The June 4 opening of the Satyr Fire tasting room put Dayton another step closer for vying to be the next big destination for wine tasting in the Willamette Valley.
Paul Johnson founded the Satyr Fire label in 2019, but has been producing wine even longer - and the experience showed on my recent visit. Just days after their launch, I spoke to him by phone as he was labeling bottles.
“The whole weekend was just absolutely fantastic," Johnson said. "We saw more than 125 people each day. We saw so many of our longtime members that have been supporting us all these nomad years.”
Satyr Fire - located in the revitalized Merchant Block - is partially influenced by a vacation to the Alsace region of France, where Paul and his wife, Barbara, tasted a multitude of aromatic varietals. Barbara now joins him full-time to manage the business side of things so he can focus on farming, production and creating original art for each label (52 illustrations so far).
The Satyr Fire team pampered opening weekend guests with a generous tasting menu and light bites purveyed by LOAM - a restaurant flanking one side of the establishment with the 12-room boutique hotel The Inn at Dayton on the other.
We were greeted with Caged Sun, a sparkling riesling made in the traditional method, and one of the only rieslings offered in this style in the valley. Chilled crab dip and a simple crudite of asparagus paired nicely with the bubbles and the still white wines that followed: A slightly floral gewurztraminer, and then Overseer, a crisp and acidic dry riesling, and the ideal choice for any summer gathering in need of a porch pounder. Just the other night I paired it with an 80-degree evening and chile verde tacos for dinner.
Outside in the covered party space and patio they share with the inn, the assistant winemaker, David, poured a pre-release called Seehog, a sweet riesling that complemented the maple glazed fried chicken well. That was followed by two more white pours with the first being a blend and the second being Fiddlehead made of 100 percent auxerrois, a grape that is the sibling of chardonnay and prevalent in Alsase, which is where Paul first discovered it and set him on a quest to find a grower in Oregon.
Back inside, we wrapped up the white wine portion of the tour with the Legacy of Myr Chardonnay that, like so many others in the valley, had minimal hints of oak and would have perfectly accompanied oysters (those are a different fossilized shellfish on the label). Our craving for a little red wine was satisfied by a pour of Pinot Noir and an off-menu splash of Tempranillo to affirm Paul's craft, vision and versatility with wine. The panna cotta topped with macerated strawberries delighted with subtle sweetness to wrap up the experience.
Satyr Fire enables affordable wine exploration by setting its bottle prices to start at $25 for blends, and top out at $60 for the scarce library options. The standard tasting menu includes pours of five different wines for $30 (waived with a 2-bottle purchase), and the team is eager to share more if they can detect a taster’s enthusiasm.
From this point forward, Dayton should be considered as a viable basecamp site for a weekend of wine tasting, or at least an unhurried pitstop for some refreshing, aromatic sips. Satyr Fire's tasting room is open Thursday and Monday from noon - 6 p.m., and Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m., with reservations encouraged.
