Ballard's Portalis Wine Bar's Not Rustic, But Refuses Chic

T.J . TRANCHELL

Details

5205 Ballard Ave. N.W., 783-2007, www.portaliswines.com.

Related Content

• A Schooling in Sleight of Hand (& Pearl Jam) with Walla Walla Winemaker Trey Busch
  February 8, 2012
• Let's Head South, Where It's Warm, To Drink Herding Cats
  January 20, 2012
• Pre-Funk On NYE At These Free Tastings
  December 30, 2011
• Efeste's One-of-a-Kind Oenologist
  December 28, 2011
• The Wino Picks A Few Bottles Worth Gifting
  December 23, 2011

More About

• Wine
• Food and Cooking

At 9:45 p.m., the sun still hadn't completely set. Strands of color hung in the Ballard sky and seemed to be stretching their way slowly to the west over the Olympics, a gentle tangerine and indigo hooding of the Earth. At Portalis Wine Bar, the main facade is composed of glass doors that open up for weather just like this, creating a spillover onto rustic-chic Ballard Avenue. Considering the interior of Portalis (abstract art hung from exposed brick walls, a library of wine shelved near worn-out signs for Ford and Yick Kee Laundry), the flow between the two is perfectly natural; Ballard Avenue is now far from rustic, but still stubborn enough to resist looking chic. Wine by the glass ranges from a California syrah to a Burgundy chardonnay, while the Small Bites menu boasts a Fresh Market Cheese plate that changes, presumably, with each visit. The mix of clientele (upper-middle-class sippers and blue-collar guzzlers) speaks to Portalis' ability to transcend the stereotypes of wine drinkers, and to its staying power on this ever-changing street.