Rogue Valley, Oregon: A Little Wine With Your Shakespeare

The recently held Wine Media Conference (WMC) 2021 brought wine writers to Eugene, Oregon, this year, and as always, the excursion prior to the main event was a highlight, providing an in-depth discovery of one specific region in the state. Along with about 25 other wine writers, I chose to take a closer look at Southern Oregon's Rogue Valley, about which I knew very little. 

About three hours by bus from Eugene, the Rogue Valley, along with neighboring Applegate Valley, sits just above the northern California border in Oregon. The destination town for the wine media was Ashland, Oregon, home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the gorgeous old Ashland Springs Hotel, where we stayed. Dating from 1925, and originally known as the Lithia Springs Hotel, this nine-story hotel boasted that it was "the tallest building between Portland and San Francisco," and brought European elegance to the area, known for the gold rush, mineral springs, and the Chautauqua lecture series, which were an educational/self-improvement movement popular in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (they are still on-going in NY State). The facility for the Chatauqua meetings became the present-day facilities of the popular Shakespeare Festival. Tudor-style themes dominate the town as an homage to Shakespeare.

The hotel was refurbished in the 1990s with a "cabinet-of-curiosities concept based on education and travel," per an Architectural Digest interview with its owners Doug and Becky Neuman. I was personally intrigued by the hotel's lobby with its magnificent display cases of the aforementioned curiosities (see photos below).

The Ashland Springs Hotel has a "cabinet of curiosities" design inside, and a beautiful art-deco exterior.

Rogue Valley Wineries

At a reception in the Ashland Springs's beautiful cobblestone patio and flower garden (which replaced a pool during restoration), several knowledgeable representatives of Southern Oregon organizations extended their hospitality and welcome to the writers. Among them were Lanessa Pierce, author of "What to Do in Southern Oregon;" Gina Bianco, Executive Director of Rogue Valley Vintners; Bob Hackett, Executive Director of Travel Southern Oregon; Dana Keller, Director of Food & Beverage at Rogue Creamery; Chris Spirko, GM/CFO of Sharffen Berger chocolates; and representatives of 10 area wineries.

Following are the wineries, and their wines, in the order they presented, with just a few notes on each. Each wine was paired with cheese, chocolate, or a delicacy from Lark's, the restaurant in the Ashland Springs Hotel.

Hummingbird Estate: 2020 White Pinot Noir, a white wine from a red grape, retails at $32 a bottle. Hummingbird has a tasting room and Bed & Breakfast on their property, and they also produce three different wines in a can, a growing trend.

Dwell Wines: Based in Applegate Valley, Dwell is a woman-owned winery, and her plans are to open a  tasting room in January 2022. The wines are made at Barrel 42, an off-premise facility. We tasted their 2020 Rose of Pinot Noir. 

Coventina Vineyards: The 2017 Chardonnay, priced at $20 a bottle. The name is from the Celtic for purification and regeneration. Their wines are also made off-premise at Barrel 42.

Irvine & Roberts: 2018 Estate Chardonnay, $35 a bottle. Winemaker Vince Vidrine explained that he does one early pick of grapes which produce crisp clear juice, and one later pick, which produces a richer, rounder juice with high sugar, and he combines these in barrel for this estate wine.

Foris: "Meticulously crafted. Amazing Affordable." This phrase comes from their Web site, but everyone at this event was floored by the $20 price tag on the very good 2019 Foris Rogue Valley Pinot Noir. Founded in 1974 by Ted Gerber, an early pioneer of the west side of the Rogue AVA, the winery has 40-year-old vines featuring the heritage varieties of Oregon: Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay. Like Barra of Mendocino (see story here), Gerber owns his land and chooses to pass on the concomitant savings to his customers. 

Naumes: 2018 Barbera, $40. This was paired with Rogue Creamery Caveman Bleu Cheese, which would taste good with just about anything, in my opinion, but the Barbera was delicious with it. Naumes also produces sparkling wines, a growing category in Oregon.

Quady North: 2018 GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre), $25. Herb Quady is the son of the Quady wine family, known for their sweet red and white wines made from Muscat grapes in California's Central Valley. The family purchased Oregon property and Herb now makes Rhone-ish and Loire-ish style wines (his words). Quady noted that the Mourvedre in the Rogue is lighter in style, but still maintains the "funk" that is its hallmark, and that the Syrah is the "glue" in his GSM that does well in just about every vintage.  

RoxyAnn Winery: Claret is RoxyAnn's signature red wine, and the 2017 Claret is composed of 40% Merlot, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and the rest Cab Franc and Malbec. The winery is on the site of one of the oldest orchards in Oregon, dating back to 1908 as the Hillcrest Orchard, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places. The propety has 3 VRBO properties, and features a 120-year-old horse barn tasting room, which is open 7 days a week, and is also "kid friendly."

Weisinger Family Wines: While Eric Weisinger's father, a pioneer of the Rogue Valley, felt Gewürztraminer was the future of Southern Oregon when he first began growing grapes, it didn't quite turn out that way, and the son was pouring his 2018 Tempranillo for us wine writers. This grape is the easiest to grow on their property, says Eric, and since he is a self-proclaimed "lazy winemaker," that suits him fine! (There will be more on Weisinger in a future post, as they hosted an in-depth tasting for WMC 21 attendees.)

Belle Fiore: This producer has the most opulent estate, comprising a French-style chateau with magnificent views of the Ashland area, and offers private tastings by appointment in their Italianate tasting room. They grow 15 different varieties and have three distinct labels, of which the Belle Fiore Winery brand is one. The 2016 Numinos wine, poured for us, is a Bordeaux blend, with 54% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Cab Franc, 9% Merlot, and some Malbec and Petit Verdot to round out the blend, which retails for $49.

Foods of Southern Oregon

Not to be overlooked or overshadowed were the food pairings for the above wines. Lark's chef prepared gorgeous small plates, and Rogue Creamery provided their award-winning cheeses. 

Another presenter was Chris Spirko of Scharffen Berger, the company known for producing baking chocolate. Spirko explained how this 25-year-old company was sold to Hershey 15 years ago, and purchased back from them in 2020. They are developing a "bean to bar" facility in Ashland, Oreg., employing 25 people, and at the time of this tasting in early August 2021 they were doing first trials of their products. Baking chocolate is a majority of their business, and they have partnerships with chefs and bakeries.

"Team Oregon"

Going into this excursion, I believed that as a Southern Oregon winery, it must be a constant thought that you are living in the shadow of your northern neighbors in the Willamette Valley with their world-famous Pinot Noirs and 700+ wineries. 

I was wrong. Per Herb Quady of Quady North, it's not a South vs. North mentality in the Rogue, in fact "I'm Team Oregon," he says. The Rogue Valley is a newer wine region, with more freedom and openness, with a youthful character, and presenting different opportunities. We certainly saw that in our visit with Cowhorn, with two women in their twenties as owner and winemaker (see my last post).

I also wanted to know what the signature wines of Southern Oregon are, assuming they were like Willamette Valley in this respect. It turns out that this is no signature wine, or signature grape, or even signature influence (i.e., French, Italian, Spanish, etc.). We sampled Sauvignon Blancs, Viogniers, Rieslings, Gewurtztraminers, Grenaches, Pinot Blancs, Chardonnays, Barberas, Cabernet Sauvignons, Pinot Noirs, Tempranillos, Mourvedres, Bordeaux blends, Carmeneres ... a veritable kitchen-sink of wines. 

And the wines are good ... no tasting notes to share, but I have a fairly trained palette and I know good wine when I drink it. And there is so much value wine, or bang-for-the-buck wines. Most of the wineries we visited sell direct to consumer either via Internet sales or wine club, so check them out via the links above.

I've also never seen a region that is so conscious of the environment, with the words organic, biodynamic, and sustainability on the lips of just about every owner/winemaker. The farm-to-table movement is also vibrant, with mouthwatering world-class food available. 

Southern Oregon deserves a closer look ... and possibly an extended vacation. In addition to the wineries and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, there are lakes, caves, mountain trails, and much more to see. If you do go, see below for some important links. 

Until next time,

Cheers!

Important Links:

Travel Southern Oregon: https://www.southernoregon.org/

Ashland Springs Hotel: https://www.ashlandspringshotel.com/

Rogue Valley Vintners: https://rvv.wine/

Rogue Valley Wine Country: https://roguevalleywinecountry.com/

Rogue Creamery (they have tours): https://roguecreamery.com/

Scharffenberger Chocolate: https://www.scharffenberger.com/

Oregon Shakespeare Festival: https://www.osfashland.org/

For ideas on things to do with a family: https://www.whattodoinsouthernoregon.com/

Cowhorn Vineyards of Southern Oregon: Moo-ving the Needle on Biodynamics

This year's in-person Wine Media Conference finally landed us attendees in Southern Oregon. Postponed for a year due to COVID, the annual event never fails to impress and amaze, giving us the opportunity to dive deep into a wine region ...  usually one that I've never been to. Southern Oregon gets overshadowed by the northern Willamette Valley, known primarily for its Pinot Noirs. My Oregon Pinot Camp experience in the summer of 2018 opened my eyes to these beautiful wines, as well as the Willamette's Rieslings, Chardonnays, Pinot Gris.

But Southern Oregon is a different place. Sitting between two mountain ranges, the Cascades to the east and the Coastal Range to the west, it encompasses the Rogue, Applegate, and Umpqua valleys, extending from the northern California border up to the beautiful city of Eugene, which lies in Lane County and sits in the southern tip of the Willamette Valley. 

The wines of Southern Oregon are a world of different grapes from the Northern Willamette. You'll find Rhone varieties, Spanish varieties, Italian varieties and many more. In fact, the South cannot be summed up with one grape the way its northern counterpart can. At #wmc21 we were treated to Tempranillos, Mourvedres, Viogniers, Gewurtztraminers, Marsannes, Roussannes, Syrahs, Carmeneres, Chardonnays, Sauvignon Blancs, Pinot Blancs (one of my favorites!), Grenaches, and more. Additionally, there is an enthusiastic embrace among the wineries of biodynamic, regenerative, and organic agriculture, as well as natural winemaking. Yes, orange wines are plentiful here!

Cowhorn Vineyard & Gardens

Owner Katherine "Mini" Banks (upper left)  and winemaker Sarah Thompson (bottom middle). The "little homes" for Grenache are seen in the photo on upper right.

One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden. This Biodynamic and Organic property changed ownership in April 2021, and is now owned and operated by Katherine "Mini" Banks, who put together a team of of young, energetic, forward-thinking vineyard workers. The team's enthusiastic and warm embrace of our group of wine writers was much appreciated.

Our day started with one of the most in-depth tours of a vineyard property I've had, led by Banks and winemaker Sarah Thompson. We learned about the the #500 (horn manure) and #501 (horn silica) preparations for biodynamic farming, which Banks says are the most critical for creating, maintaining, and enriching the soils in a vineyard. The #500 spray is a "tea" preparation created from the rich hummus made over the winter months in the horns of cows buried in the ground, containing nutrient-rich cow dung. This tea is spread on the vineyard soils in the spring during bud-break. The #501 spray is a silica solution made from ground up quartz and water. It's sprayed onto the vines, giving them a light-reflective coating, which helps with photosynthesis and disease prevention, among other good things.

In the vineyard, we saw "happy" vines (see photo below), or "Dr. Seuss vines," as Banks describes them. This is due to the head training favored by the vineyard, which they believe makes the vines self-sufficient as their roots need to go deeper to "ground" themselves. Thompson and team use natural sissal twine to help stabilize the vines when winds come in, which occurs daily late in the afternoon in Applegate Valley. These winds are brought in on a natural funnel off the ocean, which is about a four-hour drive away. These winds were especially helpful this summer to help blow out the fire smoke that was invading all of Southern Oregon in August, due to the horrific wildfires to the east of Cowhorn. 

Of particular interest was the "little homes" vine management project that Thompson and Banks are testing, whereby the stray vines are tucked into the main part of the plant (see image above), which they believe signals to the plants that they have enough sunlight. They will see over time if this creates more or less sunburn on the vines and how the vines will react to this system in a rainy year. I hope to revisit this issue in a couple years.

One of Cowhorn's goals is to become completely dry-farmed. They currently irrigate, and have sprinklers in the vineyards for frost mitigation. Their watering is done at long intervals, as they want the grapes to be "stressed" to be healthier. 

The vineyard also features an asparagus field, which in April through June produces about 1,000 pounds per week. The asparagus ferns are harvested after growing season and re-seeded for the following year's crop. Additionally, lavender fields attract a variety of pollinator bees, and blackberry bushes and oak trees (brought back to life since new ownership took over) round out the polyculture estate that Cowhorn is creating to reach their biodynamic, self-sustainable goals. The future goals, in order to make the property into a closed loop, is to house employees on the property and have the farm animals reside there as well. Currently the cow manure is brought in from Rogue Creamery an organic creamery nearby that produces Rogue River Blue, which was named World Champion Cheese at the 2019/2010 World Cheese Awards in Bergamo, Italy, a first for an American cheese. This was probably the best cheese I've ever eaten.

Cowhorn currently has 117 acres of vineyard area, not all of which is planted, with 90% planted to Syrah, and the remaining parcels planted to Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne, Grenache, Mourvedre, and Tempranillo. 

Asparagus ferns sway in the wind (top left); lavender fields attract pollinating bees (top right),
and happy Grenache vines reach for the sky (bottom).

The Wines ... and Lunch

The above-mentioned Rogue Creamery Blue wrapped in Cowhorn Syrah Leaves with Crips was the first course in the splendid luncheon provide by Chef Kristen Lyon of Jefferson Farm Kitchen. This luncheon was served with several Cowhorn Wines which, because of the recent change in ownership, are the offspring of the previous owners, which Banks has inherited. There will be more wines coming from new winemaker Sarah Thompson, which she says will likely have less new oak and more whole-cluster fermentation. 

(clockwise from top left): Cowhorn's 2020 Grenache Rose; Mini Banks doles out barrel samples
of the 2019 Syrah; lunch overlooking the vineyard; the barrel room.

We sampled the following wines:

2020 Grenache Rose -- tasted as beautiful as it looks in the photo above!

2014 Reserve Viognier -- luscious and lovely.

2014 Grenache -- lively, youthful, full of fruit and acid.

2020 Spiral 36, a Rhone style blend of Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne -- class Rhone white blend, crisp and fresh, with mouth-coating viscosity. $28 retail

2019 Reserve Syrah, as a barrel sample -- I see the potential for this once bottled (which was to happen August 10th, right after our visit) and aged for another year. Lovely fruit popping through.

While I did not get pricing for most of the above wines, and the Cowhorn site does not list these, I was told by Mimi that the 2019 Estate Syrah will be about $50 and the Reserve will be about $75. 

Cowhorn is a winery to watch going forward. Banks and Thompson, along with co-owner Grant Gustofson, make a dynamic team, and with Raj Parr consulting, you know good things are still to come. If you are going to Oregon, plan a visit, but be sure to make an appointment, as that's the only way to get in. Hours are listed at www.cowhornwine.com.

Important links:

www.cowhornwines.com  -- to purchase wine and make an appointment

www.roguecreamery.com -- to purchase some of the best cheese in the world!

https://roguevalleywinecountry.com -- Rogue Valley Wine Country website

https://www.southernoregon.org/ -- Travel Southern Oregon website, for other things to do and see

https://www.southernoregon.org/attraction/wine-hopper-tours/ -- to help you get around while doing your wine tours

https://www.biodynamics.com/preparations -- to learn more about biodynamic sprays and manures

Until next time,

Cheers!