Wine Up On Williams

Wayne is truly the wine wizard in this area. He is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about wine and he can share that passion with others.
This is a good place to taste and learn about wines from around the world. But mostly oregon wine.

Posted hours are midnight but we were turned away at 8pm on a Saturday, simply told «we’re not serving»… are you a bar or not? I understand that they do classes which I guess they might have been (there were like 8 people sitting at the bar/​leaving, couldnt tell if together) but not clear what was up. Website doesn’t explain hours, and didn’t have any indication of being closed and nothing on the door. Anyway I won’t bother coming back, lot of other places to have wine that are less complicated.

Please update your website — you advertise All Day Sunday Happy Hour and you are not even open Sundays. I and my group were very disappointed to arrange for a get together at your place and not be able to experience your shop. Thanks!

These guys are a hot mess — disorganized, slow, inefficient, and while the employees are not unfriendly, they’re also not that pleasant. I’ve been to this place at least 8 times and it seems to get worse with each time. The owners seem nice, but I’m not sure they know how to manage a restaurant.

Hello local wine bar that offers beers on tap, AND $ 3 beers for local bicyclists! Snack food with that glass of $ 5 HH wine is always a plus at any alcohol-​serving establishment. I really liked the look and feel of the place and the attentive service. I’m definitely coming back! Oh and there is a wine club for $ 50/​month where you receive three bottles of wine. Not too bad.

Lovely wine shop/​bar. Great music. Only really BIG negative is the punk rock pub downstairs where lots of young punksters would constantly be walking through Wine Up to get to one of the entrances to the cellar. Very annoying when your trying to listen to a fab guitarist like Steve Adams! AND, a constant stream of the same punksters walking in front of the guitarist to get to the only restroom.

Had a great time with friends at a wine-​tasting we bought through Groupon. The owner gal who gave the tasting was super cool and laid back, very real. Good wine, no snobbery. Looking forward to going back!

Went here with a buddy of mine to go watch some live jazz music. While jazz isn’t necessarily my top thing to go and listen to I had great conversations with fellow patrons along with good wine convos with the bartender. Good wine selection, 2 dollar PBR’s, live music, pretty women. I’ll go back if I’m near the place again. Good spot for a quick drink or a wine flight with a date.

$ 3 PINTS FOR CYCLISTS! On Portlands bike highway– Amazing wine selection and knowledgeable staff. Don’t read too much into the negative reviews– uppity people would be better served in the Pearl or downtown or Hollywood! In just one tasting, I learned to appreciate many new kinds of wine I would have never otherwise tasted!

I came here for «Indie Film Night» in which my friend was presenting a short film.
It was a great place for people in the industry to network, collaborate, meet industry folks and watch some local indie short films.
For someone not in the industry, like me, it was a great spot to have 2 very good glasses of wine and watch some short films (most funny, with my friends being a Portland documentary).
I love how close Wine Up is to the Moda Center, so it was easy for me to get to, find and also easy to find parking. I also loved the chill vibe and how great our bartender was. She was the one to recommend the happy hour wine, which usually means a cheap house red — but was actually a very good Malbec.
This area really needed a cool little wine bar and now they have it. If you haven’t been, and you live in the neighborhood and like wine, shame on you!

Great evening at Wine Up. They had a live blues band who was really amazing. Slightly loud, but completely worth it. There was also a great wine selection, and I was very happy with my red wine flight. What really made it hard to choose between 4 and 5 stars was just how amazing the food was. We ended up getting the truffle herb popcorn, the spinach artichoke dip, the dessert crostini, and the best bacon wrapped dates I’ve ever had in my life!

We went here for a wine tasting class and I was rather disappointed. The owner was informative, but his style seemed to offend people, especially his use of the middle finger pointer. We tried about 7 wines. I felt like the tastings could have been a little bigger or maybe more of them? It was a 2 and a half hour tasting with 7 wines. There was no water on the table, which I think is extremely important. Not only is it a great palate cleanser, but it’s also a good idea to stay hydrated. We were suppose to get a charcuterie plate with the tasting and it didn’t come out until the second to last taste. I had begun to think they forgot about it. It seems that should have been on the table at the beginning. I’m glad it came at least and it was a very nice plate. A couple was also forgotten about and they had to add them in last minute at the couch in the back of the room. I don’t know if they were just having an off day, but it felt very unorganized.
I also didn’t like how sales pitch everything seemed. I understand that it’s a business, but people are also there to enjoy themselves. Hearing about the wine club once is fine, but multiple times seems excessive.
I kind of left with a bad taste from the experience so I’m hesitant to go back. I might give them another chance, at least for the restaurant and bar part of it.

I don’t think I’ve ever left a business more disappointed in the Portland Metro area than I have at Wine Up. A friend of mine was playing live with her band mate last night after being invited by a fellow musician. We had at least 10 people sitting around them for support, drinking, eating and having a good old time in general. When I arrived my friends had already started on their flight, which they informed me was less than impressive. The «flight attendant», so to speak, was hardly knowledgeable on the wine being presented and didn’t really care to try to explain anything or educate us. Not that we needed it, but if you have never been to a «wine bar» (which this place could barely be considered as such) this would not be an impressive first impression of the sport. Regardless, we were there to cheer on our mates and enjoy the music. After their set was completed they headed up to the bar to receive their complimentary snacks as that’s what was promised to the fellow musician. They were informed that they were essentially «uninvited» to the venue and that if they «had brought along 6 other people to a dinner party then they would be expected to feed themselves» which is clearly the mindset one should have as the owner of a BAR with PEOPLE they are supposed to be HOSPITABLE to. Classy service. Not only that, but he continued to chastise this band for having said the word «Jesus» twice in one of their songs. He was so eloquently discriminatory stating that he in fact, «did not run a church» and that the use of the songs were «inappropriate» because he is Jewish, and they were not welcome back. Fine. I understand this is your establishment and if you want to be the most absolute judgmental walnut in all the city of Portland you have been successful. However these folks brought you a TON of business and everyone who was not in our group of friends were also enjoying themselves and the music. I was mortified that a business owner would treat their customers this way. I will certainly not be wasting my money at this poor excuse for a wine bar with tacky, close-​minded staff and overpriced beverages. There are many other wine bars in this city that don’t slander the title.
Beware of the man with blue hair.

First off, the owners are ass holes. My friend did an open mic and said Jesus twice in one of her songs and the owner proceeded to tell her that they don’t run a church and not to come back and sing songs about Jesus because he is Jewish… I’m sorry! We live in PORTLAND OR. You can be whatever you want in Portland and should not be judged. We live in a great city, but establishments like this give this beautiful city a bad name. I am so beyond put off by the attitude and vibe of this place. If you ever feel the need to go to this establishment, think again. There are so many other great wine bars in this city, and almost everyone in this bar were here to listen to my friend. She brought in a TON of business, and the only other two people in the bar seemed to be enjoying themselves. This was a personal attack that was completely unwarranted and discriminatory.

This place is amazing! Just listened to a couple incredible musicians, had yummy food, and tasty wine.
Update: as I was enjoying the second musician of the evening I over heard a conversation, at the bar, between the owner and one of the first musicians. It was very unpleasant. There was some sort of issue and it was not handled in a professional manner.
The food, drinks, and atmosphere were very good up to that point. Based on the complete experience of the evening I will not be returning.
To bad really, I was having a great time until it got weird.

terrible business. They cancelled last minute because they couldn’t staff a class that had been on the books for 6 weeks.
Not sure what they paid for the 5 star reviews but no way they could achieve that without false postings

Eh, I’ve experienced much better in the field of wine bars, but this place is close-​in and they seem to be trying.
We ordered a bottle of champagne, which wasn’t previously chilled — the bar keep ran off to «chill it» but it still was delivered to us luke-​warm. Seems to me if you’re selling sparkling wine by the bottle, you’d have it chilling in a wine fridge someplace.
We also ordered two shrimp cocktails and the bacon wrapped dates. Everything was tasty, but I felt the portion sizes compared to the prices were a little off. Friends of mine ordered the cheese plate, again, I thought the portion sizes were on the small side — especially when they’re marketed as something to share.
The jazz band was pretty good and we had a nice time — so it’s a solid three star experience. The only other recommendation I’d make is to get a vent hood in that small kitchen. There were a few times when something was in the oven too long and the entire space wound up smoked out.

Owner Wayne was great and pretty personable. We went there with a Groupon for wine tasting. Wayne was extremely knowledgeable and took the time to explain the differences in all the wines we tasted that night. Throughout the night, there were many mentions of Wayne’s other side business (wine tours), I was definitely bracing myself all night for the big sales pitch but it never really got too salesy. I would definitely come back and even perhaps try one of the other packages.
FYI eat before you go… I thought there was going to be food but it’s just a small charcuterie plate or two for the group.
All in all it was a pretty cool experience!

Went there last weekend… asked to see what they had in a nice California red wine. Was given a glass of «Cupcake» Red… because the bartender said that’s all they had from California (it wasn’t Wayne, by the way). OK, so it’s a fairly nice, as in low-​end grocery store bought variety, a basic wine from the Livermore area (which does have some very nice wineries). But as THE representative wine for CA?! Really disappointed, to say the least. I mean, with all the terrific choices available from Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Amador counties, etc., not to mention the many other fine regions in California, and you give me «Cupcake»?! Seriously?
With that as my option, I asked for a glass of something from France or local that had a little more body (and taste) in a good, hearty red varietal. I got a glass of a supposedly fine French red wine, and at first taste it seemed OK, maybe a bit of peppery note. A couple more sips and it was apparent the «peppery notes» were the whole chorus! It seemed that an entire canister or barrel of black pepper had been dumped into wine barrel! Felt like I was sucking down a pepper shaker filled with wine! Yuck!
Maybe I just got a bottle that had been open too long, but for $ 12 a glass (OUCH!), one expects a pretty high quality glass of wine. Nice place though, probably just had a very rare experience, as it seems others like it. The bartender was nice and did try to help, no fault there, very accommodating. Not the quality I’m used to having, though, and by no means am I a «wine-​snob», either!
Will certainly give it another try, as it’s apparent the owner (s) have invested quite the resources and effort to make this a very nice establishment. Just hope they upgrade the California wine selection a bit, or at least tell the bartender where to find them!

Like other reviewers mentioned, they definitely are working out some of the kinks of a new business. The staff is very friendly and attentive. They knew a lot about both the wine we were tasting, and wine in general. I appreciated the tidbits about each taste that we had and I learned a bit from my experience here. They have a nice selection of reasonable priced wines and sell some beers as well. The tasting plate was good, although probably not worth $ 10. They had a soft mango cheese that was delicious and that I would have loved to purchase, but they didn’t sell it there. The woman serving us did tell me she bought it from Costco, so I’m on the hunt now for these delicious morsels…
Cheese tangent aside…
The issue here was the Groupon. We paid $ 20 for what was suppose to be a $ 40 value. I’m not even sure it was a $ 20 value (5 small tastings each of $ 10 bottles of wine and a small cheese plate to share). I guess it would have been okay, except the website, the front door, and the back of the bathroom door all had signs advertising their $ 5 for 5 tastings deal. Now… if I could have paid $ 5 for tastings… why did my friend and I just pay $ 10 each for a deal which was suppose to be worth $ 20 each? I just felt a bit jibbed.
I would come back for the $ 5 if I was in the area but I’m not going to drive back over here from Cedar Hills like I did the first time. They also have $ 20 classes, which could be good… but now I’m questioning the value of them after my Groupon experience.
I wished they would have had some logo glasses to purchase… I might have purchased one since I’m in the process of acquiring some more. They do sell t-​shirts however.
Sell the cheese (if you can). Sell logo glasses. Make Groupons worth their while. Keep up the great wine info and good service!