chocolate expert Valerie Beck calls Karp “A Chocolate Magician…some of the most exquisite I’ve tasted in quite some time. Everyone who sampled from my batch of Batch PDX fell into rapture and reverence.”
Come in on through Valentine’s Day and taste for yourself why Batch PDX chocolates are so special. Our 2009 Pinot Noir is tasting especially well with Batch PDX truffles, and we can help you put together a thoughtful and delicious Valentine’s Day combination. Last year we sold out of Batch PDX chocolates, so plan on getting here early.
Wine + Chocolate Weekend at Helvetia Winery
Our Valentine’s Day Dinner sold out in record time this year, but it’s not too late to plan a romantic getaway at Helvetia Winery. Bring your sweetheart out to our country winery to experience our first ever Wine + Chocolate Weekend Event, on February 13 & 14 from 12-5pm. We introduced Batch PDX truffles into the winery as a Valentine’s Day last year, but it is only recently that we added a dark chocolate fudge as a part of our wine tasting flight. Come in and discover how wines can complement the unique flavors of chocolate with each sip and bite.
We will be featuring Batch PDX truffles, Brigittine Monk’s fudge, as well as specials on wine and heart-inspired wine accessories. Wine Tours are still available if you’d like to enhance your winery experience and make the day at Helvetia Winery truly special. Tasting Fee is $10/person and waived with the purchase of a bottle of wine. Wine Club Members are always welcome to taste for free.
Helvetia Spotlight: Alicia and Carolyn
For a number of years, Alicia Eddens and Carolyn Sloan were loyal customers of Helvetia Winery, often visiting and staying late on Saturday afternoons. Alicia says that when their wine tabs mounted, both began serving wine on weekends while Carolyn took on additional tasks as the vineyard and winery bookkeeper.
Carolyn and Alicia met as across-the-street neighbors while raising young children in Bethany. Currently, Alicia is a medical assistant for a dermatology office and cares for her two daughters at her Bethany home. One is a freshman at Westview High School and the other, a freshman at University of Oregon. While,at their ages. Alicia’s daughters have better things to do on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon than hang out at the winery, you may run into Alicia’s rescued terrier, Leo, her ever-faithful companion. Carolyn now lives in Rock Creek and works for the Beaverton School District as a budget specialist. Her son, Jordan, is a junior at Oregon State University while son Matt specializes in finish carpentry. When Carolyn isn’t at her jobs working for the school district, the winery, or the PaintNite organization, she takes time off to work on a school construction project in El Salvador.
Carolyn enjoys the winery’s “great customers and fun-to-work-with co-workers” as well as the laid-back family atmosphere that, she says “is never snooty.” Alicia adds that she is attracted to the personal experience of meeting and learning about the people who visit the winery and what they like. She appreciates the cozy and comfortable atmosphere that is both casual and welcoming. “It’s not an overpriced, expensive showroom,” according to Alicia.