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Dwelling on the Vine
Wine is sampled and sold in and around growers’ home
By Janet Eastman
Vicki Nickerson invites you to taste her estate Merlot while lounging on the elegantly furnished deck that wraps around her house. Lena Varner welcomes you to try her Sangiovese on her lushly landscaped backyard patio. And Laura Lotspeich extends her hospitality to serving her Cabernet on a terrace off her living room that frames views of vineyards and hills.
Can wine tasting get any homier than this?
More vineyard owners and small-lot producers are opening parts of their residence to sell their estate wine. But how do you discover these domestic tasting patios or decks, often hidden off country roads? Some don’t have signs pointing the way. Most are too small to advertise.
To make it easier for wine explorers, eight boutique wineries along Hwy. 99 in the Rogue Valley have joined forces to spread the word that they are open for business.
Nickerson of Aurora Vines, Varner of Ledger David Cellars and Lotspeich of Trium Wines are part of the Bear Creek Boutique Wineries, a collection of home-based operations that have been approved by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to serve tastings and sell wine made from their grapes and bottled with their wineries’ label.
Within a 15-minute car drive of Ashland, there are two leisurely days’ worth of wine tasting and talking with hands-on growers who sell much of their fruit to larger producers, but retain enough to make 500 to 3,000 cases a year.
Even though they share the warm, dry Bear Creek Valley, different microclimates and elevations allow for even ripening of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Tempranillo, Viognier and other varietals. New winery Ledger David is growing 11 varietals on three-year old vines, including Chenin Blanc and Malvasia Bianca.
Donna Tenuta, whose Paschal/Tenuta Winery vineyard was first planted in 1990, is happy to help newcomers. “It’s always nice to send our tasting room visitors up the road to see and taste something else,” says Tenuta. “Since we all live so close, it’s in our vested interest to grow this area and it’s beneficial for us to help the new people get exposure and help them grow bigger so they can then refer their visitors to us.”
This October, the group is planning joint harvest celebrations in which the public will be invited. Where the parties take place will be as distinctive as the wines.
Of the Bear Creek Boutique Wineries, five – Grizzly Peak Winery, Paschal/Tenuta, Trium, Pebblestone Cellars and Weisinger’s of Ashland – have well-established tasting rooms separate from the landowners’ nearby homes.
The owners of Aurora and Ledger David can point to where their tasting room will be built on their property. And StoneRiver Vineyard is somewhere in between: Paul and Virginia Lange converted an existing fruit market near their vineyard into a tasting room.
Pat Ellis of Pebblestone says that before she and her husband Dick opened a freestanding tasting room on their Medford property last September, strangers would knock on their home front door and ask if they were pouring samples.
Lotspeich says most people are respectful of the homeowners’ privacy and appreciate when they are invited. The tasting experienced offered in someone’s living space, they find, is different from one at larger wineries with completely standalone businesses.
“In some ways, it’s a step back in time when wineries were connected closely to the person doing all the work and making all the wine,” says Lotspeich. “At the same time, it’s a step forward to let more people experience sustainable farming and the lifestyle of raising our families where we farm.”
Sometimes, however, visitors want to settle in and stay past closing time. “They say to me, ‘You live here, so it’s not like you have to lock up and go home,’” says Lotspeich, who graciously reminds them that, yes, she does.
Overall, however, she’s happy with the idea of welcoming complete strangers to her home.
“It’s both an affordable and reasonable way to provide tastings and to really share our vision and experience in the wine industry with the public,” she says. “We live here, we get to see the view and enjoy the sunset, and we get to share this with others.”
Bear Creek Boutique Wineries
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Janet Eastman is an Ashland-based journalist who covers Southern Oregon wine for www.examiner.com and other media.
COMPLETE LIST of Bear Creek Boutique Wineries
ASHLAND
1600 E. Nevada St., Ashland, (541) 482-5700, www.GrizzlyPeakWinery.com
Wines crafted with Old World finesse in a hillside setting are offered Thursday to Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
3150 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, (541) 488-5989, www.Weisingers.com
The first vines were planted in 1978-79. Wine, hospitality and views have kept visitors returning year after year to this tasting room with a large deck, open May through October from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
MEDFORD
1642 Camp Baker Road, Medford, (541) 512-1704, www.PebblestoneCellars.com Pebblestone Cellars is a 26-acre property on an ancient riverbed of sandy, rocky soil. Estate-grown wines are Rhone and Bordeaux varietals. Hours: May through October, Thursday to Monday from noon to 5 p.m.
TALENT
Aurora Vines
2275 Pioneer Road, Talent, (541) 535-5287 no website
Located on an 87-acre mountain estate, the tasting room, open by appointment made one day in advance, offers Bordeaux-style Merlots.
925 Anderson Creek Road, Talent , (541) 512-1808, www.LedgerDavid.com
This winery, in a century-old orchard, offers 11 varietals of estate wines. The tasting room opens in the summer of 2012 but can be previewed with an advance call and during special events.
Paschal/Tenuta Winery
1122 Sun Crest Road, Talent, (541) 535-7957, www.PaschalWinery.com
The Tuscan-like winery makes small-lot blends and Estate Pinot Noir. Open May through October daily from noon to 7 p.m.
7112 Rapp Lane, Talent, (541) 535-4015, www.TriumWines.com
Pours of Bordeaux Growers Cuvee, Cab and Viognier are offered in the tasting room April through October daily from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
2178 Pioneer Road, Talent, (541) 535-4661, www.StoneRiverVineyard.com
On historic Brookbank Farms, one of Oregon’s earliest registered farms, StoneRiver is open Thursday to Monday from noon to 5 p.m.
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