Portland's Natural Wine Pilgrimage, No Passport Needed
Concordia · Portland · New American · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed June 17, 2026
Wingman Metrics
The wine list at Dame reads like a love letter to producers who actually give a damn — Radikon, Ganevat, Frank Cornelissen, all on the same page. It's not curated for clout; it's curated with conviction. You get the immediate sense that someone here has strong opinions, and they're right.
About 140 bottles deep, Dame's list moves confidently between Beaujolais crus (Jean Foillard's Morgon anchors the French section), Friuli amber wines (Radikon's skin-contact bottlings), Jura (Ganevat, full stop), and Austrian naturals from Gut Oggau. The Pacific Northwest gets its due with Oregon and Washington producers sitting alongside the European heavyweights, and La Garagista from Vermont proves this list isn't just playing Old World greatest hits. Clos Lentiscus from Penedès and Envínate from Spain round out the Iberian corner in a way most Portland lists completely ignore. The gaps are minimal — this is one of those rare lists where you genuinely struggle to choose because everything looks interesting.
With 10 to 16 pours rotating by the glass, Dame doesn't treat the BTG program as a dumping ground for leftover inventory. Expect the same caliber of producers — natural, low-intervention, producer-focused — showing up in the glass as on the bottle list. The rotation keeps things honest and worth checking back on season to season.
Jean Foillard Morgon — $65
Foillard is one of the benchmark Beaujolais producers on the planet, and getting his Morgon at a neighborhood restaurant without the usual downtown markup is the kind of thing that makes you want to come back on a Tuesday.
La Garagista (Vermont)
Most people skip past Vermont on a wine list — which is exactly why you shouldn't. La Garagista makes hybrid-grape wines that taste like nothing else on this list or any other. Dame stocking them says everything about how seriously they take American natural wine.
Frank Cornelissen
Cornelissen is a legend and the wines are genuinely compelling, but his bottles command a premium that tips the price-to-pleasure equation here. If you're newer to natural wine, there are better entry points on this list that'll drink just as well for less money.
Radikon (Oslavia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia) + Housemade pasta
Radikon's skin-contact whites carry enough texture and oxidative depth to cut through rich, butter-pulled pasta without steamrolling it. It's the kind of pairing that makes you put your fork down for a second and just think.
🔥 The Bottom Line
Dame is the rare neighborhood restaurant where the wine list is genuinely worth the trip on its own. Send your friends here — just tell them to skip the safe picks and trust the list.
One wine list review, one adventure pick, one quick tip, and a personal note. Every week. Under 500 words.