Southern Oregon Living

Fabulous Wine Tasting in Southern Oregon.  It's simply an art form and a whole lot of fun.  Come taste our local wines and meet our local vintners at wineries in the Rogue and Applegate Valleys.  Some wineries offer free tastings, while others charge a small fee, which is sometimes refunded with a minimum purchase.  In any case, you will enjoy Southern Oregon wine tasting at its finest!

Weisinger's of Ashland, 3150 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, 541-488-5989 or 800-551-9463, weisingers.com, open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Noted for merlot, mescolare, red blends and dry gewürztraminer. The first taste is free, small charge for additional tastes.

Ashland Vineyards, 2775 E. Main St., Ashland, 541-488-0088, winenet.com. Open by appointment. Makes Bordeaux-style reds and blends. There is a tasting fee.

Grizzly Peak Winery, 1600 E. Nevada St., Ashland, 541-482-5700. Open noon to 4 p.m. weekends or by appointment. The winery makes chardonnay, pinot noir, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, syrah and its red blend, Le Mystere. The site also is the home of Granite Peak Winery that produces cabernet sauvignon, merlot and a port-style merlot called Decadence. Tasting is free except for Decadence, for which there is a $2 refundable fee with purchase.

Paschal Winery, 1122 Suncrest Road, Talent, 541-535-7957, paschalwinery.com, open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Pinot gris, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, syrah and red blends are among its wines. First two tastes are free.

Trium, 7112 Rapp Lane, Talent, 541-535-4015, Talent, triumwines.com. Open 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily through October. Trium makes red blends, pinot gris, viognier, merlot, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon and grenache rose. There is a tasting fee of $5 to $7.

Rising Sun Farms, 5126 S. Pacific Highway, Phoenix, 541-535-8331, ext. 201, risingsunfarms.com. The producer of specialty and organic foods has produced several wines under its own label. The tasting room features those wines and others from around the region. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. There is a tasting fee.

EdenVale Winery, 2310 Voorhies Road, Medford, 541-512-2955, edenvalleyorchards.com, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. EdenVale makes chardonnay, white and red blends, cabernet franc, syrah, tempranillo, dry rose and others. There is a tasting fee for reserve wines. The tasting room also sells wines from Griffin Creek, Lorelli, Slagle Creek, Troon, Madrone Mountain and others.

RoxyAnn Winery, 3285 Hillcrest Road, Medford, 541-776-2315, roxyann.com, open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. The tasting room pours RoxyAnn wines, including pinot gris, claret and several of its custom-crush customers' wines - Daisy Creek, LongSword, Velocity and Volcano. A three-wine flight costs $3; a seven-wine flight costs $7.

The Artisan Tasting Room, 245 N. Front St., Central Point, 541-664-1407, open noon to 6 p.m. daily. The tasting room offers merlot, viognier, rose, syrah and a red blend from Daisy Creek Vineyard in Jacksonville and dessert wines from Madrone Mountain Winery. There is no tasting fee.

Quady North, 255 E. California St., Jacksonville, 541-702-2123, quadynorth.com, open 12:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 12:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sunday. The tasting room showcases wines from Southern Oregon and Central California, including viognier, cabernet franc and syrah. There is a $5 tasting fee.

South Stage Cellars, 125 S. Third St., Jacksonville, 541-899-9120, open noon to 6 p.m. daily, except Friday when the tasting room is open from noon to 8 p.m. Wines made with grapes grown by Don and Traute Moore of the Talent area are featured, and the labels include Belle Vallee of Corvallis, Chateau Lorane (near Eugene), Dobbes Family Estate of Dundee, Griffin Creek (made by Willamette Valley Vineyards near Salem) and Spangler of Winston. Five wines usually are open for tasting each day. A flight of five costs $5. There is no charge for one or two tastes.

Caprice Vineyards, 970 Old Stage Road, Central Point, 541-499-0449, open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday-Sunday or by appointment. Bordeaux-style wines and alpaca clothing. There is no tasting fee.

Agate Ridge Vineyard, 1098 Nick Young Road, Eagle Point, 541-830-3050, agateridgevineyard.com, open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Viognier, pinot gris, chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, zinfandel and syrah. There is a refundable $5 tasting fee with a purchase.

Crater Lake Cellars, 21882 Highway 62, Building B, Shady Cove, 541-878-4200, craterlakecellars.com, open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday or by appointment. The winery makes pinot gris, pinot blanc, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, syrah, grenache, merlot, riesling and dessert wines. No tasting fee.

Del Rio Vineyards, 52 N. River Road, Gold Hill (use I-5 exit 40), 541-855-2062, delriovineyards.com, open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Makes pinot gris, chardonnay, claret, rose jolee and many others. The first taste is free.

Folin Cellars, 9200 Ramsey Road, Gold Hill, 541-855-2018, folincellars.com, open noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday or by appointment. Makes viogner, tempranillo and syrah. No tasting fee.

Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden, 1665 Eastside Road, south of Ruch, 541-899-6876, cowhornwine.com, opens by appointment for groups of six or more during the winter, open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Monday, April 1 through Sept. 1. This winery makes syrah, viognier, marsanne, roussanne and grenache. There is $5 tasting fee for a flight of four.

Cricket Hill Winery, 2131 Little Applegate Road, south of Ruch. Open from noon to 5 p.m. weekends June through September, also by appointment. Call 541-899-7264. Winery makes an interesting merlot. No tasting fee.

Valley View Winery, 1000 Upper Applegate Road, Ruch, 541-899-8468, valleyviewwinery.com, open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The oldest winery in Jackson County is known for top-quality reds such as merlot, cabernet sauvignon, tempranillo and meritage (a blend), as well as chardonnay, pinot gris and viognier. There is a $5 charge for wine tasting.

Fiasco Winery, 8035 Highway 238, Ruch, 541-899-6945, fiascowinery.com, open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Wines include Italian varietals, barreled wines in growlers, zinfandel, syrah and Super Tuscan.

LongSword Vineyard, 8555 Highway 238, Ruch, 541-899-1746, longswordvineyard.com. Open from noon to 5 p.m. daily, except through January when the winery is open from noon to 5 p.m. weekends or by appointment.

Jacksonville Vineyards, 9730 Jacksonville Highway, Ruch, 541-899-6923, jacksonvillevineyards.com. Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed until March 1. Visitors can taste claret, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and bordeaux blends.

Devitt Winery, 11412 Highway 238, between Ruch and Applegate, 541-899-7511, devittwinery.com. Hours are 1 to 5 p.m. daily. Devitt (pronounced like "debit") makes chardonnay, viognier, syrah, a red blend, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and a dessert wine. There is a refundable tasting fee with purchase.

John Michael Champagne Cellars, 1425 Humbug Creek Road, Applegate, 541-846-0810, open by appointment. Tasting fee is $5.

The Academy, 18200 Highway 238, Applegate, 541-846-6817, open by appointment. This small winery produces reds such as pinot noir and merlot.

Troon Vineyard, 1475 Kubli Road, Applegate, 541-846-9900, troonvineyard.com. The tasting room is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily June through September, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. October through May. Makes several reds, including cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel, also red and white blends and port. A flight of five wines cost $5. First taste is free.

Wooldridge Creek Vineyard, 818 Slagle Creek Road, Applegate, 541-846-6364, wcwinery.com. Open by appointment only. The winery makes chardonnay, red and white blends, syrah and some others.

Schmidt Family Vineyards, 242 Missouri Flat Road (but entrance is off Kubli Road), Applegate, 541-846-9985, sfvineyards.com. Open noon to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday or by appointment. The winery makes chardonnay, merlot, cabernet sauvignon, early muscat, a red blend, syrah, pinot gris and gewürztraminer. There is a tasting fee of $5.

Rosella's Vineyard, 184 Missouri Flat Road, Applegate, 541-846-6372, rosellasvineyard.com. Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Monday, by appointment Tuesday and Wednesday. Its wines include chardonnay, merlot, merlot blush, a red blend, cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel.

Come enjoy some fabulous wine tasting in Southern Oregon!

Sunset Magazine toasts to Southern Oregon Wineries!  Besides seeing an increase in tourist traffic each year, Southern Oregon Wineries are also seeing local, statewide, and national awards.  Sunset Magazine recently named Southern Oregon one of its top destinations for wine in 2010.
 
The Southern Oregon Winery Association has more than 60 wineries on its list.  "There's no question, when we first bought this property, there were only a handful of tasting rooms. And now we are pushing 20 to 30 tasting rooms just in the area. There has been phenomenal growth, and good quality growth," said Bill Steele with Cowhorn Vineyard and Garden.
 
Southern Oregon Wineries say the amount of wine being exported to other states has increased exponentially over the past 15 years.
 
In Oregon, there are more than 400 wineries and more than 14,000 acres of vineyard.

Come visit our Southern Oregon Wineries soon!

The next big wine country - Southern Oregon.  Move over Napa, Southern Oregon is the next great place for exciting wines, no crowds, and inexpensive tasting fees.  Arm yourself with a map from the Southern Oregon Wineries Association and hit the road.

The inside scoop: Head to the smallest, newest wine region in  Applegate Valley, Oregon (part of the larger Rogue Valley) to get your wet your palate.  Abacela, Troon, and Schmidt Family Vineyards are setting the bar high.

In Umpqua, the northern, oldest wine valley, check out Brandborg Vineyard & Winery and Spangler Vineyards.  Ditch your car in historic Jacksonville, of Britt music fest fame, then wander the cluster of tasting rooms, including Quady North.

Our 3 favorite sips:

• Foris Pinot Gris 2008 (Rogue Valley; $14).
• Brandborg "Love Puppets" Pinot Noir 2006 (Umpqua Valley; $30).
• Abacela South Face Block Reserve Syrah 2005 (Southern Oregon; $45). 

This is a re-creation of an article in Sunset magazine. Pick up a copy today!