Beer, Wine & Spirits in Forest Grove

Like a rainforest filled with still-undocumented species, Uptown Market stocks so many kinds of beers it feels like some of them haven't even been discovered yet. More than 850 varieties of beer are on display. The selection extends well beyond Oregon borders, with hundreds of microbrews from around the world available in kegs and bottles. Weekly visits from various breweries fill Uptown Market's calendar and customers' stomachs with complimentary tastings. On Sundays, the staffers host home-brewing classes. They have all the equipment required to start brewing your own beer, which is helpful since the government has decided to repeal the 21st Amendment next month.

In 2001, Thane Hawkins, an avid outdoorsman with an acute case of wanderlust, found himself absconding from a lucrative career in the visual-effects industry to the Willamette Valley, where the area’s signature pinot noir inspired him to start handcrafting his own red wines. Relationships with regional growers soon followed, as did a job backing fellow winemaker Chris Lubberstedt, who encouraged Hawkins to conjure his own robust creations. Born from a passion for Rhone- and Bordeaux-style varietals, Hawkins’ 2009 syrah, pinot gris, and sangiovese wines have won gold and silver medals from the Newport Wine Competition.

An emphasis on honoring each wine’s true character anchors the cellar's philosophy, and Hawkins only uses fresh, plump grapes from northwestern vineyards. This unwavering devotion ensures swirls and sniffs in the winery’s brand-new tasting room yield distinctive aromas informed by each wine's individual terroir.

WineUp Wine Merchants' dedicated oenophile, Wayne, spreads the gospel of grape during educational courses, tours, and webisodes. Wayne throws bundles of geographical and historical wine facts at guests as they traverse the fertile grounds of Willamette Valley during daily wine tours, which include pick-up and drop-off services. Thanks to more than 70 webisodes waiting just a few mouse clicks away, enthusiasts can stay current on the latest and greatest bottled juices to arrive at Wine Up!'s front door. Classes provide an entertaining environment for guests to discover their personal wine tastes as they build a wider vino vocab, gain more knowledge of various blends, and leave with a thorough understanding of which came first, the grape or the bottle.

Urban Wine Works curates wines from across the world to fill the shelves of their shop and slosh into glasses in their tasting room. Frequent events highlight wines from regions such as southern France and southern Oregon or bring live music into the space. Sommeliers at the wooden bar also pour out a themed flight of the week featuring five related wines alongside a cheese plate. In addition, the shop stocks bottles from the owners' winery and vineyard, Bishop Creek Cellars, which grows pinot-noir grapes on pinot-noir rootstock for a purer expression of the grape's flavor.

Eastside Distilling's master distillers and long-time friends Lenny Gotter and Bill Adams began concocting recipes in 2008, quickly stocking liquor cabinets and bar shelves with the potent fruits of their collaboration. Their tasty lineup of spirits draws accolades from fans near and far, with the small-batch outfit taking home hardware including a gold medal at the 2012 MicroLiquor Spirit Awards and SIP Magazine's runner-up in the Best of Spirits section for Best Brown Liquor for their Burnside Bourbon, _Portland Mercury_’s 2011 Readers' Choice award for favorite distillery, and a silver medal from the 2011 World Spirits Competition for their Below Deck Coffee Rum. Within the duo’s tasting room, visitors sample elixirs such as the Portland Potato Vodka, or the bold 96-proof Burnside Bourbon, named for the Union Army General famous for trademarking his facial hair.