Portland Sommelier Andy Fortgang Will Open His Own Bottle Shop | Eater Portland

"Planned by Fortgang with former Little Bird wine director Sergio Licea and partner Gabriel Rucker, Flor Wines will be a Northwest Portland bottle shop at 825 NW Glisan where visitors can walk the aisles and wine caves with a glass, talk directly with Licea and Fortgang for recommendations, and browse much like they would in a bookstore; the space will include a front counter, rows of bottles, two wine caves, and a table and seating area for events, classes, and wine dinners, and it will lean more toward being a store than a bar while keeping food and wine closely linked. The shelves will cover a wide swath of regions — West Coast representation alongside French and Italian bottles — reflecting both buyers' varied tastes, and Fortgang emphasizes they will sell wine "made properly, grown properly, and made by good people," rejecting a simple traditional-versus-natural binary. Flor Wines aims to open as soon as early November." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden