Watching the horizon while pouring an exceptional Claret

By Janet Eastman

MICHAEL Donovan has climbed up what looks like a lifeguard tower to survey the acres of Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc used to make RoxyAnn’s award-winning wines. From his vantage point, the winery’s managing director can see the recent changes made in the grapes that are grown and the way they are nurtured to improve the taste of the finished product. Donovan predicts that this harvest will produce RoxyAnn’s best vintage.

RoxyAnn has always done well with its wines. It has a loyal wine club membership that hovers around 1,000. But in 2006, the winery’s decision makers came to a halt at an informal barrel tasting where Southern Oregon grape growers and winemakers gathered to see what everyone was sitting on. Donovan and other RoxyAnners sipped wines that were better than their own.

“We are our toughest critics,” Donovan said while driving Friday through RoxyAnn’s vineyards, which are part of the 250-acre Hillcrest Orchard in Medford. “At that tasting, we realized we were not the best. So afterward, we asked ourselves, ‘What are we not doing right?’”

The event set them off on a mission to improve the quality of their grapes and better control the winemaking process. Vineyard management specialists Matt Novak of Results Partners in McMinnville and Martin Mochizuki of Napa were called in to bring a north and south approach to winemaking. They joined forces with Vineyard Supervisor Randy Gold, Hillcrest Orchard Farm Manager Terry Light and new RoxyAnn Winemaker John Quinones and got to work. Their job was to implement more timely irrigation and weed control as well as replace clones and rootstocks with more promising ones and bring a uniform order to the 75 planted acres of vineyards (the oldest vines were planted in 1997).

The results of those renovations are now noticeable. One outcome of the improved vineyard management: Yields have increased. Donovan expects the Merlot harvest to be double last year’s. And he says everyone should be able to taste the changes when the 2007 Claret is released in two weeks. “You will notice that we have turned up the volume on the flavor profile,” he says.

Continuing his drive through the farm, he passes vineyard rows that will soon be grafted over to Pinot Noir grapes. “We believe Oregon can grow two styles of excellent Pinot Noirs. The Willamette Valley’s Pinot Noir is noted for its elegant, more Burgundian style. We believe Southern Oregon’s warmer climate will produce Pinot Noir that is powerful and ultra-ripe, yet smooth and elegantly balanced.”

Donovan speaks optimistically about what Southern Oregon can deliver and realistically about what is needed. “I have a lot of faith in this terroir. As a region, we need to grow better grapes and make better wine. This will take money, time and experience plus require us to learn from others who have succeeded. But Southern Oregon holds unlimited potential as a winegrowing region.”

He stops his truck at a block of Syrah, now in its third leaf. “These have been lovingly taken care of, hedged, tucked…” his voice trails off.

Two weeks ago, RoxyAnn made another significant change: It is now in charge of the vineyards at Hillcrest Orchard, which the Parsons family has owned since 1908. The property, which also grows apples, peaches and pears, is one of Oregon’s largest and most complex farms that’s a member of the certified sustainable agriculture program LIVE (Low Input Viticulture and Enology).

Leasing the land is risky, says Donovan, but it also means that the winery has full control over its vineyards and the resulting wine.

And like that lifeguard in the tower, Michael Donovan, RoxyAnn Founder and C.E.O. Jack Day and the RoxyAnn team are monitoring the scene very closely.

For more info: RoxyAnn Winery, 3285 Hillcrest Road, Medford, OR, (541) 776-2315, www.roxyann.com