JimLovesGolfandWine
Jul 2019
Niko began as a tour guide and ended as a friend. We used Niko for 3 amazing tours during a recent family vacation in Portland and give him our HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION. I'll discuss each of our 3 excursions seperately but will focus on the wine tour as that's what Niko is famous for. Keep in mind that our family is very well travelled, both dometic and international, and are all well-informed on all aspects of the wine experience.
Oregon Wine Tour - Niko picked up our family (group of 8) from our hotel in downtown Portland arriving 5 minutes early and properly introduced himself to everyone. Niko made tasting reservations at 3 very different and indivudually unique wineries and also scheduled lunch after the second winery. We ate lunch at The Horse Radish in Carlton, OR (thehorseradish.com) and enjoyed the selection of sandwiches, salads, quiche, and soup. Niko's selection of wineries included Sokol Blosser (lg), Elk Cove (med), and Bells Up (sm) which was a perfect mix of a large well established winery with a well known name, a medium winery know for making great pinots, and a small winery with an intimate feel. Niko surprised us with a splendid charcuterie board with a selection of fine cheeses he specifically chose because they paired well with the wine. We were also pleasantly surprised to meet the owners and winemakers Dave and Sara at Bells Up and Dave even pured the wines and shared information about his journey into the winemaking world. Niko was timely, highly organized, had everything properly planned and reserved, was extremely knowledgeable and passionate about wine and travel, and even took time at each stop to take group and individual photos to preserve our memories.
bellsupwinery.com sokolblosser.com elkcove.com
Oregon Coastal Tour - Niko picked up our group (14 people) from our hotel in Portland and guided a tour of the Oregon coast. He was extremely pleasant to work with during the planning phase of the trip and offered three possible itineraries for us to choose from. We selected a route that took us to the Tillamook Creamy where we sampled cheese and endulged in several scoops of their delicious ice cream. From the creamery, we went to Cannon Beach which included plenty of time for lunch at a great spot overlooking the beach. We also visited Haystack Rock, Ecola State Park, and Camp 18 prior to retuning to our hotel. The coach Niko used to drive us was extremely comfortable and had plenty of room for our large group. Again, Niko took plenty of pictures of our group and provided plenty of education for us along the route.
Columbia River Gorge - This was a trip full of breathtaking views and majestic waterfalls. We had views of the snowcapped Mt. Hood on our way into the Columbia River Gorge where we stopped at Latourell Falls, Multnomah Falls, Crown Point Vista House, and a fish hatchery that releases millions of salmon into the Columbia river each year.
We HIGHLY RECOMMEND Niko at works4wine and will use him without hesitation next time we're in the Portland area. We are a picky group with refined needs and requests and Nike EXCEEDED all expectations.