Treehouse in O'Brien

A few years ago, a new winery took over the big red barn of Bridgeview in the Applegate.  We have been meaning to check it out, but so far had not had the chance. We did hear they had another one outside Grants Pass and we filled it for future reference.

A few weeks ago, Jill mentioned the Treehouse tasting room. I had no idea who or where it was. Then by happenstance, I was having a conversation with someone at work and it came up, they said, "oh, you mean Augustino Estate."  
I finally put two and two together and Jill and I made a trip out to O'Brien to check it out.

Yup, it is indeed a treehouse.  And, it is right on the West Fork of the Applegate River, with a gorgeous view of the Siskiyous Mountains.  It is a beautiful setting, even with the day's scattered clouds and showers.

We were greeted at the door by Rascal the Raccoon (more on him later). And we entered into a cozy, western themed tasting room, complete with swinging saloon doors, saddle chairs, elk antler fixtures and the owner Debbie who was more than happy to pour and share her story.

Debbie and Reggie have operated the Rocking R Ranch for 28 years, raising cattle and hay and also maintaining a vineyard for outside sales. In 2011, they decided that they should have their own winery and they started to stockpile some grapes for that eventual move.  Their nephew, who has lived on the ranch since he was 8 years old (he is now 24), now runs both vineyards.  Greg Paneitz (Wooldridge Creek) is their primary winemaker, with a host of other accomplished area winemakers contributing.

They have estate grown Pinot noir and Reislings. The vineyard receives the nice marine weather, with cool nights and not overly hot days; perfect growing conditions for those particular grapes. Debbie said every afternoon, they get a nice, cooling wind blowing up through the valley from the coast.  Their other grapes are sourced throughout the valley and they still contract some of their grapes off to other producers.

While the wines are outstanding, the first thing that immediately grabs your attention is the actual treehouse.  It was opened (along with the Big Red Barn) in 2017.  The family built the treehouse with help from the DIY Network's The Treehouse Guys, featured in the "O'Brien Oregon" episode and the "Godfather of Treehouses, Michael Garnier, from nearby Takilma and Treesort who was the specialist/engineer of the project.  While the tasting room is on living, growing trees, they have not had any issues with the safety or integrity of the building. It was built on seismic rollers to allow for movement of the trees, wind, etc. It is an engineering marvel. 

Ok, now on to the wines. Although they have only been producing for a number of years, they are already receiving accolades for their outstanding wines. We started off with the Angelina, a dry Syrah/Malbec rose with 0 residual sugar (RS). This is sure to be a great summertime refresher! We next tried their Pinot Grigio (nice acidity and fruit) and a Chardonnay (Jill's favorite).  They also have a Rock N Red, a Cab/Merlot/Syrah blend. The Cab gives this wine great structure and firm tannins and is sure to age wonderfully (as will their single varietal Cab).  
We were treated to my favorite of the day, the 2016 Tempranillo which won Double Gold at the prestigious San Francisco Chronical Wine Competition.  (The wine also won gold at the New Orleans International and was poured at the New Orleans Four Tops in November 2018.) The 2015 Pinot noir also took home gold at the SF competition. Overall they had quite the haul, they entered five wines and won five awards - 2017 Pinot Grigio won silver. 2016 Pinot Noir won Silver. “Caramella” Dessert wine won Silver.  In 2018 the 2014 Syrah has won Best in Class at the 2018 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition as well.  Not bad for a relatively new winery!!!  
We finished off the tasting with the Augustino Celebration (Semi Sparkling) which would be fabulous with blue cheese and the 2015 Pinot Noir Port “Caramella” Dessert Wine, which as a Pinot Port-style wine is less viscous than your average tawny Port and paired great with the dark chocolate. The Caramella offers a delicate acidity to offset the luscious creaminess of the chocolate. (YUM!)

After tasting, we wandered the deck overlooking the property and had to ask about the raccoon mascot at the front door. Debbie explained that it was a menace that terrorized the property for years, opening containers, throwing things in the pond and being a general nuisance. Apparently, he eventually succumbed to a passing vehicle and one of the hands is a hobby taxidermist and preserved him as the tasting room mascot. His name is Rascal and he keeps diligent watch over the tasting room and guests. And he looks quite dapper in his bowtie.

We eventually retired to the seats by the fireplace for a glass of wine. The stones behind the stove came from their old bunkhouse (the ranch has been working since the 1800s) and the stove is a left-over from the 1930s. It is still working great we can attest, it was warm and cozy in the tasting room.

All in all, it was a great day. We enjoyed tasty wines, heard a great story and have a place this summer to come out to and escape the heat.

         Time to step in the way back machine.

Jill and I love to go out to Jacksonville, do a little shopping, some noshing, wine tasting in the surrounding areas. Back in 2011-2012, we enjoyed visiting Corks Wine Bar in town. Fred, Carol, Tracy and Ken were always hospitable and featured great wines.


Well, this day we popped into Corks and Jill felt like a Chardonnay. The only one they had on hand was one we had never heard about - 2010 Schultz Homeward Chardonnay. As we were unfamiliar with it, Ken informed us that it was a new winery and they had just won Best Chardonnay at the annual World of Wine Fest (more on that later). Jill trusted Ken's recommendation and gave it a whirl and absolutely loved it. We were blown away that an absolute newcomer could come this far, this fast.  We were able to find the wine in our travels, but they did not have a tasting room for us to explore.


Fast forward to this weekend and I had learned that they had opened their tasting room and we decided to go for it. We headed out to the Applegate Valley and found the former cattle ranch, now Schultz Glory Oaks® Vineyard, on Slagle Creek Road.

  

Upon arriving, we found an unpretentious tasting room with one group and the two owners, Debbie and Greg, in attendance.  

Greg greeted us at the door with genteel southern charm and invited us in.  Greg had a soft Louisiana accent, having spent a good amount of time there. I inquired about the accent and how he came to be a winery in Southern Oregon.  He explained that he was actually born in Oregon and his wife, Debbie, was born in Oklahoma.  They had decided that they wanted to go into the wine business, took some classes at LSU (Geaux Tigers), and then moved on to Cal-Davis for the Winemaking Certificate Program. As to Southern Oregon, they had no real connection to Washington or California, and as Greg was from Oregon, they found the Rogue Valley appealing. They liked the geography, geology and climate and after 7 years, they are loving it! I shared with him the story of our first exposure to his wine and he said, Fred's place, Corks! He explained that they named that wine Homeward to represent Greg's coming home to Oregon.

Greg went over the current plantings and plans for this year (more Bordeaux varietals being planted) and said that Linda Donovan at Pallet Wine Co. is still producing his wines.  The vineyard was designed to have a low-impact and sustainable approach to the land, they have their LIVE certification and they have a huge commitment to proper land stewardship.


They have a 60-acre site and produce approximately 700 cases per year, representing 8 varietals. They are taking a careful, measured approach, which fits their overall outlook and personalities.

 

They use native yeasts, utilize malolactic fermentations, do not filter and minimally handle the wine, and leave many of their wines on the lees in neutral oak barrels for a wonderful mouthfeel and flavor profile. Their wines exhibit a great sense of place, terroir.


Tastings are casual, they have about 7 wines available and you can taste any 5 for $5. Jill and I, as usual, varied slightly, but both thoroughly enjoyed the Viognier, Merlot and the Tempranillo Rose` (the Rose` is sure to be a major hit this summer). Of course, Jill still loves the Homeward Chardonnay. 😋





Greg and Debbie were wonderful hosts and we met some locals from Grants Pass who were great fun. Joe and Debbie have a Contemporary & Classic Rock Music duo called Ellipse and they play at local wineries. Joe is from Argentina and has some great stories and they both have wonderful, engaging personalities. We cannot wait to see them play (next is Friday April 6, 2018 - 5:00 to 8:00 pm, Schmidt Family Vineyards).

We are looking forward to returning and tasting more of their wines and seeing the new plantings grow and mature.  Oh! I promised more on that first vintage Chardonnay at the World of Wine... the story goes that not only did the Homeward Chard win Best Chardonnay, it was also one of two contenders for the Best of Show, ultimately won by JoePa at Plaisance Ranch for their 2010 Ginet Rose` (Plaisance will be another story so you will have to wait on that one!)


I will be blogging again as we begin to go tasting this spring, so please be on the lookout for new entries. I hope you enjoy our adventures and discover some of the wonderful wines (and stories) Southern Oregon has to offer. 

                                                                 CHEERS!