Stop by one of Portland’s newest wine shops and you’ll find an inspired selection of bottles and locally sourced bouquets. The vision of husband-and-wife team Brant Ozanich and Gabriella “Gabby” Terracciano, Dogwood Wine & Flowers transpired at the most unexpected time.
Right before the COVID-19 pandemic, the couple was living in the Bay Area, where Ozanich worked as a sommelier in acclaimed restaurants like The Morris and A16. After years building up a clientele in the floral business, Terracciano was exploring options for opening her own flower shop in Sausalito in March 2020.
“When the pandemic flipped our life upside down, I found that my career path hit a bit of a dead end and hers turned up to hyper speed,” says Ozanich. The duo made the decision to move to Portland and found a sun-soaked property in the Alberta Arts District.
“We knew this was the perfect space to merge the flower and wine concept and open a joint shop,” says Ozanich. “Our two passions turned out to be very complementary and are the defining characteristic of what makes Dogwood so special.”
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
How would you describe your bottle selection?
We only represent wines from Europe and the West Coast (Oregon, Washington and California) and aim to feature mostly small family-owned wineries. We prefer — but don’t limit ourselves to — organic and biodynamic grown grapes with low-intervention winemaking.
Some producers we are excited to carry right now include: Lavinea, Brick House, Morgen Long, ROCO, Johan, Jac+James, Loop de Loop, Human Cellars, Evening Land, Flat Brim Wines, Redolent Wine Co., Ovum, Golden Cluster, Maloof and Bow & Arrow.
What flower farms do you work with and how did you first connect?
We work with all of the growers at the Oregon Flower Growers Association (located at the Portland Flower Market), plus a few others who aren’t currently at the market whose farming journey Gabby has followed for some time. Instagram has been an incredible resource for us as we grow our brand and connect with other businesses.
Some of our favorite flower farmers not found at the market include Tangled Roots in Portland, Farmette from West Linn (Ore.), and Field & Floral in Vancouver (Wash.).
From OFGA, we love working with Charles Little & Company (Eugene, Ore.), Cathy’s Cut Flowers (Chehalis, Wash.), Zush Flower Farm (Tigard, Ore.), Delameter Valley Farms (Castle Rock, Wash.), Petals & Pottery (Aurora, Ore.), Vibrant Valley Farm (Sauvie Island, Ore.), Indigo Gardens (Portland, Ore.) and Rain Drop Farms (Philomath, Ore.).
Since opening on May 29, we’re proud to say that we have been able to source 100 percent locally grown flowers, and hope to continue that indefinitely. Pacific Northwest farmers know exactly what they’re doing, and sourcing locally allows the blooms to last so much longer for our customers. Sourcing locally also serves as customer education to help us all understand what is actually growing in the season that we’re in.
Wine and flowers are great hostess gifts — do you have any favorites for both that you recommend as we head into the holiday season?
Bringing flowers for the host is always a good idea! We aim to continue to have a limited number of pre-arranged bouquets ($40-50) and single varieties ($10-20) available through the holiday season. In addition to our weekly single varieties and pre-arrangements, we also create and sell dried flower arrangements and one-of-a-kind wreaths. We’re really excited for the opportunity to expand our floral offerings as the fresh flower season slows down this winter.
For wine gifts, we usually recommend sparkling wine as it’s something everyone loves or, if they don’t, could use a bottle on-hand just in case! We have a good selection of Champagne ($50-100) and other bubbles like Cremant, Pet-Nat, Cava and Lambrusco ($20-30). Oregon Pinot Noir is also always a sure bet.
What’s next for Dogwood?
We have recently added wines by the glass and are hosting more tastings with our winery partners. As for floral/wreath classes, we intend to start trialing some smaller private events through the holiday season before we can organize and announce future events. We are looking forward to tapping into the world of private events at Dogwood. It often feels like that is what this space was made for.
Dogwood Wine & Flowers
4932 NE 30th Ave. @ Alberta
Portland, Oregon
Hours: 1-7 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, closed Monday
