The summer pop-up will offer women-driven wines, conversation and events at the Water Street crêperie

By Jim Flint for Ashland.news

On warm summer evenings in downtown Ashland, two longtime friends — one with panache, the other with gusto — will be uncorking more than just wine bottles.

At Panache & Gusto, a limited-time wine-tasting pop-up set in the outdoor courtyard of Le Petit Café Crêperie, Georgina Ruff and Megita Denton will offer something refreshingly different: a judgment-free, community-rich experience built around female-driven wines, rare grape varieties and sustainable small producers.

Events will take place Wednesdays and Thursdays in June and July, from 5 p.m. until late, at the 10 Water St. cafe, just across from the Ashland Plaza.

What began as a pandemic-delayed dream and an inside joke between two self-proclaimed wine nerds has evolved into a vibrant expression of their shared passions — for art, agriculture, and hospitality — with each pour sparking stories, connection and curiosity.

“I’m Panache and Megita is Gusto,” Ruff said. “The names came about organically as a joke about our personalities, although neither of us is consistently one or the other.”

Delayed, not denied

Both women have worked in the wine industry, Denton with several Willamette Valley wineries. Denton was on track to open a wine bar in Portland. The pop-up is a slightly delayed realization of that intention.

Ruff and Denton are interested in sharing the stories behind the wines. They invite people to come by, bring a record to play, an art book to talk about or friends to share a bottle with.

The pop-up will feature not only female-driven wines but also unique grape varieties, “because both are underrepresented and because diversity is the key we can offer,” Ruff said.

“All the producers have an ecological focus and use native grapes,” Denton added. “Many are generational producers who consider their wines to be their forms of art.”

An example of the kind of winemakers who will be featured is Brick House Vineyards of Newberg, Oregon.

“Their wines are crafted by a female winemaker,” Denton said. “The small family vineyard’s owners reside on site and have been making exquisite wines since 1990.”

Ruff has called Ashland home for the last eight years. Denton recently relocated from Portland after two decades in the city. She still owns Able Farms PDX, her black Angus and art venture on Wapato Island, just 10 miles northwest of downtown Portland.

Location with intention

As an Ashland resident, Ruff is aware of the importance of the Plaza — for both locals and tourists. That prompted the women to choose the Plaza-adjacent Le Petit Café Creperie as the venue for their pop-up.

“We wanted a site with visibility and with a relaxed vibe,” Ruff said. “And in the spirit of community and support of other small businesses, the folks at Le Petit Café Creperie are doing a great job, and are lovely.”

The invitation to bring music or art to share during the wine tasting stems from a desire to foster a spirit of exchange. “We want to spark conversations about creativity — what moves people, what they find aesthetically interesting,” Ruff said.

Each of them shared a part of their enological journey that changed the way they think about wine.

Denton, whose mother is French, grew up with wine woven into the fabric of her childhood. “But as an adult — working harvests, running my livestock through vineyards, and taking online sommelier courses — my fascination with wine culture only deepened,” she said.

One of Ruff’s aha moments came when she discovered that Italy alone is home to more than 500 indigenous grape varieties. “It freed me from the pressure of ever knowing everything about wine and instead pushed me toward embracing curiosity and enjoying the journey,” she said.

Here for now

Will Panache & Gusto ever morph into something more permanent?

“No, it’s just a summer pop-up,” Denton said. “I’ll be heading to Rhode Island in the fall, so we’re hoping folks will swing by while it lasts and support us.”

Though Panache & Gusto will be around only for the summer, Ruff and Denton see it as a meaningful chapter — one shaped by shared values, a deep respect for wine as both craft and culture, and a desire to create something small, intentional, and rooted in community.

Like the rare wines they pour, Georgina Ruff and Megita Denton’s pop-up is a limited edition — unfiltered, full of character and best enjoyed while it lasts.

Freelance writer Jim Flint is a retired newspaper publisher and editor. Email him at jimflint.ashland@yahoo.com.