Departure Restaurant + Lounge
Rooftop Views, Surprisingly Honest Wine Prices
Downtown · Portland · Pan-Asian · Visit Website ↗
Reviewed April 7, 2026
Wingman Metrics
First Impression
You're on the 15th floor of The Nines Hotel, the city is spread out below you, and the wine list is... actually pretty good? That's not what we expected from a rooftop lounge where most places would coast on the view and charge $22 for a grocery-store Pinot. Departure doesn't do that, and that alone earns some respect.
Selection Deep Dive
The list is moderate in size — roughly 40 to 60 bottles — but punches well above its weight in terms of geographic range and producer quality. You've got Pieropan Soave, Walter Scott Oregon Pinot, J.K. Carriere Willamette rosé, and a Pais from Dominio del Cuarzo sitting alongside Spanish dessert pours and Italian Lambrusco rosé. It's not a deep cellar, but whoever built this list was paying attention — there's real thought behind the picks, even if the selection doesn't shift much season to season. The Riesling from Geierslay and the Specogna Sauvignon Blanc from Friuli are the kinds of left-field choices that signal someone here actually cares.
By the Glass
Glass pours run $14 to $22, which is genuinely refreshing for a hotel rooftop in 2024. The selection by the glass spans bubbles, white, rosé, red, and dessert wine, so you can actually drink thoughtfully across a meal rather than just defaulting to whatever's cheapest. We'd love to see the rotation move more frequently, but what's here is solid.
Garganega/Trebbiano di Soave Pieropan Veneto — $15
Pieropan is one of the benchmark producers in all of Soave — this isn't a Soave you tolerate, it's one you seek out. At $15 a glass against a $25 retail bottle, you're getting one of the best juice-to-dollar ratios on the entire list. Order it.
Pais Dominio del Cuarzo Chile
Pais is the ancient grape Chilean winemakers largely ignored for centuries and are only now rediscovering — Dominio del Cuarzo is doing serious work with it. Most diners at a Pan-Asian rooftop lounge are going to walk right past this. Don't. It's earthy, low-key, and genuinely interesting.
Crémant de Bourgogne Famille Vincent
Not a bad wine, and the markup is fair — but at $17 a glass you can get a lot more interesting on this list. The Crémant is the safe, crowd-pleasing pour that doesn't need your attention when Pieropan Soave exists at $15.
Rosé J.K. Carriere Willamette Valley OR + Departure Wings
J.K. Carriere makes a serious Oregon rosé with enough acidity and fruit tension to cut through the heat and sticky glaze on the wings. It's the kind of pairing that feels obvious in hindsight — bright, slightly savory, and it keeps your palate alive through every bite.
🎲 The Bottom Line
Departure is a rooftop lounge that somehow didn't let the view make it lazy about wine — the markups are legitimately fair, the producers are real, and there's enough range to drink well through a full meal. Send a friend here, just make sure they look past the cocktail menu.
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