Pastaworks news and events
August 26, 2010
Many years ago we visited a winery in the Somontano region of Aragon, in northern Spain. The day of our visit coincided with the delivery of the winery’s first stainless steel fermenting tanks, a big event for a just developing cooperative winery. The young winery director proudly showed us through the winery itself and then arranged for a vineyard tour with one of the co-op’s farmer members.
Wheeling his Renault R4 through the vines with one hand and using the other to convey the history and evolution of the cooperative, our driver spoke no English and only a little Castilian Spanish, which allowed him, with our limited Castilian Spanish, to carry on a monolog in a barely understandable (to us) language. When we got back to the winery and asked the director what language the driver used, he said, without hesitation, “Fabla”. Turns out that Fabla is the language of a small part of the region, a romance language that seems to be a mix of Catalan and Castilian Spanish, and our driver was one of the 10,000 or so people who still use it as their primary language.
Flash forward to the early spring of this year. A wine importer (happens to be the former co-owner of Pastaworks) shows up with a bottle of wine. The name of the wine is “Fabla”, 100% Garnacha from vineyards ranging in elevation from 2000′ to 3300′ yielding just one ton of fruit per acre. How could we resist?
Fabla 2009 is fresh, unadorned by oak influences, grenache, with intense cherry-red color. It’s soft and smooth, with strawberry like flavors and a long finish. On the palate it is meaty with the sweet tannins and fruit that are typical of the Garnacha grape.
This is a perfect table wine, suitable to a wide range of dishes, from grilled meats and veggies to stews, soups and pasta dishes. It’s a steal @ $10 per bottle, and we are happy to be able to offer a twenty percent discount on case purchases. Fabla is fabulous!
Saturday, September 18
Hawthorne: Greet and meet the authors (and snack and sip, too), 1-4PM
In conjunction with Powell’s Book, Pastaworks on Hawthorne is pleased to host authors Sasha Davies and Cole Danehower.
Sasha is the author of The Guide to West Coast Cheese, which features the best cheeses from Oregon, Washington, and California. She has worked has worked at both The Cheese Bar and Square Deal Wine and is well-known in the Portland food community.
Essential Wines and Wineries of the Pacific Northwest is a beautifullly photographed guide to to the wine, wine makers, and wine regions of Washington, Oregon, BC, and Idaho. The author, Cole Danehower, is the publisher of Northwest Palate and writes frequently about the local and regional wine world.
Pastaworks will provide cheese and wine tastes and the authors will be on hand to talk about and sign copies of their books.
If you are out and about in north Portland on September 18, be sure to check out Grand Central Bakery’s Fair and Bike Rodeo. Hosted at Boise Eliot School, the Fair is a fundraising event for Zenger Farm and The Community Cycling Center. Special guest Novella Carpenter, urban farming expert and author of Farm City, will take the stage at 11 am to share her experiences creating and maintaining an urban farm at her home in Oakland, California.
For up to the minute info, menus, specials, new products, occasional (and brief) editorials, be sure to follow Pastaworks on Twitter.
Hawthorne 3735 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland, OR 97214 ph. 503. 232. 1010
City Market 735 NW 21st Ave. Portland, OR 97210 ph. 503. 221. 3002
Mississippi 4212 N Mississippi Ave. Portland, OR 97217 ph. 503. 445. 1303