Division Wine Co. packs for a big move, ending an era - OregonLive

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Big news on the Portland urban wine scene: Kate Norris and Thomas Monroe are moving their Southeast Wine Collective and Division Wine Co. operations to a new location. April 17 is the final day at the Southeast 35th Place location they’ve called home for the past nine years.

Norris and Monroe released their first Division Wine Co. wine, a rosé of pinot noir, on July 28, 2011. Those first Division wines were made at Methven Family Vineyards in Dayton. The winemaking duo moved into what is now the Southeast Wine Collective in September 2012.

“We hilariously thought the space was going to be too big for our needs,” Norris said.

The Southeast Wine Collective captured national attention as Norris and Monroe made Division wines while hosting a small handful of custom crush clients under their roof. The addition of Oui Wine Bar + Restaurant, with chef Althea Grey Potter, turned the Southeast Wine Collective into a popular Portland food and wine destination spot.

Between wine bar traffic, the growing number of winemakers at the collective and the desire to grow their own Division Wine Co. brand, Norris and Monroe felt the crush. “We’ve loved being here, but we’ve clearly outgrown the space,” Norris said.

Even though their lease is up at the end of April, Norris and Monroe say the owner’s broker promised what Norris describes as “ample time” before needing to move out. Norris and Monroe planned to use the time design their new winery.

Those plans changed in an instant.

“They got an offer they couldn’t refuse and needed us to move immediately. The owner has been reasonable, but it did come as a shock that we only had about 40 days to figure out the move,” Norris said.

Norris and Monroe are currently finalizing plans for a new urban winery that is twice the size of their current location. The new Portland winery location will be revealed when the deal is finalized, hopefully, Norris says, by the end of April. The Southeast Wine Collective name will be retired in favor of something new, although Norris admits, “we haven’t quite figured that part out yet.”

Until they move into their new urban winery, Division Wine Co. and their resident wineries will operate at a currently undisclosed location in Southeast Portland. The temporary location is where Norris and Monroe will host tastings and wine club events this summer. Additional events will be held at Cassin Vineyard in the Willamette Valley.

The Southeast Wine Collective’s wine club will continue uninterrupted during the move, along with the ability to make online purchases of wines from Division and other resident wineries.

In the meantime, Southeast Wine Collective fans have until April 17 to purchase those last glasses of wine at their favorite urban winery. Norris, Monroe and their team have lined up a series of 60 and 90-minute tasting experiences that allow small groups to take over the facility for wine, appetizers and farewell tours. Tasting reservations through April 17 are available through the online service Tock.

divisionwineco.com or info@divisionwineco.com.

-- Michael Alberty writes about wine for The Oregonian/OregonLive. He can be reached at malberty0@gmail.com. To read more of his coverage, go to oregonlive.com/wine.

April 02, 2021 at 12:01AM
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Division Wine Co. packs for a big move, ending an era - OregonLive

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