Parks UnCorked

 Parks Uncorked will return for the fourth year at the Santo Community Center in West Medford. 95% of the ticket sales, auctions and donations are used to provide scholarships for area youth to participate in Parks & Recreation programming. The 2010 event raised $15,000 and provided for 300 youth to participate in recreation and enrichment experiences, many for the first time. The event includes wine tasting, catered hors d'oeuvres by Rosario's, music, silent auction, and a live auction. This year Del Rio Vineyards, EdenVale Winery, God King Slave Wines, Foris Vineyards, Henry Estate Winery, Pebblestone Cellars and a dozen other wine and beer producers will be pouring their support. A special thanks to Oregon Wine Geeks for their help in organizing this event.

This years event will be held on: 
Friday, September 30, 2011 6:00pm
Tickets available NOW!

Cost: 
$20 per person, includes wine glass, 
tastings, food, music and fun

Location:
Santo Community Center Gymnasium
701 N. Columbus Ave.

For more information you can call:
(541) 774-2400 

Celebrate Harvest this October!

The busiest, most beautiful time of year is upon us in the local wineries and vineyards. Though it has been a challenging year from a weather perspective to ripen the fruit, the eventual grape harvest is always a time of great celebration. Get involved by joining in on these fun-filled events.

Grape Stomping!
courtesy of adventureswithben.com

October 1st - Celebrate the season at Troon Vineyard's annual Harvest Party from 1-4 pm. The day will be filled with wine tasting, food, live music by LEFT, grape stomping, vineyard tours, pumpkin carving and other Fall festivities. Troon will also be releasing its 2010 Druid's Fluid Red at the best price of the season! This event is complimentary (standard tasting fees apply) and family-friendly. www.troonvineyard.com

October 1st & 2nd - Bear Creek Boutique Wineries will host their first annual Wine and Vine Event from 12-5 pm. All eight wineries will share samples from their wine barrels and vineyards. www.bearcreekboutiquewineries.com

October 8th - The Upper Rogue Wine Trail continues their complimentary 2nd Saturday event with a Harvest theme. Come participate and learn about the process from 11 am - 5 pm at the six participating wineries. www.upperroguewinetrail.com

October 29th - Do you have want it takes to survive a Crush? Join the Crush Crew at Troon Vineyard for their annual Harvest Bootcamp. Spend a half day picking, sorting, pressing, cleaning (otherwise, under the complete control of Winemaker, Herb Quady. If you make it out alive you will be rewarded by a specially prepared lunch by Chef Tim Keller. $30/person. Reserve your spot today by calling 541.846.9900. www.troonvineyard.com

Ongoing- Thru the month of October, Abacela will be hosting winery tours. Schedule yours by calling in advance or by inquiring at the bar upon arrival. It is a great time to tour the vineyard and winery because they will be "knee-deep" in grapes! www.abacela.com

photo by Lynn Ketchum

Del Rio Vineyard Supports Breast Cancer by "Drinking Pink"

Del Rio Vineyards is excited to announce our efforts to contribute to raising breast cancer awareness. For the month of October Del Rio Vineyards will be offering as special six bottle bundle of Rose Jolee for $65.00. For each bundle sold Del Rio Vineyards will donate $5.00 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

The Rose Jolee is a semi sparkling Early Muscat. The wine is delightfully pink, with a fragrance of honeysuckle and roses, this delicately sweet wine is the perfect partner for summertime fun! Aromas leap out of the glass in an explosion of peach and tangerine.  The flavors of citrus balance well with the aromas and, a slight spritz completes this fun wine.  

The Rose Jolee has been a signature wine at Del Rio with its fanciful name meaning “pretty pink” in French. With a slight twist in spelling from the French version Jolie to Jolee, the name is shared by Del Rio Vineyard owner Jolee Wallace.

Bundles are available for purchase at the tasting room located in Gold Hill or on online at www.delriovineyards.com. 

Downfall of a Cult California Winery

For those who work in the wine biz, this is a must watch.

Warning: May be seen as offensive, but it is just meant as a joke. 

Grants Pass Wine Stroll this Saturday

via tracypress.com

Come stroll down the wonderful streets of Downtown Grants Pass while enjoying interesting shops, tasting delectable wines, wonderful food and great art with your friends and family this Saturday from 3-6 pm. The TCA Wine Strolls have become very popular downtown events with a handful of Southern Oregon wineries participating.

Tickets are $25.00 in advance, $30.00 the day of the event and are on sale now at:

UMPQUA Bank, F Street Branch
The Bead Merchant, 300 SW 6th Street
Blind George's Newsstand, 117 SW G Street

Pyrenees Vineyards Ask Listeners to Design the Label or New Wine

Leading radio content provider CRN Digital Talk Radio and Pyrenees Vineyards and Cellars are joining together to ask listeners to design the label of CRN’s first ever wine release.

“We are extremely thrilled at the listener response to our ‘Name the Wine’ contest for our first wine release so now we are asking listeners to get creative again and design our new label,” said Michael Horn, CEO and founder of CRN.

Last month, listener Suzanne Wright of Sebastopol, Calif. won the “Name the Wine Contest,” with the name “CRN’s Smooth Talker Bordeaux.”

The new wine will be a traditional Bordeaux blend which includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc exclusively created by the wine experts at Pyrenees Vineyards in Oregon’s Umpqua Valley.

“It’s always very exciting to debut a new wine, so we’re looking forward to what CRN’s listeners will come up with for this brand new label ,” said Andrew Apodaca, general manager of Pyrenees Vineyards and Cellars producer of the wine and contest co-sponsor.

The contest, set to begin on Sept. 1, will give the winner a case of the new wine, as well as a framed copy of the wine label and a guest spot on “What’s Cookin’ On Wine: Oregon Report” radio program. The contest closes on Sept. 12 with the winner to be announced on the Sept. 22 show.

Everyone 21 and over is eligible to enter the contest by logging into Facebook at www.facebook.com/CRNTalk or by visiting www.CRNTalk.com. All entries should be submitted to info@CRNi.net.

All submissions must be the size of a wine label, include appropriate material for a wine label, and incorporate the CRN and Pyrenees logos, talk radio themes or something that illustrates CRN’s Smooth Talker name. It must also represent a Bordeaux blend incorporating Cabernet, Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

“What’s Cookin’ on Wine: Oregon Report,” features the latest news on wine, winemaking and related topics in Oregon’s rich winemaking region, featuring Pyrenees Vineyards’ Andrew Apodaca. It airs Thursdays from 6 to 7 p.m. on CRN and its affiliates around the country. It’s also available online, live and on demand at www.crntalk.com.

The CRN wine will be available through Pyrenees Vineyards this fall.

Celebrate Local this Week: God King Slave Wines at 38 Central

Eat Local Week is upon us and God King Slave Wines will be teaming up with 38 Central this Friday, Sept 16th from 5-7ish to celebrate. Come stroll around downtown Medford for the Third Friday Art Walk, then come to 38 Central, one of the best local restaurants that highly supports local wine, for a complimentary taste of the Rogue Valley produced Syrah-Tempranillo blend. The wine will be for sale by-the-glass and bottle, paired with incredible food specials, and enjoyed with live music.

You can't get more local than this!

Del Rio Vineyard Hikes

courtesy of Del Rio Vineyard's blog

This month Del Rio Vineyards is offering complimentary guided hikes throughout their sprawling vineyard. The hike takes you through their 205 acres of vines providing a spectacular view. It also offers the chance to sample the fifteen different grape varietals as they ripen for harvest.

Sundays @ 9:30 am

9/25/2011

Wednesdays @ 9:30 am 

9/14/2011

9/21/2011

9/28/2011

Things to Note: 

• Bring comfortable shoes and a water bottle as they will be traversing over rolling hills. 

• Meet promptly in the tasting room parking lot

Troon Draws New Lines In The Southern Oregon Soil

Troon Vineyard is the topic of the current Feature Story on OregonWine.com: 

-- New Varietals, New Emphasis on Food and Hospitality for Applegate Valley Winery --

By Jim Gullo

“We don’t come from the same upbringing,” Chris Martin, the proprietor of Troon Vineyard is saying one recent morning, not only about his winery but about the entire region south of Eugene that is collectively lumped together as Southern Oregon by most wine publications (including this one). He’s pointing out that things are different from the Pinot-producers of the north, with their world-renowned conferences and elbow-rubbing with Burgundians and, well, traffic. Whereas the Willamette Valley has the whole city of Portland to draw from, Martin points out that where he stands is just about as close to San Francisco as it is to the Rose City…and neither one is exactly close enough for a quick, afternoon wine-tasting jaunt. “We don’t have the same varietals. And 98% of us don’t have distribution.” Which means that you mostly have to beat a path to Martin’s door to drink his wines, and he’s making that path smoother with each passing year... 

Click here to read the full story PLUS tasting notes on four of Troon's wines.

9 Good Reasons to Shop Locally Owned Business

This weeks is Eat Local Week here in the Rogue Valley. Sponsored by Thrive, Eat Local Week is a fun-filled week celebrating the delicious bounty of locally-grown food in the Rogue Valley. You can participate in a number of ways, by dining at these restaurants that source and support local farmers, plunging into the Eat Local Challenge, attending the Rogue Valley Farm Tour or Rogue Flavor Dinner and of course visiting your local wineries!

Nine Good Reasons to Shop at Locally Owned Businesses

When you spend a dollar locally, it multiplies Locally owned businesses tend to do business with other locally owned businesses and aren’t constrained to buy only from a national distributor. They bank with local banks, advertise in local newspapers and purchase local services such as accounting and printing. Each time a dollar is re-spent in the local economy, it’s like new income – creating a “multiplier effect” - rather than this money “leaking out” through remote corporate headquarters and centralized purchasing departments. Community ownership Local business owners live and invest in their community. This makes them less likely to leave and more likely to be invested in how their business decisions affect the community. A more stable economy An economy composed of many small, locally owned businesses is more stable and often more prosperous over the long-term than one dependent on a handful of absentee-owned companies. Local ownership ensures that businesses are firmly rooted in the community. They are unlikely to move and will do their best to weather economic hard times. Because there are so many of them, the failure of any one will have only a minor impact on the local economy. Job creation Small, locally-owned businesses provide the largest share of net new jobs generated each year and also provide the most stable employment opportunities in a community. Local owners are local contributors Research has shown that small local businesses make indispensable contributions to communities and neighborhoods. A study of charitable giving in Oregon showed that when in-kind contributions were included, small firms gave an average of $789 per employee, medium sized firms $172, and large firms $334. (NFIB Small Business Policy Guide) Additionally, large firms contribute primarily to the area where the corporation is headquartered, not necessarily where they do business. Maintain uniqueness Our one-of-a-kind Buy Local- Buy Rogue businesses are an integral part of our distinctive regional character. The unique character our valley is what brought us here and will keep us here and keep visitors coming back. A local economy of diverse, unique businesses also attracts today's skilled workers and investors who can choose to settle and grow businesses anywhere. Customer service is better Local businesses often hire people with more specific product expertise for better customer service. Competition and diversity leads to more choices A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices. Reduced environmental impact Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases requiring less transportation and generally set up shop in town or city centers as opposed to developing on the fringe. This means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.

Hang out with winemakers at C Street Bistro

Read Medford Wine Examiner, Janet Eastman's latest article from The Jacksonville Review. 


Hangout with winemakers at C Street Bistro

Chef Mike & Chef Paul
credit: Janet Eastman

Winemakers have to eat, too. And when these pros with well-trained palates are hungry, they know how to sniff out the best restaurants.

Something bland, something boring, something “off” triggers a snarl in them faster than a cranky teenager separated from her cellphone. On the flipside, if a dish is intoxicatingly fresh and precisely paired with other thrilling tastes, wham-o! Winemakers are happy.

Lean in closely and I’ll reveal a new place where Applegate Valley vintners go when they don’t feel like cooking: C Street Bistro.

... READ FULL ARTICLE

Optimistic Harvest Outlook

I'm an optimist, and apparently so is Pat Spangler of Spangler Vineyards in his recent interview with Wine Press Northwest:

Thursday, Sep. 01, 2011

Umpqua Valley grapes look better than 2010

By Eric Degerman, Wine Press Northwest

ROSEBURG, Ore. -- While folks in the Willamette Valley are even less than optimistic about this year's vintage than that of 2010, the news coming out of Southern Oregon isn't nearly as dire.

Patrick Spangler, of Spangler Vineyards in Roseburg, supplied the following report on Aug. 31 from the Umpqua Valley:

"We started veraison late last week, and now are starting to show color through most of the vineyard. Keep in mind, this is Cab Sauv I'm talking about. That only leaves us around 12 days behind the 10-year average here at my vineyard, and a few days AHEAD of last year.

"I think folks are getting way ahead of themselves predicting a bad year," he continued. "If we simply get decent weather the rest of the way (they continue to forecast slightly warmer and drier), Southern Oregon will not have a problem."

Spangler concluded, "In fact, if it is dry throughout October, it could turn out to be a great year."

- - - 

By now nearly all Southern Oregon vineyards have seen their first purple berries. This change of color, also known as verasion, signals the onset of ripening. This is the most beautiful time of year in the vineyard. From veraison, we can estimate 60-90 days until Harvest, which lands us somewhere in mid-late October. Let's hope for a long, dry Fall!

Verasion at Troon Vineyard in the Applegate Valley

Umpqua CC gets $1.25M federal grant for wine incubator

From Wine Press Northwest news services

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Acting U.S. Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank today announced a $1.25 million U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant to Umpqua Community College of Roseburg, Ore., to build a small business incubator to support the viticulture sector.

The project is expected to create as many as 500 jobs per year in southern Oregon, according to projections developed by Chris Lake, director of the Southern Oregon Wine Institute at UCC.

"It is a great way to begin the school year," Lake told Wine Press Northwest.

Funds will allow Lake to purchase equipment for clients to make wine in the Danny Lang Center.

"The Obama Administration is committed to creating jobs, encouraging innovation and improving our nation’s economic competitiveness," Blank said in a news release. "This EDA-funded project will help bring high-quality jobs and economic growth to the region by fueling the growth of the Roseburg viticulture industry."

Oregon’s southern region has experienced a high rate of unemployment, but the wine industry has provided a boost to the economy.

In July, the Oregon Wine Board made public a study which indicates wine has become a $2.7 billion industry for the state. That report, developed by Full Glass Research in Berkeley, Calif., showed a nearly 50 percent increase since 2005.