Au Revoir, So Long, Until We Meet Again

PORTLAND, Ore. (August 31, 2020) – After dinner service on Saturday, September 12th the SE Wine Collective urban winery will be placing its wine bar and restaurant operations at Oui! on hiatus until further notice. The Eater 38 listed and widely acclaimed Southeast Portland restaurant and wine bar, featuring an extensive wine list and the creative food of Chef Althea Grey Potter, reopened in June under Phase 1 guidelines with reduced seating, an expanded patio and a limited team serving a more concise menu. Now faced with the numerous operational and financial challenges that the fall and winter seasons will bring, a pause in restaurant service is necessitated. Co-owner Thomas Monroe shares that, “the ongoing pandemic has made convivial elbow to elbow seating and sharing in an intimate and boisterous environment not only irresponsible but impossible for our small indoor restaurant and wine bar space beyond the warm and dry summer months and patio season here in the Pacific Northwest.”

The adjoined SE Wine Collective winery production space will transition in the coming weeks from the summer months to the winery’s busiest operational time of year – the annual fall grape harvest – with much of the indoor and outdoor space at the winery used in the winemaking process. The management team explored options for continuing service indoors at Oui! as the weather inevitably turns wetter. Alas, based on current space and capacity rules, the dining room at the restaurant is restricted to three socially distanced dining tables (seating up to eight guests total maximum per seating) during the ongoing Phase 1 in Multnomah County – a set up that is simply not financially feasible to operate under as a dine-in restaurant providing the experience and affordable pricing guests have come to know, expect and love.

During this fall season, the restaurant and wine bar space will transition into a place for guests to book exclusive “Harvest Experience” tastings. Small connected groups of 2 up to 10 people will be able to reserve the whole space privately for 60-90 minute experiences that feature tastes from a full range of wines made by founding winery Division Winemaking Co. and the SE Wine Collective member wineries, as well as wines from friends around the world. The tastings will be accompanied by artisan cheeses and accouterments, plus a guided look into the harvest activities happening that day in the winery, with options for tours and winemaker discussion depending on how in-depth guests would like to get. Co-Owner Kate Norris sees the private bookings “as a great option that will allow guests a private area to gather or celebrate safely indoors with only those in their quarantine bubbles as we head into fall.” Bookings will be available at 2pm, 4pm and 6pm Wednesday through Saturday starting September 30th, and the experience starts at $36 per person ($30 for Wine Clubs members) with optional add-ons and enhancements.

Plans for restaurant service beyond the harvest period are undetermined at this time and will greatly be influenced by the state of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this hiatus, Chef Potter will be focusing on her subscription-based salad dressings and accouterments company, Dress Up Salads.

The SE Wine Collective will also continue to offer daily retail wine bottle sales wines made in house and from afar, online wine sales, local wine deliveries and their popular Wine Club selections without any foreseeable changes.

 Link to final Oui! dinner reservations: https://www.exploretock.com/ouiwinebar

ABOUT SE WINE COLLECTIVE

Kate Norris and Thomas Monroe, of Division Winemaking Company, founded the Southeast Wine Collective in 2012 in response to their personal interest in creating a unique multi-faceted urban winery, coupled with increasing public interest in the urban wine movement. The pioneering urban winery brings together like-minded wineries who are sustainably growing their businesses by offering a venue for commercial custom crush wine production, tastings and events in the bustling area of SE Portland, and is also home to Oui! Wine Bar + Restaurant. The collective is made up of 6 wineries: Division Winemaking Company, Gersing Cellars, Laelaps Wines, Charlotte Delelee, Ore Winery, Pampleau, and while continuing to work as an incubator for future wine brands and budding industry ideas. Currently 20 varieties of grapes are vinified at the Collective ranging from Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc to less common Oregon and US produced varieties such as Gamay Noir, Pinot Meunier, Chenin Blanc, and Nebbiolo. The wine bar and restaurant, Oui!, features pours, flights, glasses and bottles from all Collective members plus an extensive list of global wines that inspire the makers, along with draft beer, wines on tap, and a creative and seasonal food menu by Chef Althea Grey Potter. Wine bottles and growlers of wine and beer are also available for retail purchase to-go. Oui! was named to Eater’s 38, a Best New Restaurant 2018 by Portland Monthly, a Best Restaurant in Portland by Time Out, one of Portland Monthly’s 15 All-Time Favorite Places to Drink in Portland, The Oregonian’s 10 New Wine Bars in Portland, and has received recognition from The Portland Mercury in the article, “Badasses in the Kitchen”. In 2016, co-founders Monroe and Norris were named to Wine Enthusiast’s 40 Under 40 list of tastemakers. The Collective was listed among the Top 20 Best Wine Bars in America by Wine Enthusiast, one of the 11 Must-Eat Restaurants in Portland by Town and Country, 10 Best Urban Wineries in USA Today, and Best Wine Bars in The Oregonian. Travel + Leisure called the Collective a must for any wine connoisseur’s Perfect Weekend in Portland, It has also been featured in Food & Wine Magazine, the New York Times article “Bringing the Wine to Portland, Ore.”, Wine Spectator’s “The New Portland”, Portland Monthly’s article “Meet Portland’s Top Urban Winemakers, and named a favorite place to try new Oregon wines in Willamette Week. Eater called the Collective one of the 14 Vital Restaurants on SE Division and Willamette Week called them pioneers in the Portland wine bar scene. Wines produced at the Collective have been mentioned in The New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times. The winery hosts large and small events, wine release parties and winemaker dinners and is available for rent for private parties. Its hours are Mon. 4 – 9 p.m., Wed. through Thurs. 4 – 10 p.m., Fri. 4 – 11 p.m., Sat. 1 p.m. – 11 p.m. and Sun. 1 p.m. – 9 p.m., or by appointment. The Collective is located at 2425 SE 35th Place, Portland, Oregon 97215. Find more information at www.sewinecollective.com, Facebook SE Wine Collective, Twitter @SEWineColl, Instagram @SEWineCollective or by calling 503-208-2061.