Wine and brew fest pleases Sisters' palate

Whatever was your palate for fermented beverages this weekend, the Sisters Wine & Brew Festival at Village Green City Park had it covered. Extended to two days for its second outing, the festival drew thirsty locals and tourists to sip and mingle in the June sun, sampling some outstanding micro-brewed Oregon suds and the regional grape. Visitors paid for tasting packages, using tokens for each sample.

Organizer Kim Gammond, of Specialized Events, counted nearly 500 people Friday afternoon browsing the bottles of 17 wineries and six breweries from all over Oregon.

"We're so happy to bring the festival back for an additional day this year," she said. "We saw the room for growth based on the great response last year. It's a nice mix of people out enjoying the first unofficial weekend of summer. Everyone is relaxed and friendly and having fun."

Back again was Seven Brides Brewing of Silverton, whose Oatmeal Ellie beer carried a coffee-like taste with smooth oatmeal and dark chocolate finish.

Danielle Crouch, from Pyrenees Vineyards and Cellars out of Umpqua Valley near Roseburg, was thrilled with the weather and enthusiastic crowd.

"We've only been open a year, so we've been feeling out our specialty, but it's probably our Syrah," she said. "All our whites do really well. We also brought our Meritage Cab/Merlot blend, and we're the only winery in Oregon doing a Chenin-Blanc."

Visiting from Portland, Kayla Seibel and Alicia Mahan enjoyed a frosty cup of handcrafted beer and got ready to listen to the music of Anastacia.

They liked the atmosphere of the festival.

"I love it. It's cute and quaint," said Mahan. "This is much more pleasant than the bigger festivals around Portland, and the weather is gorgeous."

Gammond repositioned vendor tents this year to make it more intimate and allow for better flow. A wider variety of food booths and artist tables rounded out and complimented the lively gathering celebrating our passions for grapes, hops and grains. For shoppers, there was designer cutlery, jewelry, homemade jellies, gourmet teas, stained-glass suncatchers, hand-dyed T-shirts, energy chocolates and tangy barbecue sauces.

But the main focus was the eclectic array of beers and wines, featuring the premium offerings from Northwestern vintners and brewmasters.

Warming themselves in the abundant sunshine, Tim and Diana Lester, of Crooked River Ranch, washed down slices of brick-oven pizza with glasses of deep-red Zerba Cellars wine.

"We saw it in the newspaper and came out to join in," said Tim. "We come to Sisters for all the art and cultural events. There's some wonderful wines here today. We'll probably end up buying a couple bottles. What a great idea to have this here in the park."

Saturday's entertainment included Leif James, Erin Marie Cole-Baker, and an Iron-Chef-like cookoff with Bend foodcart favorites Soupcon and Sancho.

For something a little more exotic, Oregon Spirit Distillers of Bend served samples of their boutique vodkas.

Owners Brad and Kathy Irwin just opened last September, and already have two products of distinction on the market.

"Right now we're introducing our signature 100 percent wheat vodka and our Black Mariah, a Marionberry cordial," they said. "Everything is distilled on site and uses all Oregon-grown ingredients. The Mariah is a wheat-based liquor that we add Marionberry puree to, along with some Oregon hazelnuts and other secret botanicals. You can use it in a glass of champagne or atop a sweet martini."

Up-and-coming Bend brewery Boneyard Beer was back again, pouring glasses of Belgian-style wheat beer brewed with coriander and orange peel and their classic RPM IPA. Their whimsical, pirate-themed lineup has doubled in size since the 2010 festival.

First-timer Brian Jordaan of Eliana Wines from the Rogue Valley shared glasses of his 2008 Reserve Bordeaux blend. It took a silver medal at the 2010 Southern Oregon World of Wine Festival. It's the only wine he brought, and from the line of repeat tasters it was an excellent vintage and worthy of its top honors. "There's hints of currants and blueberries and fine French oak in there," said Jordaan. "It's a wine you can take down to your cellar and let it mature, or drink it now. It's great today but later it will be phenomenal."

And, representing Sisters, Three Creeks Brewing Co. delivered a pair of favorites in their Hoodoo Voodoo IPA and the popular Knotty Blonde.

Kevin Byrne filled another cup of Knotty Blonde and looked out at the contented Friday crowd.

"For a Friday afternoon this is excellent," he said. "It seems like it's bigger than last year already, and we're hearing some nice feedback and looks like there's a lot of people from out of town enjoying the day. That's what this is all about."