Any connoisseur will tell you that no wine should be judged by its label. Still, attractive packaging plays a key role in consumer buying, and Oregon’s Adelsheim Vineyard has one of the most eye-catching labels out there, an artist’s colorful rendering of a long-haired woman, her profile enhanced by a grape vine.

The artist is Ginny Adelsheim, who co-founded the winery in 1971 with her husband David, Adelsheim’s first winemaker. Ginny Adelsheim’s labels vary, depending on the varietal (the type of grape used to make the wine) and the vintage, and her featured women are lately acquiring curlier locks.

Still, what’s inside a bottle of Adelsheim 1998 Penta Reserve Pinot Noir ($30 on Adelsheim’s Web site; see below) is even more enticing than what’s on it. Particularly when the wine is paired with wild Alaskan salmon accompanied by Italian cherry polenta, one of the culinary delights prepared by Jay Funk, chef at the Silver Salmon Grille (1105 Commercial St., Astoria; (503) 338-6640) at the restaurant’s recent wine dinner.

But back to that super sipper Penta Reserve, a ruby-colored pinot tasting of fragrant dark fruit. Beginning in 1998, Adelsheim and Oregon have enjoyed a quartet of wonderful wine years, especially concerning the state’s premier crop, pinot noir. Ideally, this red-wine fruit yields lush and complex wines that age well. But unsatisfactory pinot noirs are thin and uninviting, similar to what many Oregon wineries offered in the rain-plagued years of ’95, ’96 and ’97. No wonder winemakers call pinot noir a schizoid grape.

Adelsheim, encompassing 142 acres of vineyards located near the northern Willamette Valley town of Newberg, is one of the few Northwest wineries that consistently produces a superior pinot noir. World-renowed wine critic Robert Parker rates Adelsheim’s pinots between good and excellent and claims the winery is among Oregon’s top-25 producers.

Michael Adelsheim, David’s 54-year-old brother and the winery salesmanager, says the vineyard has a reputation for “hands-off” winemaking, meaning winemaker Dave Paige lets the grapes do the talking rather than fiddling and fussing with complicated techniques and procedures that consume personnel at some other wineries.

“We don’t push the envelope,” said Michael Adelsheim. “Our wines aren’t fruit bombs full of oak.” Bushy-haired, bearded and articulate, Adelsheim shared a table with my dining companion and me during the Silver Salmon repast, which began with hors d’oeuvres such as bacon-wrapped prawns, pork loin mated with apples and a surprisingly successful marriage between honey-glazed scallops and grapefruit.

Featured wine with the starters was a 2001 Adelsheim Pinot Gris ($14), a refreshing quaff that’s aged in stainless steel casks rather than oak barrels, and showcases pear, apple and hints of spice. “We were one of the first producers of pinot gris in Oregon,” said MichaelAdelsheim. Now the varietal is the state’s number one white-wine grape.

Adelsheim also is one of a declining number of Oregon wineries that continue to cultivate chardonnay. “There are a number of us that are still excited about chardonnay,” said Michael Adelsheim. He mentioned Argyle, Domaine Drouhin, Ponzi and Domaine Serene among other Oregon wineries that produce at least one chardonnay from a Dijon clone, grapes that originated in Burgundy, France, the world’s foremost chardonnay (and pinot noir) region. “We have one foot in the Old World, one in the New,” Michael Adelsheim said about his winery.

Curried chicken bisque was served with a 2000 Adelsheim Stoller Vineyard Chardonnay ($35), a mouthful of lemon, citrus and hazelnut flavors and a revelation for anyone accustomed to the oaky and sometimes-overpowering chardonnays that flow out of California and Australia. My chardonnay (and my leftover pinot gris) matched perfectly with the next course, a palate-cleansing pineapple-cantaloupe sorbet.

Unusual but luscious berry wontons and custardy spherical Bavarian cream bombes were chef Funk’s dessert offering, an unexpectedly light finale for an incredibly satisfying feast. Equally compelling was the chilled 2001 Adelsheim Deglace Pinot Noir (currently not for sale) served alongside.

“Cool-climate wines go gloriously well with foods,” Michael Adelsheim noted during dinner. No kidding! On this evening anyway, the 48 fortunate diners at the Silver Salmon no doubt believed they enjoyed the finest food and wine in Astoria.

To learn more about Adelsheim Vineyard, call the winery at (503) 538-3652, or visit www.adelsheim.com, the winery’s Web site.

Contact the Mouth at The Daily Astorian, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103 or phone (503) 325-3211 or e-mail mouth@dailyastorian.com

Wining and diningEssentially, wine dinners are an opportunity for wineries and restaurant chefs to strut their stuff. But careful mixing and matching is a crucial component for a successful repast. First-rate pinot noir, for example, would be overwhelmed by a New York steak, same as a robust cabernet sauvignon would overpower even the choicest cut of salmon.

Next up at Silver Salmon Grill is another wine dinner planned for sometime in November. Call Jeff or Laurie Martin at the restaurant ((503) 338-6640) for more information. Elsewhere in the Columbia-Pacific region, the Shoalwater Restaurant (4415 Pacific Highway, Seaview, Wash.; (360) 642-4142) hosts a series of Northwest Wine Dinners. Upcoming is the Buty Winery of Walla Walla, Wash., scheduled for March 7 at 8 p.m. Reservations are necessary.

In other restaurant news, Lil’ Bayou (20 N. Holladay Drive, Seaside; (503) 717-0624), the local stronghold of Cajun and Creole cuisine, will be hosting a Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras Ball Celebration on March 4 at 7 p.m. A five-course meal is planned, with beads, masks and music all part of the package. Seating is limited to 50 diners, and reservations are required.