Shaker & Vine

We did a tasting back in January and all the wines tasted pretty much the same, awful. They may have been good before they had been open for too long and oxidized. I made a comment to the employee pouring the wine and he tasted them and couldn’t even tell. He opened one bottle fresh and the difference was astonishing. He was rude, talked bad about the owner, and talked bad about the wines they had. Having worked in the wine industry the advice I can give to you is — teach your staff or fire them because they will ruin your reputation.

This is one of those many places I’d never heard of and that’s too bad because this is a great space. Food at reasonable prices to go with your wine, and live music.
I’m always on the lookout for the latest in wine bars and though I really liked the feel of the place, I felt like the person behind the bar didn’t really know very much about wine. I ordered a Roasted Beet Salad, with Goat Cheese, Orange Sections, Candied Pecans, and it was very nice. The flavors in this salad were carefully chosen for their compliments. As I often do when in a wine specialty bar, I ask the server if he could pair a nice wine with my fare. His choice was way to heavy for the lightness of this salad and it was overpowering. Very spicy with hints of blackberry and just over the top. That one glass of wine lasted me the entire evening. Through the food, friends, and music. It’s not that I didn’t like the wine, it just wasn’t fitting for my mood or my food.
I really enjoyed the space in the back and especially the jazz band that night. A large room with lots of pillows if you’re unfortunate enough not to get a table. Next time I’m sitting on that wonderful leather sofa. I’m determined.
Yeah, I’ll go back. The space is nice with live music, light fare, and overall, a great place to hang out with friends.

The gentleman working behind the bar was cool, but the lady acted as though she could not be bothered to assist any customers. It is an interesting space. Parking can be a challenge on an event evening if you drive. Carpool if attending an event at this location.

This has always been a great big comfy space to hang out for drinks, but the food has grabbed my attention lately. They’re doing ‘molecular gastronomy flights’ on the bar menu, and it’s fascinating food science to explore. I always thought as a ‘cuisine’ it was a bit too precious and trendy, but the bites served in this atmosphere are an eye candy eating experience-it’s hard to describe the intense flavors contained in small, totally unusual bites that look nothing like their original form.
Great drink selection, friendly efficient service, totally escapist comfort food & drink…

I was hip and didn’t even know it! Well, not me exactly, but my friend’s from Texas (who came to visit and researched my city; choosing Vino Vixens as a stop on their Portland wine taste tour).
What a gem to have in my neighborhood!
Walking distance to my home, I have taken friends here since; to purchase wine and drink it on the premises in their loungie party room. They’ve also given us complimentary tastes of recommended wines.
I got lucky and received a gift certificate for Shaker & Vine a few Christmases ago (when it was still Vino Vixens) and the sales person found me 2 great bottles of wine — on sale. I then walked out with 2 bottles of wine instead of just one.
The store front of the business can be deceiving. While it looks small, the back opens up to a large room with sofa’s, a pool table, shelves of books, a tv and numerous other entertainment items. It’s all about keeping it homey — and keeping you there to drink their wine. That’s good on all counts!
I’ve also read that they have wine classes at the shop; none of which I’ve taken yet, but they sound like a good idea. When I find a deal for it on Groupon — I’ll be all over that!

Hoooo HAH!!! Sneaky lil’ backroom may just become one-​a my faves when I’m home and in town… Service was a little dicey, as even a pot of hot water and a tea bag was hard to get for my Gal, but the place has promise… If they can just UP the supply side need of «GET ME WHAT I ASKED FOR!!!», they just might make it…
Otherwise my dear folks, you face doom…
I WILL be back however… This could become a nice venue for us all…
Hopin’ the «Vino Vixens» of this spot passed on the Harbingers of Failure and the new Management get it straight… We NEED places like this!
Food was marginal and a wee bit of creativity would help it… (ASK me dummies)
Wish there was something like this in Tualatin…

We like it because:
1. They serve up good snacks
2. Very nice wine selection
3. Very friendly and attentive staff that doesn’t try to «overdo» it
4. Great venue for great entertainment!
Cons:
1. Difficult to eat food since there are no tables
2. The way the large furniture is configured leaves the room a bit cramped.
3. Sometimes is hard to find parking if there are other nearby events going on, otherwise it’s fine.

This unassuming wine bar will definitely surprise you if you meander your way in. It looks like a small store front in a strip mall on Powell. What you don’t expect is to walk behind the bottle shop and run into an expansive room filled with couches, seating areas, tables and a stage for a band to play on.
They also have side rooms filled with a pool table, a big screen TV and more seating. This would be a great place for a group on a weekend night to come and guarantee lots of seating together. Also, their food menu is pretty extensive!
They often host live music and a variety of other entertaining acts! Definitely worth checking out.

I love this place! They always have something different going on and the atmosphere is fantastic. The waitstaff could be a little friendlier but the bar staff has always been very nice.
I’ll admit I’m not much of a wine aficionado so I can’t speak to their selection, but they have a decent selection of beer in a cooler in the shop so I’m always happy (and a little tipsy) by the time I leave.
Also love that they are friendly to more «alternative» events as well as your standard music shows, etc.

I’ll admit it, I don’t drink a lot. What I do drink is wine though, so I’m glad that the music group is here once a month. The bar staff is knowledgeable and friendly. They also have the most amazing chocolate with raspberry wine by the glass. They also have it by the bottle which is dangerous because its so very good.
The site is clean, and there is a very comfortable lounge. Dimly lit, but that fits the mood.

The thing I like about this place is that it looks like a tiny wine shop from outside, but its actually a huge, super cool lounge inside! Complete with ever changing art for sale/​display, lots of funky, comfy couches and chairs, free game room and a stage with live music almost every night, vino vixens is a sweet little hot spot on powell.
Big wine selection. Free pool, darts, fooseball. No food, which is a bummer, but I hear they are working on changing that. Knowledgable staff. Not open on Mondays. They do serve beer.

[CAVEAT: I speak only of the back space as a performance area and perhaps about the house white… I don’t pretend to care about wine so I won’t say anything about their selection or quality.]
The establishment has a great space for shows, albeit with slightly odd seating in couches and folding chairs, but a wonderfully warm and inviting room. Staff seemed pleasant enough and didn’t react condescendingly when, after asked what I’d like, I said, «a vodka cran, but I’ll take the house white».
I’d recommend eating beforehand as the bar admittedly has a very small food selection and encourages you to pack a picnic (an exceptionally odd concept to me).
VINO (pro): Lots of bottles so… big selection?, nice staff and great space
WHINEO (con): Tough parking, teensy food (and the bring your lunch concept personally creeps me out)

The ambiance here isn’t exactly sultry, or even that cute, and the selection of wine bottles is small, though unique, but all-​in-​all I had a good time here, so I won’t complain… much.
Our server was new and didn’t know anything about the wine he was pouring us, but he was eager to look things up on Wikipedia, like when we had a question about which French wine AOC we were drinking from (one I hadn’t heard of and still can’t quite recall). I felt bad for the guy when his coworker seemed to cop an attitude with him, and that being said the other guy behind the counter seemed like a bit of a prick.
I mean, I know a bit about wine, but just because I have questions doesn’t mean I’m a twit. I’d like to be able to engage with the wine stewards, hoping to garner a bit of information about a particular wine’s background, who makes it, where it comes from, any cool tidbits about it, et ceteras. I got none of that.
And when I asked about the couple bottles of Sauternes they carried (a wine style of which I have never tried) I didn’t get much in the way of descriptors about them. Yes, I know it’s produced because the vines get botrytis. Tell me more.
I do, however, appreciate that they carried Sauternes at all, and was geeking-​out on some of the other strange bottles they carried, such as the northern Arizona wines made by Maynard James Keenan from Tool, and the oddly, bacon-​esque black rice sake they let us sample free of charge.
I’ll sooner be checking out other wine shops/​bars around town, however, before I go back here.

The only thing I am not a fan of is parking but we always seem to manage to find something pretty close. I come here for art openings and events usually so the lot fills very quickly. I refuse to punish the space though especially since I think it is saying something to do what they have with the space they have on Powell of all places. Everything about that area says ghetto but when you walk in you immediately feel justified wearing makeup and high heels. Their wine selection is excellent and the staff goes above and beyond. I had a few friends host events there and the staff and space were just perfect! Their prices and requirements are extremely reasonable too!

Yes, it is purty. Yes, my friend’s band played there. Hence the two star rating. However, I found VV to be little more than totally uppity and expensive. I went in, telling them I had limited knowledge on wine, apparently that means I am a total idiot and know nothing about anything at all.
I have had many enjoyable experiences at wine bars, however, I found this a dull, drab and overly costly endeavor. I went, simply to see a friend perform, and would only go again after drinking BEFORE hand.
I would have appreciated an excited and motivated host, willing and wanting to share a love of wine. I would have greatly favored a wider price range of wines.

I came here on Saturday night with my best friend and I love Vino Vixens. They had a Spanish live band when we were there. I didn’t understand what they sang about, but all I could tell you is that. they are awesome.
They played beautiful music and it was amazing.
Vino Vixens also serve delicious wines. I had the Riesling and it was tasty. This is definitely one of the best «date» place. So if you want to drink some good wines, listening to live music, and be romantic with whomever you are with, make sure check Vino Vixens out. You might get lucky and even score the third base. :-).

If you’re looking for a place with a million couches and several hundred loveseats, you’ll be pretty happy with this place. If you’re looking for a great wall of wine to buy and drink on one of these couches, you’re in double-​luck.
With 1 huge room and 3 smaller rooms (including the front room), this place would be perfect for a party of your hundred closest friends. And they do rent it out, I asked.
When Wine Down on 28^th closed, I was bummed because I loved heading there with my girlfriends and gabbing by the fireplace on the couch while indulging in sweet sweet vino. That hole has been filled by Vino Vixens. There is no fireplace, which sucks, but you can bring pizza in from Hopworks, listen to live music, and crack open a bottle of your choice (plus $ 7 corkage fee). Which is pretty effing rad.

Ever drive by a strip mall and see a wine bar and think, «wow that place must really suck», or «no freaking way am I going to a strip mall for wine»? Yeah… me too.
Luckily for me, I was with some other folks who had ALSO heard good things about Vino Vixens… so we did it anyway.
Upon entering the place, you realize just how much BIGGER it is than you could have imagined from the street. The parking lot is iddy biddy, so I was expecting maybe 2 to 3 tables… nope. There’s a giant back room akin to someone’s hipster living room, with shows and music (and sometimes Burlesque and even belly dancing I hear) often. The front (bar) area serves up various flights of wine, and the servers are all pretty knowledgeable about what they are serving and whether it will suit your palette.
This is a worth while stop. There are a few eats, such as baguette and Boursin cheese (a favorite of mine), and some other snackage — but don’t expect dinner or anything. Eat before you go, so the wine has something to soak up.

Oh Vino Vixens, you’ve broken my heart… I really wish that I could tell you that it isn’t you, that I’ve changed and fallen out of love, but that would be a lie.
Same great location, same eclectic space with funky couches and artwork, still a place to kick back with a glass of vino and enjoy some tunes. What isn’t still the same is the wine selection, the knowledgeable staff, and the love of helping their customers find their own place in the wine world.
After conferring with those in the know, I found out that Vino Vixens had changed ownership a year ago (or probably more now) and has been on a steady decline since then.
So to revise my rating… 3 stars for the location and 1 star for the service/​selection, average of 2.

This place is fabulous. Tucked away in a hard-​to-​reach spot on Powell, the parking can be a nightmare and it’s easy to miss since it is tucked into a strip mall packed with an odd collection of shops but it is soooo worth the trip!
I’ve been here multiple times for various community events and have always had a great experience. The wine selection is varied (in type and price, which I appreciate), they allow you to bring in your own food and the space itself is very warm and accommodating.
Come here to sit and chat over a glass with a friend since they offer several rooms to make yourself comfortable in. Bring a group here and host a small event. Their room reservations are extremely reasonable. There’s live music on a weekly basis and they are very supportive of the neighborhood.

I am a wine enthusiast. In fact, I spent a few years working in the wine industry. So I’d like to think that I know a few things about wine, wine bars, etc. I really, really, really wanted to like Vino Vixens. The reviews on here are decent and I would love to see Powell get more polished up. Also, anything with the name Vino Vixens I want to like.
However, I was sadly disappointed. I went here for a friends art show and the place was packed with a really odd assortment of people. And even more oddly, the place reeked of weed. Yes my friends. Weed. There were people straight up smoking joints in the back. Wow. I mean — I know it was Friday and all, but really? This is a wine bar not the Roseland.
Also, having worked at wine bars and wineries and bars, I love to shoot the shit with bartenders and chat about their wine list. I decided to try a flight of rose wines. The gal behind the bar (someone with dark hair, I really want to point her out sadly) was a mess. I know the place was busy, but not THAT busy. She was really short, moody and kinda rude. Plus she just kinda dumped the wine in my glass without any kind of explanation. Not exactly what I expect from a first rate wine bar. Also, they have glasses of wine on their list for $ 15 a glass. Really people, really?
I want to go on the night that all these people that gave this places 5 stars went.