StoneRiver Winery

Talk about off the beaten (wine) path, StoneRiver Winery is hidden away on Pioneer Road in Talent.  The one time Brookbank Farms, the oldest, registered farm in the area, was registered in 1914 and was a heritage pear orchard. Up until 2001 is was still a working orchard that sold fruit to the public from an antique barn.  

Now, that same barn has been converted into their tasting room, but it still retains that historic, old-timey feeling.  The walls are finished with recycled wood from the orchard. The interior walls are made from wood that once was old water troughs. The bar is festooned with wine bottle lights and the tasting room has a few items from days gone by - there is an old jukebox filled with classic tunes from the 50s & 60s, a free regulation shuffle board table and an upright piano.

  

 

The owners, Paul and Virginia Lange, bought the orchard over 28 years ago and shifted their emphasis to 30 acres of wine grapes in 2001. They had been selling most of their grapes to other wineries but now are producing Syrah, Merlot, Grenache, Temparnillo, Mourvedre, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Viognier, and Pinot Gris. 

We had a chance to sample a few and really enjoyed the 2003 Merlot which exhibited dark fruit and nice, smooth grain tannins and a fruity, spicy 2003 Syrah. The wines show great promise with excellent fruit and made by a true local artisan, Velocity Cellars Winemaker Gus Janeway. In addition to their own wines, they do offer samples of their neighbor, Aurora Wines (more on them in a future post).

The StoneRiver name comes from the old river that ran through where the vineyard is now; leaving fertile soil and an abundance of river rocks in its place. How can grapes not love such a setting. We know we can't, we had a great time, playing tunes, drinking a glass of the merlot and goofing around on the shuffleboard table. We look forward to going back soon and discovering what new, or old, surprises await us.

If you are looking for a place, a bit off the beaten path, where you and friends can enjoy wine and each other's company in a quiet, rustic setting - head over to StoneRiver.

CHEERS!

Directions to StoneRiver, 2178 Pioneer Rd, Talent, OR ‎

Rosella Vineyard & Winery and others...

This weekend saw us revisiting many of our favorite haunts.  On Friday, we went to Dunbar Farms/Rocky Knoll Vineyards to checkout out their Belgian Draft horses, Bonnie & Clyde, they are using to cultivate their land. While there, we also enjoyed a nice glass of Rocky Knoll Dunbar Red, a very nice, easy to drink Cab Sauv, Cab franc & Merlot blend.

Afterward we went to to RoxyAnn for Friday night music where we were treated to TC & the Reactions rocking the house. Catch these guys, they are a vary talented band that performs "Power Rhythm & Blues". We enjoyed the RoxyAnn Viognier, always a tasty and refreshing wine on a hot summer eve, and got to share in some bubbly (not sure what we were drinking at that point, too busy dancing and visiting with the old gang).

On Saturday, we were off to the beautiful Applegate Valley. Local legend has it that there are more airline pilots per capita living there than anywhere on the west coast. Apparently, when flying from San Francisco to Portland and Seattle, there is always a break in the clouds over this little valley, revealing an amazing view from above. Upon visiting you can experience it yourself; the weather is beautiful, they have more blue sky days than the Rogue Valley and it is a gorgeous valley, unspoiled by development and "progress". It is also home to a growing number of excellent wineries. One can make a day of visiting the various tasting rooms, each with their own, unique story.  We spend a lot of time out there, as the in-laws are Applegate residents, so you will be hearing more about the Applegate in the future.

We enjoyed the day with the in-laws (out-laws?!) and ended up at Rosellas Vineyard and Winery.  Rex and Sandi Garoutte opened it back in 1998, concentrating on making quality wine from self-grown fruit.  They currently grow Cab Sauv, Merlot, Chardonnay, Zin and Syrah.  They produce nice, smooth wines with great fruit and low tannins. Rex achieves great balance with his wines and are always quite tasty.

I absolutely love going to Rosellas, it is the most unadorned, unassuming tasting room, very intimate... it must be 12' x 15' inside, but  Rex and Sandi have such effusive personalities, it feels much larger.  It may be small, but it is not lacking in the fun factor. Especially when Rex is holding court. He is a kick with a wealth of knowledge about grapes, farming, wine and the Applegate.

On this particular trip, we got to revisit his Merlot Blush. Wow, we loved it, it possesses great fruit, just a touch of sweetness and bright acidity with a light strawberry color. Rex has been kegging this wine for sale at the Britt Festival and was a huge hit last year!  His Cab Sauv is coming along great, the vines have been in the ground long enough that they are now well established and showing off some of the terroir of the property. Rex had a new wine, a sherry called Wai Kula "Liquid Gold", a fortified white blend. Amber in color, it shows nut and vanilla with spicy notes. It will make a great aperitif or as a special treat with some chocolate at the end of the evening. Rex called drinking the the Wai Kula, "running with scissors", meaning it is dnagerous- goes down easy and packs a bit of a wallop! Rex did assure us we can open it, put the cork back and forget about it, no hurry to finish this bottle, savor and enjoy!

We thank Rex and Sandy for their hospitality and friendship; do not miss this winery when you venture out to the Applegate. You will not be disappointed.

We will be back on the wine trail in coming weeks and we will share with you. Until then...

CHEERS!

QUADY NORTH

We recently popped into Quady North in Jacksonville. What a fun, funky little place. From the outside, it looks like the typical turn-of-the-century building in J'Ville. Inside, it is an intimate room with whitewashed walls, modern, colorful furniture and a cool, breezy air about it. The first thing I learned- it is pronounced Qwah-Dee, not Qwāy-Dee, as I've always thought.

Jeannie took us through a tasting, I was particularly fond of the 2011 Rose`, a Syrah/Granache blend that epitomizes the “new style” of American Rose`s- clean, dry with a great nose and supple acidity. In other words, a perfect summer wine.

I got chatting with a wonderful couple from McMinnville who told us of a guy up there making oak stave furniture (from used wine barrels), in particular, an Adirondack chair that had notched arms for wine glasses- brilliant! This let to a story that owners Herb & Melanie Quady had a baby last year and had received a cradle made from a wine barrel. Wow, talk about starting them young. Future winemaker there, or at least an aficionado.

Speaking of children, Herb makes a great Syrah called 4-2,A, a term created by his daughter. Little Margaux was blending juice and water and called her concoction 4-2-A, or fourtooay (she thought of chardonnay, Cabernet, Viognier). If not winemaking, she has a bright future in marketing.

One last trick I learned- if using a wine barrel as a planter, put plastic gallon jugs on the bottom as fill to make the planter lighter. This still gives you plenty of soil. I wish I thought of that before I planted my tomatoes. But, luckily my ½ barrel is on castors, so I can roll it into the sun for best exposure.