A heartfelt retrospective of the dedication of the Ezell’s founders and how they championed the fried chicken market in Seattle.
Read the story at The Seattle Times
National Geographic Acknowledges ōkta on their List of “Best of the World 2024” Restaurants
PHOTO CREDIT EVAN SUNG
"Lightner dives into Oregon’s bountiful Willamette Valley wine country with artfully plated dishes that star locally foraged ingredients, regional fish and game, and produce grown on the restaurant’s 70-acre farm. The ever changing menu is deeply inventive—think custard with foraged mushrooms or duck with lichen-truffled fudge and barbecued porcini."
See the list at National Geographic
Vinepair names Approachment Wine Co. One of “15 Winemakers to Watch in 2024”
PHOTO CREDIT APPROACHMENT WINE CO.
Approachment Wine Co., founded by Jessica and Paden West, was named one of 15 winemakers to watch in 2024 for their exciting approach to varietals.
See the list at Vinepair
Portland Monthly Breaks News of Corollary Wines' New Tasting Room
PHOTO CREDIT COROLLARY WINES
Katherine Chew Hamilton broke the news that Corollary Wines is constructing an exciting new tasting room from the ground up in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA.
Read the article on Portland Monthly
ōkta on The New York Times’ 50 Best Restaurants List for 2023
PHOTO CREDIT EVAN SUNG
"Mr. Lightner never loses sight of deliciousness while pursuing a vision that melds ecology, philosophy and history with culinary sciences. It’s valuable to understand the role morels play in traditional Indigenous forestry, but when paired with caviar and a richly laminated housemade brioche, they take on a significance almost beyond words."
See the list at The New York Times
Portland Monthly Names ōkta "Oregon Wine Country’s Greatest Restaurant Ever"
IMAGE COURTESY OF SUSAN SEUBERT (left) + ROBERT AUGHENBAUGH (right)
A celebration of ōkta 1 year after the restaurant opened. Karen Brooks champions Chef Matthew Lightner’s alchemy of food, wine curator Ron Acierto’s determination to find the unusual, farmer Saruh Wyens’ beautiful bounty, and head of service Christine Langelier’s impeccable attention to detail.
Read the article at Portland Monthly
Food & Wine: How Three NBA Stars' Brands Are Changing the Wine Industry For the Better
PHOTO: CRAIG BARRITT / GETTY IMAGES; ALLEN BEREZOVSKY / WIREIMAGE; THEO WARGO / GETTY IMAGES
Food & Wine featured three NBA stars, including Channing Frye of Chosen Family Wines, who are using their success to build community within the wine industry.
Read the article online at foodandwine.com
SF Gate Names The Setting Inn a Top 5 Destination for Solo Travelers
The Setting Inn in Newberg, Willamette Valley
To find the “Top 5 Dreamy Destinations for Solo Travelers” journalist Jean Chen Smith used criteria such as safety, getting around, traveling light, things to do, and dining alone to evaluate the properties she visited. The Setting Inn in Newberg in the Willamette Valley scored highly for its small town charm, modern luxuries and picturesque views.
Read the article at SFGate.com
Salt & Straw's Tyler Malek featured in Launch of OPB: Superabundant
The launch of OPB: Superabundant explores the science and history behind delicious Oregon Strawberries, and highlights how Salt & Straw’s Co-Founder and Head Ice Cream Maker, Tyler Malek, uses the incomparable flavor of Oregon berries to make some of their most legendary flavors.
Watch the video above, or read the story at OPB.org.
USA TODAY Names Tiquette Bramlett as one of its "Women of the Year"
Tiquette Bramlett is one of USA TODAY’s Women of the Year, a recognition of women who have made a significant impact in their communities and across the country. The program launched in 2022 as a continuation of Women of the Century, which commemorated the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote.
Meet this year’s honorees at womenoftheyear.usatoday.com.
Read “‘It’s bigger than wine’ for USA TODAY’s Women of the Year honoree from Oregon” on the Statesman Journal.
Willamette Valley Featured in Time's Annual List of the World's Greatest Places, including ōkta, Tributary Hotel and Corollary Wine
TIME Magazine revealed the third annual list of the World’s Greatest Places, which highlights 50 extraordinary travel destinations around the world.
To compile this list, TIME solicited nominations of places—including countries, regions, cities and towns—from its international network of correspondents and contributors, with an eye toward those offering new and exciting experiences.
ōkta, Tributary and Corollary Wine were featured as one of the exciting new experiences in the Willamette Valley, which earned a spot on this year’s list.
Read “The World’s Greatest Places 2023” on Time.
Departures' Expert’s Guide to the World’s Best Food Festivals, Featuring Ōkta Chef Weekend
“The weekend begins with a sumptuous tasting menu with produce from the nearby ōkta farm, then continues the next day with live-fire cooking by local Oregon chefs at the farm and tastings from nearby wineries and Oregon food artisans.”
Read “An Expert’s Guide to the World’s Best Food Festivals” on Departure.
Wine Spectator Names О̄kta, in Oregon's Pinot Noir Region, a True Destination for Wine and Food Lovers
“Indeed, if О̄kta is a sign of things to come, Willamette Valley will be a destination truly worthy of its wines.” - Tim Fish
Read “Cutting-Edge Cuisine Comes to Willamette Valley” on Wine Enthusiast.
Black Athletes in Wine Team Up in Support of The Roots Funds
“In honor of Black History Month, Black athletes in the wine space have joined together to support diversity and inclusion in the wine industry. Channing Frye and Chosen Family Wines invited fellow Black athletes to come together in support of The Roots Fund, a nonprofit that provides resources – including financial support, educational scholarships, wine education, mentorship, and job placement – to BIPOC scholars interested in the wine industry.”
Read “Black Athletes in Wine Team Up in Support of The Roots Funds” on Cuisine Noir.
Forbes Features Corollary Wine Among Best American Wine to Celebrate NYE
“American sparkling wine is having a fabulous moment as more and more winemakers use their amazing fruit to craft méthode champenoise bubbly…
Corollary Cuvee One Rose, 2018: World-class sparkling is being made in Oregon and this expression is testimony to that.”
Read “Celebrate New Years Eve With The Best American Sparkling Wines” on Forbes.
Wine Industry Network Highlights Growing Trend of NBA Brands Including Chosen Family Wines
“Former NBA champion and Chosen Family Wines partner, Channing Frye, hopes to change the perception around athletes and celebrities creating wine brands as mere vanity projects. He recognizes there’s important work to be done and is realizing those goals through wine.”
Read “All-Star Wines: The Growing Trend of NBA Stars’ Brands” on Wine Industry Advisor.
SIP Magazine Recommends Red Electric Wine to Warm Up those Chilly PNW Evenings
“An iconic Oregonian Pinot Noir if there was any — this cherry-hued wine is perfect for sweater weather. At Red Electric, they bottle the TGV only in exceptional years and the proof is in the tasting.”
Read “15 Quintessential PNW Wines for Cold-Weather Sipping” on SIP Magazine.
Paltrocast's Darren Paltrowitz Chats with Channing Frye on Founding Chosen Family Wines
“Chosen Family Wines aims to connect people through some of the best wines imaginable and a promise that what you are drinking is cultivated with care.”
Read “NBA Great Channing Frye On Founding Chosen Family Wines & More” on Paltrocast.
The Four Top's Wine Season Podcast Features Our Legacy Harvested's Tiquette Bramlett
“When we hear the term ‘white supremacy,’ we think of despicable scumbags in pointed white hoods. But white supremacist culture is lurking right under our noses in the wine world, insidious and omnipresent.”
Listen to Ep. 122 of The Four Top’s Wine Season Podcast, “Is Wine Culture White Supremacist? Er, um, yeah” featuring Tiquette Bramlett, as she talks about making change in the wine industry with Our Legacy Harvested.
Oregon Wine Press Features the Family Behind Fullerton Wines
“After working a few harvests, my parents and I got the crazy idea that we should start a winery,” Alex Fullerton explained. “And we have never looked back.”
Read “Promise Fulfilled: Fullerton Wines is building a family legacy bottle by bottle” on Oregon Wine Press.