Andrew Fortgang is Co-Owner and Wine Director of Le Pigeon and Canard, the critically
acclaimed restaurants in Portland, Oregon that challenge the notions of classic French cuisine. In
addition to overseeing two of Portland’s most popular restaurants, Fortgang has cultivated an
award-winning beverage program. Under his direction, Le Pigeon and Canard have achieved
several honors, including Restaurant of the Year by The Oregonian in 2008, 2018 and 2019, Wine
Enthusiast’s 100 Best American Wine Restaurants, and an Outstanding Wine Program Finalist by
the James Beard Foundation in 2020. Fortgang was named a Food & Wine Magazine Sommelier
of the Year in 2019, and has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal, and SevenFifty Daily.
Born and raised in New York City, Fortgang’s profession is also his passion, having started in the
kitchen of the famed Gramercy Tavern at the age of sixteen. After spending time in the kitchens
of Jean-Georges and Aureole he graduated from the Cornell School of Hotel Administration.
Fortgang went on to serve as the beverage director at Craft Restaurant, later developing the
beverage programs at Craftbar, Craftsteak New York, and Craft Dallas. He and his wife Lauren
moved to Portland in 2007, where Fortgang teamed up with chef Gabriel Rucker to oversee his
newly opened restaurant Le Pigeon. In 2010 Fortgang and Rucker opened Little Bird Bistro in
downtown Portland, which had a near decade-long run presenting their vision of a French bistro.

In 2013, the Le Pigeon team published their first cookbook, Le Pigeon: Cooking at the Dirty Bird
(Ten Speed Press). With a forward by chef Tom Colicchio and an essay and wine pairing suggestions by Fortgang, the cookbook is a collection of 150 recipes celebrating Le Pigeon’s high-low extremes in cooking.
In 2018, Rucker and Fortgang opened Canard next door to Le Pigeon with a riveting wine list
and food menu full of Parisian wine bar meets Dairy Queen influences. From its inception,
Canard has served as Fortgang’s wine playground, showcasing a cellar of curiosities years in the
making. Canard quickly became one of the most buzzed about openings nationwide, and went
on to win The Oregonian’s Restaurant of the Year, and Portland Monthly’s Restaurant of the Year.
In summer 2022, the second location of Canard opened in Oregon City, just to the south of
downtown Portland.

Fortgang is also the co-owner of Flor Wines with partner and former Little Bird Bistro wine
director Sergio Licea. Flor Wines is a retail wine shop in downtown Portland, Oregon. More than
a traditional shop, at Flor, you can discover lesser known bottles, winemakers, stories, and
regions, all while seeking expert advice and conversation. The idea of Flor was born out of the
pandemic, after Fortgang launched cellar sales at Le Pigeon and found joy in matching people
with the perfect wines for home. No longer able to pour tableside and strike up a conversation,
the cellar sales provided a way to stay connected to people through good wine. Flor was
designed with the customer and restaurant hospitality in mind, a place where you can wander the aisles                with as much or as little guidance as you desire. The team’s knowledge of wines and
expertise is paired with their excellence in hospitality, resulting in an intimate wine shop that
feels more like a bookstore, where there’s something new to discover around every corner.
Fortgang is blessed that his hobby is also his profession. He believes strongly that good wine is
just that, and speaks for itself. He and his wife Lauren live in Portland, Oregon with two kids, a
daughter with whom he shares a birthday, and a son who taught him the joy of the Portland
Trailblazers.