When my husband asked me where I’d like to go for my birthday dinner, I surprised him by naming a restaurant we had never been to before and one that he hadn’t heard of, either. I had only recently been made aware of Arbor House Restaurant in the small town of Talent, Oregon, several miles south of our home. I started following the Facebook page of Southern Oregon Foodies, an eclectic group of folks that includes your average food fan as well as caterers, chefs and other food industry professionals. I had seen the restaurant mentioned several times when people asked for recommendations for fine-dining establishments, and I thought we should give it a try. Though it had been off our radar, the family-owned and -operated restaurant has been open since 1979.

As luck would have it, when Harry called to make the reservation, he learned there was to be a winemaker’s dinner the evening of my birthday, with a special five-course menu planned with paired wines to accompany each course. We arrived just before 6 p.m. to find a remodeled 1960s-era one-level house with a lovely garden and patio space outside. That evening our valley had filled up with smoke from a large wildfire to the north, so we would dine inside. We and about 30 other guests were seated in a large open space whose walls were lined with mostly black-and-white photos, not of famous folks who’d dined there but of friends and the Calhoun family, whose youngest daughter, Leah, the current owner, was our warm and welcoming host. As we experienced ourselves, the Arbor House is that rare combination of a down-to-earth, warm restaurant that makes you feel like family that also serves up elegant, refined and delicious food.

The featured winemaker for the evening was Nichole Schulte from Barrel 42 Custom Winecraft, a custom crush operation that provides production facilities and trained experts to oversee and guide the winemaking process for smaller producers who may not have the capacity to have all the necessary equipment, space and overhead to make their own wines from their grapes. That meant that we got to try wines from four different Southern Oregon wineries, not just one, but all were shepherded by winemaker Schulte. She started us off with a welcoming glass of a sparkling rosé of Pinot Noir and Grenache from 100 percent certified organic Coventina Vineyards. (Nichole and Barrel 42 have a dedicated line for sparkling lines and a reputation for expertise in making Southern Oregon sparklers.) It had the lightest blush of pink and was lightly dry and very refreshing.

Nichole introduced each wine as it was poured, telling us about the producing vineyard and describing the elements of the wine itself. Our host, Leah, then described each course as the plates were brought out, with many ingredients having been selected and purchased by her that very morning at our local growers’ market. We started with pork belly glazed with a sweet and spicy Thai chili glaze and a red and green cabbage slaw. The outside was delightfully crispy, while the inside was moist and tender. The slaw offered a nice counterpoint in texture and taste. Each dish was as pretty as this one, and most came with edible flower garnishes. Served with this was a 2025 Viognier rosé from Jaxon Vineyards. Nichole explained that it is unusual and tricky making a rosé from Viognier. Her secret? Adding whole clusters of Syrah (3 percent) to the Viognier juice in fermentation until she achieved the desired color. It was lovely in the glass and on the palate.

Our salad, consisting of fresh greens, Oregon blue cheese, Cosmic Crisp apple slices, pickled shallots, raisins and spiced pistachios, was complemented by a 2017 Coventina Estate Pinot Noir. All of the elements of the salad played off each other beautifully, especially those crunchy, herby nuts and the creamy cheese. The wine, aged in French oak and made from clone 777, was lush and full of dark fruit, a sturdier Pinot than what you usually taste from up north.

Our next course was a sweet pea risotto with roasted red and yellow peppers and chèvre. It was wonderfully creamy, and the chèvre was a delightful change from the usual Parmesan used in most risottos. As you can see from the photo, I hadn’t quite finished my Pinot from the last course before we were poured this course’s pairing: a 2019 Red Hills Cellars Syrah. It boasted a lovely deep purple color and a hint of violets on the nose — a signature of its Steelhead Run vineyard in the Applegate Valley.

Our main course consisted of a great surf and turf combo of fresh wild king salmon with a blackberry gastrique and herb aioli atop puréed cauliflower, and grilled bison medallions with lime saffron butter and a red wine reduction. Both salmon and bison were cooked to perfection, and the accompaniments perfectly married with the generous portions of each. Two wines paired with this course: a 2023 Agathodaemon Chardonnay, floral, tropical, and definitely not oaky; and a 2017 Coventina Temperanillo. Vineyard owner Chris Amen chose clones to deliver supple versus drying tannins, and the result is a complex, fruity wine.

The final (dessert) course was a beautiful mixed berry tiramisu charmingly served in a small canning jar. The ladyfingers were soaked in Chambord rather than espresso; and blueberries, blackberries and strawberries featured prominently, with some chocolate-dipped berries on the side for a little extra indulgence. We enjoyed a glass of 2024 Agathodaemon Malbec Rōz (rosé) to finish the night. Nichole told us that making a Malbec rosé requires careful attention to the harvest time, and these grapes came from one of the best vineyards in the Rogue Valley. The wine was just right with the dessert, dry and refreshing against the sweetness of the berries and chocolate.

I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday dinner. The service was very warm and attentive, and the food and wine pairings were excellent. Perhaps my only quibble was with the pacing of the courses: I would have liked a little more time to savor each course and wine before the next arrived. It was a wonderful evening, and now that we have experienced Arbor House, you can be sure we will return to sample its regular menu and warm hospitality.

— Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor