Left Coast Estate

Photo by Andrea Johnson

Willamette Valley, Oregon

In the heart of Oregon’s picturesque Willamette Valley, Left Coast Estate is a family-owned and operated vineyard, winery and working farm. At its core, Left Coast is guided by a deep connection with the land where they live and farm. The winery owes its name in part to its west coast geography, but also a playful nod to the fact that three out of five family members are left-handed. 

Photo by Laurel Dailey

From restoring a rare 70-acre old growth oak forest as a wildlife refuge to housing eight different hives of honey bees, the 490-acre estate stands as a testament to sustainable winemaking and environmental stewardship. Each family member contributes their gifts– from winemaking to creative direction to gardening– to carry on Left Coast’s earth-friendly, sustainable vision. For a truly authentic experience, we can arrange an intimate, vineyard dinner featuring seasonal food from the farm and local foragers– with a wine pairing, of course. Or a ride through the property in Left Coast’s 1950 Chevy vineyard truck and wine tasting among the vines. 

AniChe Cellars

Columbia Gorge, Washington

AniChe Cellars is in the business of “reinventing the tradition of women making wine.” With an incredible mother-daughter team of winemakers at the lead, this winery’s placement in Washington’s Columbia Gorge couldn’t be more stunningly scenic. AniChe’s beginnings trace back to 2008 when Rachael Horn embarked on a midlife adventure into winemaking, with a mere mason jar of change and unwavering support from friends and family. The winery’s name is a portmanteau combining the names of Rachel’s children, Anaïs and Che. The name reflects the heart of the business: it’s the passion project of family and friends. Perched on the slopes of Underwood Mountain, enjoy views of the Hood River and the Gorge from the tasting room while sampling their cleverly named wines, such as ‘Puck’ and ‘Three Witches.’

Adelsheim Vineyard

Willamette Valley, Oregon

Adelsheim Vineyard, the Chehalem Mountains’ first winery, was founded in the 1970’s by David and Ginny Adlesheim. Located in the Willamette Valley, the married couple was among the first ten or so founding families that gambled their savings on making wine in a place that most people had never heard of. Their faith and hard work was the first step toward the burgeoning wine hub that Willamette Valley is known as today. 

Adelsheim’s location in the more remote northern corner of the valley is still a rural paradise, with vineyards and wineries harmonizing with lush farmland and forested beauty. Adelsheim owns 200 acres, cultivating 175 acres of diverse estate sites on this scenic terrain. Whether high or low in elevation, volcanic or sedimentary soils, each of the winery’s sites contribute a unique aspect to their wine. Along the drive to the winery, don’t be surprised to see alpacas, horses, and goats that complete the bucolic idyll. 

Alton Wines

Alton Wines, Photo by Kevin Scott

Walla Walla, Washington

Alton Wine’s views are quintessentially Walla Walla—farms, vineyards, mountains, and endless skies. Even beyond aesthetics, the winery embodies the essence of this grape-centric region– one where vintners mingle with farmers, and wine emerges from grit and dedication. The winery is nestled in an existing cove of land, formed by the surrounding landscape and vineyards, that had been deemed unfarmable due to the soil makeup. The result is a sense of seclusion and tranquility with fields of vines surrounding the winery’s tasting room on three sides. The Alton Wines focus is on genuine experiences, not rehearsed stories or complex tasting notes. The notable architecture and design of the tasting room is a reflection of the winery’s ethos— a place where old meets new, elegance marries rustic, and luxury dances with carefree. 

Alton Wines

Pairs well with:

The Pacific Coast and Willamette Valley: From your starting point in Portland, you will find yourself in a city ringed by old growth fir forests, snow-capped volcanoes, ancient cliffs adorned with tumbling waterfalls, fertile farmland and vineyards, and hundreds of miles of undeveloped coast ripe for exploration. This luxury Oregon road trip provides an unmatched concentration of stunning, diverse Pacific Northwest landscapes enriched by unique adventures and connections with local producers.

The post Four Beautiful Pacific Northwest Wineries appeared first on All Roads North.

In Seattle and Portland, the past several years has seen the rise of Native American-owned eateries with a mission to share Indigenous foods, from cafes to food trucks to coffee houses. Three examples at the forefront of this movement are Off the Rez, Bison Coffeehouse and ʔálʔal Café. Not only offering delicious Indigenous meals, these restaurants are spaces where tradition is honored, stories are told, and support is paid back to the Native American community. 

Off the Rez: Seattle’s First Native Food Truck

Credit: KUOW Photo by Megan Farmer

Mark McConnell’s mother grew up on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana. McConnell himself grew up in Seattle, but has many fond childhood memories of going back to Montana and spending time with family around traditional food.

Fed up with craving the Native comfort foods that his mom used to make and no restaurant in the area providing a place to buy them, McConnell took matters into his own hands.

“There wasn’t any market for [Native foods] here in Seattle,” McConnell said. “There wasn’t anyone doing it, so we wanted to be the first ones to share our culture’s food out here.”

Along with his partner Cecilia Rikard and childhood friend Chef Donovan MacInnis, the trio transformed an old linen truck into Seattle’s very first Native American food truck. They used several recipes that McConnell’s mom had passed down to him, such as bison tacos and frybread. In McConnell’s memories, the crispy, pillowy frybread was reserved for special occasions, and Indian tacos and sweet frybread were staples at birthday parties and powwows. Off the Rez created homemade preserves, jams and all types of toppings over the years to complement their best-selling frybread. 

As the first to introduce Native food to the area commercially, the food truck had several customers who were encountering this type of cuisine for the first time.  For Native people from other regions, the food evoked nostalgia and a connection to their own traditions.

“We try to collaborate with Native suppliers as much as we can,” McConnell said. Sometimes the team sources bison from Montana. When we spoke to McConnell, he had just bought fresh salmon from the nearby Muckleshoot tribe.

Beyond the infamous Off the Rez food truck, the brand has expanded to a brick and mortar location at the Burke Museum at the University of Washington. The museum has a focus on dinosaurs, fossils, Northwest Native art, plant and animal collections, and cultural pieces from across the globe– making it the perfect place to connect marry the culinary experience with a historical and cultural one.

“There’s a lot of ties between the food and the culture and history [in the museum],” McConnell said. “It’s a great experience to come and try the food, but also go and see artwork and carvings from different periods in our culture.”

Bison Coffee House: A Symbol of Resilience

By Ashley Anderson

Loretta Guzman’s journey to founding Bison Coffee House began with a battle against cancer that led her back to her family on the Fort Hall Reservation in Idaho. Loretta herself was born in Portland, but spent her childhood going back and forth between the Oregon town and the Idaho reservation. 

While recovering, Loretta had a vision of a majestic bison approaching her. Her stepfather, recognizing the significance, assured her that it was her grandparents healing her in the spirit world. Miraculously, she went into remission, and the vision of the bison became the symbol that marked her coffee shop.

“For the Bannock, the bison are a big part of our history,” Guzman said. “Our Bannock people are bison hunters. So I thought, I have to represent the present and the past.”

When you walk into the coffee shop, a giant bison head holds court over the cafe as a symbol of the resilience of Native American peoples and of Guzman’s own personal journey. 

By Ashley Anderson

Along with help from her daughter and other family members, Guzman sells coffee and an array of fresh baked goods that are all made in house, such as espresso coffee cake and green chile pepper jack bacon biscuits. Her cafe is not just about coffee; it’s an avenue to give back to Native American communities. 

“Every year, I pick one of the MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) organizations to donate to,” Guzman said. “But I make sure I research them and see it’s a legitimate organization, and that they are really helping our people.” 

Guzman has given to the MMIW Database, the Sahnish Scouts, and the Medicine Wheel Ride to name a few of the organizations making a difference. 

ʔálʔal Café: Decolonizing Native Food

ʔálʔal Café’s moniker, pronounced “All All,” is the Lushootseed word for “home.” The word perfectly encapsulates the vision of the Chief Seattle Club, which owns and operates the cafe. 

“We envision a future where our Native community is safe, healthy, housed, and connected to community that respects and celebrates Native cultures,” Akemi Boyd, Grant Writer for Chief Seattle Club, said. 

The cafe puts an emphasis on “de-colonized food,” meaning dishes and ingredients that take back the way Native food was prepared before colonization. Bison barbacoa tacos, rabbit stew, blue corn mush, three sisters wild rice grain bowl, and maple sugar mocha are just a few of the items on the menu.The cafe sources ingredients and products from tribes and Native businesses, such as bison from the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, wild rice from the Red Lake Nation, and blue corn from Navajo Nation.

“Food is our most immediate connection to culture,” Boyd said. “Through colonization and attempted genocide, many Indigenous people lost connection to their traditional foods. Reintroducing those foods is a healing process and a small step in regaining a sense of self.”

Beyond food, ʔálʔal Café serves as a hub for cultural exchange. The café hosts workshops and events, opening doors to conversations about Indigenous experiences, sovereignty, and heritage.

“The ʔálʔal Café serves as a gateway for the Pioneer Square Community to interact with members and café staff,” Boyd said. “This is a great opportunity for people who may not understand the Native culture, to learn what culture looks and feels like from our perspective.”

Explore the Pacific Northwest:

The Pacific Coast and Willamette Valley: From your starting point in Portland, you will find yourself in a city ringed by old growth fir forests, snow-capped volcanoes, ancient cliffs adorned with tumbling waterfalls, fertile farmland and vineyards, and hundreds of miles of undeveloped coast ripe for exploration. This luxury Oregon road trip provides an unmatched concentration of stunning, diverse Pacific Northwest landscapes enriched by unique adventures and connections with local producers.

Olympic Peninsula and San Juan Islands: Coastal Wanderings: Experience the remote wonders of the Olympic Peninsula, the relaxed pace of life on the San Juan Islands and the buzz of downtown Seattle on this loop around Washington’s idyllic islands and verdant peninsulas. Charming waterfront inns and boutique hotels allow you to sample in style all of the natural wonders and culinary delights that this special corner of the Pacific Northwest has to offer.

The post The Native-Owned Businesses Championing Indigenous Food in the PNW appeared first on All Roads North.

The same wet weather and cooler temperatures that signal agricultural harvests are helping the PNW’s forests and oceans create culinary delights of their own.  Fall is famously the best time to wander the woods in search of edible mushrooms. And as locals will tell you, months ending in “R” are definitely the best– and arguably the only– months for eating wild caught shellfish.  If you find the idea of procuring the evening meal by spending a day lost in the mossy forests or perched on a rickety dock, it’s easier than you may think with a little local assistance.

Oregon’s 350 miles of coastline would be a fitting place to begin your wild food quest, as many of these blue collar beach towns owe their existence to big city appetites for shellfish.

Pacific City, OR

In Pacific City, a local fisherman will take you on the waves in his dory boat as you troll for dungeness crab and cast for salmon (which, conveniently, are also at their peak here in September and October).  End the journey with an old fashioned crab boil. Or, for a more elevated option, have a chef prepare your catch to enjoy at a local lodge.  

If you prefer to keep both feet on somewhat solid ground, a shellfish licence, a crab pot rental and a couple of raw chicken legs are all you need to spend the day alongside the locals on Garibaldi’s public crabbing pier. Pass the time between pulls spotting seals and seabirds in the placid cove, or drop your trap and slip into a watering hole across the bay while you wait. If you don’t come away with anything large enough to keep, the local crab shack will be more than happy to sell you their catch, best enjoyed drenched in butter at a scenic picnic table.

Clams, oysters and mussels are also at their best late into the year when they are at their largest. A seasoned shellfish expert can take you out into Netarts Bay armed with shovels and buckets to harvest a haul for an evening feast. While you’re out, your guide can also point out edible seaweed that will compliment your beachside clambake. The hunt can be thrilling, but you’ll want to pause for a few moments to take in the expanses of empty beach and poke around in a few tidepools.

From the beach, you won’t need to go far to reach the Coastal Range where fungi thrive in the damp but mild autumn weather. For a more dramatic change of scenery, the fir forests below timberline on a Cascade volcano or Puget Sound’s island are other great places to look.

Your first foraging experience can be intimidating. Fungophobia is rampant due to tales of mushroom hunts with unhappy endings. However, you can forage without fear alongside an experienced mycologist who can help you spot safe mushrooms like chanterelles, lobsters, porcinis and slippery jacks poking through the mossy undergrowth. 

Several of the most common fall fungi lack dangerous lookalikes, making them great options for budding mycologists to gather and cook up on their own. Even if you don’t leave with baskets full of mushrooms, you will come away with a day spent in the peaceful Cascadian forests and hopefully the knowledge to identify a few key species for your next outing. 

Snoqualmie Pass

For those who don’t dream of days spent with eyes glued to the forest floor or measuring scuttling crustaceans, there are still options to foray into the wild food movement. Restaurants have long touted farm-to-table status, but field-to-table cuisine and foraged fine dining have also become popular in the Pacific Northwest. Famed mushroom mecca Joel Palmer House in Oregon Wine Country has a five-course mycological-themed tasting menu featuring eight different varieties, including candy cap mushrooms for dessert. 

Nearby vineyard Sokol Blosser offers a Farm & Forage lunch which can feature a variety of found foods ranging from wild mushrooms to nettles and wild-grown salad greens paired with their wines.

Foodie favorite Willows Inn on Lummi Island is known for incorporating wild foraged mushrooms as well as unique items like crab apple blossoms or fermented wildflowers.  

And, of course, larger cities have garnered attention for featuring wild foods not available on commercial markets. Highlights include Nomad in Portland, MAS in Ashland and Salare in Seattle. 

If you are ready to get your hands dirty, or even if you prefer to learn from a distance, you will certainly have a richer appreciation for the passion and work required to procure your favorite delicacies and a deeper connection to the environment that produced them.

Looking for more Pacific Northwest inspiration? Check out our Pacific Coast and Willamette Valley itinerary.

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We all know what happened about a month later. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down the United States, hitting the hospitality industry especially hard. In the past year, these new inn-owners focused on the unexpected blessings that the shutdown brought.

Connecting with the Island Community

John and Julia

The first few months during quarantine, when very few visitors trickled off the ferry onto the island, served an important purpose: the chance to connect with the local community. Something that Cox made clear was a priority from day one. Throughout his 20+ year career as a renowned, forward-thinking chef in the fine dining world, Cox has always worked as closely as possible with local communities to source his ingredients. 

“In a small community like this, you do become acutely aware of how your decisions impact everyone around you,” John Cox said. “I have spent a lot of my career thinking about sustainability with food, communities and microeconomics and that really stems from many years in Hana, Maui and Big Sur, California.”

After graduating from culinary school in Vermont, Cox began his work at Post Ranch Inn perched on the edge of the Pacific Ocean in Big Sur. After several years there, he accepted an offer from Passport Resorts to oversee Hotel Hana Maui and Sea Ranch Lodge in Sonoma as Corporate Chef. He continued to oversee many more hotels and restaurants, start a few of his own in California and return to the Post Ranch Inn kitchen as executive chef. Throughout his career, he’s long earned food critics’ praise for his creative dishes with a sustainable, local focus.

Despite having lived in so many places across the U.S. with some of the most beautiful views in the world, Cox said there is something special about Orcas Island.

“I love looking out the windows of the hotel, especially at night when the sea is really quiet, and you can see the ferries gliding across the sea and see all the lights reflected on the water,” Cox said. “It’s just such an interesting view because it’s constantly changing; there’s always things happening both natural and manmade.”

Creating an Immersive Experience

Not only is it ethical and more sustainable to involve the local community when it comes to sourcing food and creating a business, it’s essential to providing a unique experience that truly embodies the soul of the destination. Cox said that this is key in his own travel ethos, and it’s his plan to bring that to their new inn, the Orcas Hotel.

“There’s people who want to go to Tokyo and stay in a Holiday Inn or a Hyatt and have that continental breakfast because they know exactly what they’re going to experience,” Cox said. “They can go dabble in the local culture and then come back to that safe haven that they know. My idea of hospitality is the exact opposite of that… I want guests to be really immersed in the experience.”

For the Orcas Hotel, capturing the spirit of the island means a hotel that is old and a little creaky, but full of soul. It means a different special every night that is the same thing the locals are eating. It means a tip from Cox when you’re heading out the door to turn right at the ferry and check out the quiet Lake Killebrew as well as taking the tourist trodden road to the East Sound.

Reviving the Orcas Hotel

Photo credit: Ronald Woan

Built over 100 years ago in the early 1900’s, the Orcas Hotel is a historic landmark on Orcas Island. The island is about a two-hour journey north from Seattle and only reachable by ferry or seaplane. The ten-room hotel itself greets every visitor to the island in its position just above the ferry landing. The Orcas Hotel went through a major renovation in the 80’s, but it was time again for many improvements when the couple acquired the property last year.

 “The paint was peeling off, the carpets were stained, the cafe was a mess, the kitchen was falling apart,” Cox said.

During quarantine, the couple rolled up their sleeves and got to business. They hired someone to stretch the new carpet, but other than that, they did everything themselves– replaced the kitchen equipment, tore down the wallpaper and put a fresh coat of paint up in its place, installed fire pits on the outdoor deck.

Meeting in the Middle Between Fish n Chips and Fine Dining

Veracruz Style Steamed Mussels

Renovation certainly is no easy task, but John and Julia have other even bigger fish to fry as well (pun somewhat intended). One of their biggest challenges is bringing their sustainably-focused, creative background in cuisine to an establishment that has been far from fine dining in the past.

“Historically, the Orcas Hotel has always been a place where you just sell cheap coffee, sandwiches and fish and chips to tourists,” Cox said. “That’s not what my wife and I wanted to do. Zero interest in that. We want to be a seasonal, soulful dining location that locals really want to support and that people actually seek out.”

Overall, Cox doesn’t see the Orcas Hotel continuing to be the default fish and chips shack nor does he envision it becoming the next Michelin-starred restaurant. The goal is to be appealing to both the second-home owner on the island as well as the local working at the ferry dock. He described it as “a simple, utilitarian hotel that happens to have a very creative group of people working there.” 

For now, the group is able to put that creativity to use in the whiskey room (or chef’s library depending on the mood)– Cox’s favorite room in the hotel. It houses the chef’s collection of 500 cookbooks, single malt whiskeys from John and Julia’s travels in Scotland, a wood-burning fireplace and a single table. Right now, it’s serving as a private dining room…probably the closest thing to fine dining on Orcas Island.

The hotel has also been running the cafe with to-go food only, but the restaurant and historic bar are yet to open. Cox said they are holding out hope that they will be able to invite guests back into the building by late summer or early fall. 

Interested in the San Juan islands? Check out this sample itinerary: Olympic Peninsula & San Juan Islands Itinerary

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