Union Wine Co's Backyard BBQ

When Union Wine Co. throws a party,  it's quite a sight to behold.   Owner, founder and all around good guy  Ryan Harms hosted a shindig for his growing family of employees last weekend and i was on hand to document the merriment.

As was to be expected,  things got started quickly with some unorthodox indulging in the new Riesling Radler....

(#pinkiesdown,  yo!)

a little sidewalk cornhole....

a quickly orchestrated extended family portrait....

(like herding cats!)

an amazing BBQ spread by Dougie Adams and Mei Lin...

and lets not forget, a whole lotta wine...

And one final shot by the host to commemorate the evening as the sun was setting...

Plaza del Toro Pizza Party

sometimes i really love my job.  i think the title of the blog says it all...

La Ruta Del Toro Dinner

I happen to be on hand for the big dinner at Plaza del Toro,  the final evening event of the La Ruta Festival.  Here is a little explanation  from the website:

Chefs from Spain collaborate for the festival’s paramount dinner at Portland’s PLAZA DEL TORO gastronomic society. Manuel Alonso of Casa Manolo (Valencia), Jordi Parra (Barcelona), Mikel de Luis (Bilbao/NYC), and Juanjo Canals of Con Amor (Madrid) will each present a course at this seated dinner with dessert by Luis Moyano (Madrid/Portland) and winemaker Albert Jane of Bodegas Acústic Cellar.  

As much fun as the diners were having,  i spent most of my time in the kitchen,  documenting the chefs.   This was really the culminating event of the whole festival,  and its pretty obvious from these shots that all the chefs really had as much fun as the folks they are feeding.

La Ruta PDX Festival

The first annual La Ruta PDX festival went off without a hitch and a great time was had by all.  Here are a few of my favorite shots from the opening and closing parties....