Great Wines in the Rogue River Valley AVA
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Oregon’s Rogue River Valley AVA consistently produces some amazing wines. Read on for our recommendations on sampling wines in the Rogue River Valley.
Over the last year, the Rogue River Valley AVA has been getting some great wine reviews. Last year, the region placed second behind Italy as the best wine region to visit. My husband Steve and I decided to spend four days near Medford, Oregon, to check out the local wines.
We thoroughly enjoyed our wine tasting without worrying about driving because we were professionally escorted each day by either Bravo Outings with Tracy or Main Street Tours with Nathan. Not only were we chauffeured, but we received a fabulous education about the area from both drivers. Our wine stops included Del Rio Vineyard Estate, Hummingbird Estate, Kriselle Cellars, Bayer Family Estate, Padigan, Irvine & Roberts Vineyards, and Troon Vineyard. Read on for more of the great wines in the Rogue River Valley AVA.
The Location of the Rogue River Valley AVA
The Rogue River Valley AVA begins approximately 75 miles from the Oregon coast and 50 miles from Crater Lake; the Rogue River and its tributaries define the AVA. The region’s three valleys offer varying cool to warm microclimates that support the growth of more than 70 varietals. Currently, the area boasts 100 wineries, 60 tasting rooms, and 6,000+ acres of vineyards.
Established in 1991, the wine in this valley is finally recognized worldwide. The area is known for its sunshine, theater, music, delicious food, and outdoor adventure.
Del Rio Vineyard Estate, a Fabulous Winery in the Rogue River Valley AVA
Del Rio Vineyard Estate boasts one of the most extensive vineyards in Southern Oregon, growing mainly pinot noir, pinot gris, chardonnay, and syrah grapes. Steve and I began in the tasting room with a glass of 100% grenache rosé. We took the wine out to the back of the property to find a teepee, short table, beautiful flower arrangement, and tasty charcuterie platter waiting for us. This stunning spot overlooks the green vineyards in summer and the patchwork of color ranging from yellow to orange and fiery red in the fall. The Sunday music series begins in May and ends in September, along with Friday night concerts.
Steve and I are enjoying our tasting from the teepee at Del Rio Vineyard Estate. Photo courtesy of Del Rio Vineyard Estate
Once a pear orchard, thirteen grape varieties grow today at Del Rio and Birdseye vineyards. The goal at Del Rio is to create wines with rich, ripe fruit and subtle nuances that express the beauty of their Southern Oregon terroir. Vineyard planting near Table Rock is in the works for the future.
Winemaker Jean-Michel Jussiaume, from the Loire Valley in France, has been at Del Rio for 15 years. “It is fun to be a pioneer of sorts in this relatively new wine region,” Jean-Michel explains.
He creates predominantly 100% varietal wines for the three labels at the winery: Del Rio Estate, Rock Point, and Joleei. Our tasting included a light and crisp viognier, which sees a little acacia oak, a young 2021 Pinot Noir made solely from Pommard clone grapes, a library cabernet sauvignon with luscious dark fruit and a long oak finish, and finally, a full-bodied syrah. Each wine exhibited excellent acidity, making it food-friendly.
Delicious wine at Del Rio Vineyard Estate. Photo by Tracy Ellen Beard
The Hummingbird Estate
When we arrived at the 1926 historic Hummingbird Estate, Meghann Walk, daughter of the owners, greeted us. Her family purchased the place in 2017 after it sat on the market for five years. With a history of farming, Meghann’s parents were in search of a property with acreage. After visiting, they had grand ideas of revitalizing the estate and turning it into a bed and breakfast. After two years, they had ripped out the old pear trees, planted 2-year-old vines, and remodeled the main house with five suites and a two-bedroom cottage in the vineyard, The Inn at Hummingbird Estates.
Hummingbird Estate. Photo courtesy of Hummingbird Estate
The estate has 18 acres of vines planted with chardonnay, pinot noir, grenache, syrah, malbec, and mourvédre. Chris Graves at Naumes Crush & Fermentation is the winemaker. Visitors can choose from numerous bottled wines, canned wines, and several beers on tap, which rotate regularly. I sampled a mixed flight with a light 2020 viognier, a tasty malbec, a 2018 cabernet sauvignon with lovely viscosity, a very dry 2019 syrah, and a delicious 2020 late-harvest white dessert wine. Steve selected a flight of beers.
Wines at Hummingbird Estate. Photo courtesy of Hummingbird Estate
The Estate offers several seating options inside, but we chose to sit out on the terrace that, according to Meghann, offered the view that sold her father on the property.
A glass of wine at Hummingbird Estate. Photo courtesy of Hummingbird Estate
Kriselle Cellars
We were greeted at Kriselle Cellars by Nora Lancaster, director and partner at the winery. Scott Steingraber and his wife Kris began turning their “hobby” into a business in 2003. Nora joined the partnership in 2011, and the winery opened in 2012.
“The building, constructed with huge timbers, was designed to resemble a grand Western lodge and was placed on a raised foundation with great intention so guests could look out over the vineyards and not through them,” explains Nora. “The building has abundant reclaimed materials, and within the last year, the winery’s hospitality and production are all fueled with solar power.”
The tasting room at Krisell Cellars. Photo courtesy of Krisell Cellars
“The first vintage was in 2009,” Nora recounts. “And I sold the first bottle. By the time the tasting room opened, Kriselle wines were already well known, having won several double golds at competitions.”
The terrace and vineyard are warm spots during the summer, but guests can sit near the misters to cool off. In the winter, fires are built in the pits on the terrace to stave off the cold.
Kriselle Cellars makes a variety of fabulous wines. Photo courtesy of Kriselle Cellars
The vineyard is uniquely planted. Later ripening varieties are at the top of the slope, and cooler ripening varieties are down by the irrigation pond, which means the blocks of each varietal are not all lined up together.
Kriselle Tempranillo is one of their top-rated wines. Photo courtesy of Kriselle Cellars
Kriselle Makes Several Wines
We enjoyed our tasting of seven different wines with a delicious charcuterie plate. Tempranillo is one of this area’s most decadent and favorite varietals, especially when paired with paella. Steve and I loved the 2018 Di’tani, a blend of several reds. The malbec provided a delicious smoked meat note, and we enjoyed the lively salinity of the Albariño. There were notes of white peach and a lovely plush mouth feel. It went fabulously with the dried apricots on our charcuterie plate.
Delicious wine at Kriselle Cellars. Photo courtesy of Kriselle Cellars
Bayer Family Estate
We met Sara Bayer at the Bayer Family Estate. Her parents bought the property in the 1990s and planted the first vines in the early 2000s. Sara’s mom is Italian, and her grandparents own the property next door. When her mom was growing up, she visited every summer, and it was her dream to live in Southern Oregon. She wanted to grow Italian wines, and so she grew up going on R&D trips to Italy. Sara and her sister were professional equestrians growing up, but they eventually converted their equestrian horse facility into a functional winery. Sara, her sister, and their father own the winery. Most of the varietals on the property are Italian, which is unique to the valley.
Bayer Family Vineyard makes incredible Italian wines. Photo courtesy of Bayer Family Vineyards
This area has plenty of sunshine and access to Rogue River water, allowing the family to grow Italian varietals that love the heat. Chardonnays are also grown on the property and prefer moist, foggy weather. Although retired from the arena world, the sisters still ride and bring their six horses out for people to play with as part of the estate experience.
The current tasting room at Bayer Family Vineyards. Photo by Tracy Ellen Beard
A Family Affair
The wines are delicious, the property is beautiful, and the atmosphere is casual. A new tasting room is under construction in the historic 1800s farmhouse on the property.
Try the delicious Italian wines at Bayer Family Vineyard. Photo courtesy of Bayer Family Vineyard
Steve and I tasted a 2016 Dolcetto with aromas of blackberry, plum, and hints of toasted oak. Notes of dark cherry stood out in the 2017 Sangiovese, along with cracked black pepper. My favorite was the 2019 Rosé Primitivo Frizzante with apple blossom on the nose, hints of peach, nice minerality, and a surprising dryness.
Padigan
2 Hawk Vineyard & Winery is now Padigan—named after the soil. Owner Ross Allen and winemaker Kiley Evans believe in and are committed to sustainability.
“We give back what we remove, whether in the vineyard by returning grape compost to the soil or by using the region’s only winery-installed solar array for our state-of-the-art gravity-flow winery,” explains Ross. “We strive to produce exceptional, sophisticated wines that speak of the soil, climate, and environment in which they thrive. Uniquely, unmistakably, Rogue Valley. Sustainability is not a buzzword or a hashtag. It is an ethos, a way of life, a part of my moral compass.”
Padigan Tasting Room at sunset. Photo courtesy of Marc Salvatore
Ross is an agriculturalist. He is into everything about the terroir. He wants his wines to express a sense and taste of place. Southern Oregon’s climate affords a broader range than Napa Valley, Willamette Valley, and even Bordeaux, which is why so many varietals thrive in the various microclimates throughout the region. According to Kiley, “We don’t want just to make a great malbec that tastes and smells like malbec; we want to make a great malbec that tastes and smells like a great malbec from the Rogue Valley.”
Incredibly Plush Wines
Padigan wines are lush and delicious. Each wine exhibits a beautiful creaminess. The viognier, aged in 100% new French oak barrels, has an exquisite perfume. The decadent wine boasts a nice weight, excellent acid balance, and hints of residual fruit. It finishes with a velvety smoothness.
Padigan wines are luscious. Photo courtesy of Padigan
The Kiley blend comprised syrah, grenache, and viognier. There was a nice herbaceousness, and it was an easy-drinking wine. It went terrific with the roast beef on our charcuterie plate. The malbec and the Kiley blend were delicious and boasted a silky softness. We finished with an unreleased port, which was unfair because I love ports. What an excellent way to end a sophisticated, casual experience.
Irvine & Roberts Vineyards
Doug and Dionne Irvine, two winery owners, met us in the tasting room at Irvine & Roberts Vineyards. We had a fun and informative time dining on delicious cuisine and sipping sophisticated wines. The vineyard sits at around 2,100 feet in the foothills at the convergence of the Cascade and Siskiyou Mountains. The cool temperatures at this elevation provide the perfect environment for producing elegant, cool-climate wines, predominantly chardonnay and pinot noir. The patio boasts fire pits to warm up next to when it is cold and lounge chairs to soak in the sunshine on hot days.
Irvine and Roberts sits at a higher elevation than most wineries in the Rogue River Valley AVA. Photo courtesy of Irvine and Roberts Vineyards
“We received an education in growing grapes at this elevation and soon learned what grows best,” explains Doug. “Our first vintage was in 2009, and we planted our first grapes in 2007.”
Our tasting began with a beautiful reserve chardonnay, Convergence, paired with an exquisite cheese board. Chef Charlie Hutchinson creates an elevated tasting menu to pair with the wine flights.
Delicious food is served at Irvine and Roberts Vineyards. Photo courtesy of Irvine and Roberts Vineyards
“We are embracing what works well in the area and telling you why,” explains Dionne. “Brian, our winemaker, is striving to make the best wines possible from this site, and I would say that more winery owners in the area are honing in on what grows best at their sites and are raising the bar for the area’s wines.”
We enjoyed a delicious rosé with a vegetable-topped puff pastry and then sipped on a decadent glass of pinot noir before leaving.
Troon Vineyard
Our last stop was at Troon Vineyard & Farm. Craig Camp, the general manager, met us outside the tasting room, and then we left for a farm tour with Garrett Long, Director of Agriculture. Garrett was a wealth of information and explained in plain language the philosophy and the procedures required for biodynamic farming.
Troon Vineyards is a Demeter Biodynamic® Certified and Regenerative Organic Gold Certified™ farm. “Due to the diversified soils available to us here, we are growing 20 varieties of grapes, many of which are native to the Rhone Valley in France, both Northern Rhone and Southern Rhone, and then a couple from Southwestern France,” Garrett explains. “The big picture is that here in the Applegate Valley, we have a Mediterranean climate with fertile granite soils and a couple of other soil types on the farm.”
Troon farm. Photo courtesy of Troon Vineyard
The property boasts several different gardens, and there are over 90 species of native plants located throughout the property. The garden outside of the tasting room serves as a reservoir for seeds and plant material that we use to help maximize the biodiversity on the farm. Part of the Biodynamic certification requires that at least 10 % of the farm is dedicated to wildlife habitats.
All Estate Grown Wines
Troon wines are all from estate-grown grapes. “All 50 acres of clean, certified rootstock grapes have been planted in the last five years, 10 acres at a time,” Garrett says. “Sheep and chickens keep down the weeds and fertilize the soil. We plant cover crops yearly and till them into the soil as green manure. This procedure will continue for the first three years after planting the vines; then, we will stop and not disturb the soil any longer.”
Various plants and wildlife housing are situated within the farm to encourage wildlife. We recognize the animals and birds as having value in the ecosystem for our agricultural goals and to build their populations in the area.
Troon Vineyard makes several wines I have never tried before. Photo courtesy of Troon Vineyard
The biodynamic philosophy continues in the cellar. Winemaker Nate Wall is a minimalist and only uses native yeasts with no additives. Traditional oak barrels were traded for cement and ceramic containers to age the wines. Steve and I enjoyed a quick tour of the facility and then went in to try the wines.
I was unfamiliar with a few varietals. We enjoyed the Amphora Rolle, made from vermentino grapes, and the Kubli Bench Amber, a blend of vermentino, riesling, and roussanne grapes. Moving into the reds, we sipped on the Côtes Du Kubli Red, a mix of syrah and grenache. The wines were tasty and light and left a cleanness on the palate.
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The Rogue River Valley AVA Produces Some Incredible Wines
Our trip to the Rogue River Valley AVA was a successful journey, and we loved many of the wines. I am looking forward to my next return to this glorious wine region. When planning your trip to the Rogue River Valley AVA, extend your trip to include other activities in Oregon and Washington, and use Wander With Wonder as your resource.
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