Cowhorn Tours with Pink Martini

Wine Spectator reports that Cowhorn Winery went on tour with Pink Martini! Who knew? Cowhorn certainly didn't until the article was published! 

Here are the experts:

Pink Martini’s Timothy Nishimoto takes COWHORN Viognier on tour

Timothy Nishimoto, 45, has dueling careers: one as the owner of a successful wine bar in Portland, Ore., the other as a member of Pink Martini, a jazz and Latin fusion band. Nishimoto began working in restaurants at the age of 15. After graduating from California State University at Long Beach in 1990, he moved to Portland, where he worked for various local restaurants, including the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence-winning Papa Haydn. In 1999, he joined one of the local Wild Oats natural food stores as the wine department manager and spent six years honing his skills as a wine taster and developing a deep passion for working with wine.

During this period, he also performed part-time with Portland-based Pink Martini for nearly a decade, eventually joining the band full-time in 2003. In 2005, looking for greater flexibility in his schedule as his commitments to music increased, he jumped on the chance to buy one of the city’s first wine bars, located in the Pearl District. Now called Vino Paradiso Wine Bar & Bistro, it offers a smart 220-bottle selection and has earned Wine Spectator' s Award of Excellence since 2007. Nishimoto spoke with Wine Spectator about how he splits his time between wine and music, what he drinks on the road and what he looks forward to when he comes back home.


Wine Spectator: Do you take wine with you when you are on tour?
Tim Nishimoto: I always do. I don't ever take a wine on tour that I can get wherever I'll be. Lemelson Pinot Noir Willamette Valley Thea's Selection 2006 and Cowhorn Viognier Applegate Valley 2007 were my two choices this [past tour]. Balance is a huge thing for me, and [the Lemelson] strikes a great balance of just enough of those mushroom, barnyard and smoky notes, blended with typical '06 ripe fruit, and a beautiful, elegant mouthfeel. Cowhorn is in southern Oregon, in the Rogue Valley, where the climate is totally different than in the North Willamette Valley. It's often desertlike and arid. Cowhorn makes my favorite whites—all biodynamically grown grapes—from down there, and this Viognier is just delicious. Rich, round with honeysuckle and delicate quince flavors, and a surprising acidity.

Spend your evening with Pink Martini on Friday, June 25th when they perform at The Britt Festival! Get your tickets here.