New Portland Natural Wine Tasting Room Statera Opens in Inner Southeast | Eater Portland

"Tucked in a Salmon Street warehouse up a flight of stairs and down a nondescript hallway, this tasting room (opened January 17) has spare walls, a mirror that doubles as the menu listing bottle prices, a few tables and bar seats that look out over the Stumptown roastery, and a gargantuan globe of stuffed animals—built by co-owner and winemaker Luke Wylde from Goodwill “Bins” plushes attached to a chicken-wire sphere—that looms over the tasting counter. Wylde and co-founder Meredith Bell started Statera in 2015 to showcase the region’s chardonnay (single-vineyard wines, pet nat, and occasional blends) using grapes from biodynamic and organic vineyards, particularly Johan Vineyards along the Van Duzer Corridor near Salem; they also pour Bell’s Est. Wines (pinot noir and sauvignon blanc) and Wylde’s Lares Wines. The space aims to be approachable and playful—hosting book clubs and Dungeons & Dragons nights, offering flights, glass pours, and half-glasses from bottles listed on the mirror, and serving a rotating selection of Korean and Japanese snacks plus upgraded instant noodles (topped with crab, squid, premium sesame oil, or kimchi) and occasional congee—because, as Wylde puts it, “as much as we take wine seriously, I don’t need people to take this seriously.” The vibe is intentionally speakeasy/subway-bar and meant to feel a bit private and safe." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden