Wine sales are brisk. Checking inventory numbers this morning and factoring in a few prior allocations, I have to declare the 2011 Armstrong sold out. The Bjornson and Zenith aren’t far behind. Honestly, same with the Ribbon Ridge. We’re down to 30 cases of that after starting at 200.

However, we do have mags (1.5L) of everything. Don’t people want mags? And some of the Armstrong I’ve set aside is for the SE Wine Collective tasting bar, so there will be limited amounts available there for the near future.

Just a quick note to say that, if you’re in the Forest Grove area west of Portland tonight, come by Urban Decanter for a tasting of several local producers, including us.

Urban Decanter is a terrific wine shop and wine bar right in the old downtown of Forest Grove, and is owned by Becky Kramer of the Kramer Vineyards family. The address is 2030 Main Street in Forest Grove.

We’ll be there from 6-9pm with friends Johan Vineyards, among others. There’s a $5 tasting fee and all wines being poured are for sale at a 10% discount off the regular price. Hope you can make it.

Good news on the distribution front. Through my sister and brother in law in RI, I became aquainted with a nice wine shop in East Greenwich, RI, called The Savory Grape. The owner and her manager came to Oregon a while back and visited the winery. They liked our wines and put us in touch with Wine Brothers, a local distributor, which is bringing in a small amount of 2011 Vincent Pinot Noir to the Ocean State (there isn’t much to go around, honestly). Exciting to see the wine reach another state. We’re up to four, with Oregon, Washington, New York and now Rhode Island. Next stop, California?

If you’re down at the Oregon Convention Center this weekend attending the Spring Beer and Wine Fest, come by the Chef’s Seminar Stage at [edit - changed to 2pm] Saturday. Vincent will be speaking with Tom Monroe of Division Winemaking Company and the SE Wine Collective telling the story of urban winery growth in Portland. See you there.

I just delivered a case of our restaurant-only bottling to Portland restaurant and wine bar Noble Rot yesterday. Starting this evening, they’re featuring the 2011 Vincent Pinot Noir Willamette Valley in a flight of Portland-made Pinot Noirs.

The inspiration for the Pinot flight is the new PDX Urban WIneries Passport. Noble Rot is one of the partners featured in the Passport, along with two dozen other local restaurants, wine shops and other cool outfits all around Portland.

You don’t need to have the Passport to enjoy Noble Rot’s Pinot flight. They’re just (rightfully) excited about the whole thing and thought it would be fun to make their regular Pinot flight a special feature of wines made right here in the city of Portland. And we’re happy they wanted to include Vincent WIne Company.

As for the wine, our 2011 Willamette Valley Pinot is just a two barrel blend for restaurants. The idea is to price a wine low enough to be attractive for pouring by the glass, but there’s nothing else low priced about it, if you know what we mean. The wine is a blend of Armstrong and Bjornson vineyards on Ribbon Ridge and the Eola Hills, respectively. Enough said, right? It’s typical of our 2011s, elegant and graceful.

It’s also a little painful because there’s really no reason the wine should exist, other than to sell at something of a giveaway price so you can enjoy it in some of my favorite places around town – Noble Rot, Simpatica, and soon Ken’s Artisan Pizza. The exposure we get is worth it, and Noble Rot’s stunning view of the Portland skyline makes good wine taste even better. Get down there and ask for the Portland Pinot flight. Noble Rot is located at E Burnside between 11th and 12th, up on the top floor of the building.

I’m really excited about the new PDX Urban Wineries Passport, which features all the members of the PDX Urban Wineries association, a group of wineries making wine – from grape to bottle – here in the city of Portland.

The Passport is modeled after the Portland Distillery Row Passport, which has been a huge success in the past few years. The deal is simple – buy a Passport for $20 online or at member wineries and you not only get a free tasting at each PDX Urban Winery member, but also get discounts at around two dozen Portland restaurants, bottle shops, even transportation services to help you get around town for a day.

Read more about it here on the PDX Urban Wineries site. Vincent Wine Company is of course part of the Passport, with our location shared with others at the Southeast Wine Collective on SE 35th Place at Division.

Never has it been easier to taste the wines of Portland. In the spirit of the PDX Urban Wineries Passport, I took the opportunity to visit a bunch of tasting rooms yesterday. I highly recommend you do the same.

Come down to the tasting bar at the Southeast Wine Collective this Friday evening from 6-9pm. I’ll be on hand pouring a flight of my 2011 Vincent Pinot Noirs and talking about the wines. The tasting fee is $10 and we’ll have a discount on any of my bottles that you buy.

It’s casual, just drop in, and of course you can taste any other wines that the tasting bar regularly has open. There are even a couple of beers on tap for people thinking wineries are just about wine.

Stop by before you head out to dinner. Stop by on your way home from work. Or just stop by and hang out. There are small food plates as well and usually a dish from Cibo next door available right in the tasting room.

The Southeast Wine Collective is located at 2425 SE 35th Place, at Division. Hope to see you there.