The Rogue Valley AVA was established in 1991 and covers 1.14 million acres, 4,860 of which have vineyards. The Applegate Valley is an AVA largely within the Rogue Valley AVA. Both AVAs are included within the larger southern Oregon AVA.
The region is 225-miles south of Portland and 55 miles from the Pacific Ocean It extends to the California border. This is the driest and warmest of southern Oregon’s wine producing regions, with many areas exhibiting a Mediterranean like climate. The cooler western areas have more maritime influences. The Medford-Ashland area has a Bordeaux like climate.
The region includes the drainages of the Rogue River and its three principal tributaries, the Illinois and Applegate rivers and Bear Creek. There are 88 vineyards, 33 wineries and 37 tasting rooms in the region, most of which are found along the Rogue or on one of its three tributaries.
Three mountain ranges, the Cascades, Coast Range and Klamath Mountains intersect in this region creating a complex topography that includes many valleys and a range of aspects and elevations.
The corridor between Medford and Ashland in the south resembles a large bowl that traps heat resulting in elevated temperatures. The elevation rises as you move south, which makes the southern portion of the corridor higher and cooler than the northern portion. Most vineyards are on hillsides at elevations of 1200 to 2000 feet. The valley floor is generally too hot for grapes.
Grape varietals grown here feature warm climate grapes like merlot, cabernet sauvignon, malbec, syrah, tempranillo and viognier. Cooler climate varietals like pinot noir, sauvignon blanc and chardonnay are more often found in the western portion of the Rogue Valley and on select north and east facing slopes at elevation.
Soil types range from alluvial sand and gravel to metamorphic rocks, marine sedimentary bedrock and decomposed volcanics. Soil texture ranges from quick draining sandy loams to hard clay.
The area between Grants Pass and Medford is generally lower in elevation and warmer than the Applegate or Bear Creek Valleys.
There are several wineries worth investigating here.
Del Rio Vineyards produces a rosé from grenache (2017) that, at an average price of $13, represents an outstanding value. Grapes are picked at night, to reduce oxidation, by mechanical harvesters. The diurnal temperature variation in this part of the Rogue Valley AVA can vary from 15 to as much as 40 degrees F.
The juice is kept on the skins for three days then crushed and fermented for seven days. Grapes are picked at 21 Brix. The resulting wine is very floral, with pronounced strawberry and raspberry aromas and crisp acidity. There is a slight carbonic maceration resulting in a cotton candy note. Rosé has great potential in the Rogue Valley. It’s surprising that its production isn’t greater or more widespread.
Del Rio also produces a pinot noir (2016) from elevations of 700 to 1,600 feet. Typically, vineyards at elevations of 1200 feet or higher face south, while vineyards at elevations of 700 to 1200 feet above sea level (asl) face north. The distinction between north and south facing slopes is readily apparent. South facing slopes are covered with deciduous trees while north facing slopes have conifers. The difference between a north and south facing slope can be as much as 5 to 10 degrees F.
Del Rio’s pinot exhibits hints of forest floor, along with red fruit notes of dried strawberry and sour cherry with medium acidity. Grapes are picked at night and cold soaked for three days before being crushed. This is a different style than the typical Willamette Valley pinot, lighter, less floral, with less aromatic complexity and intensity but very drinkable. It also lends itself to being served chilled like a rosé.
Brook Horse Wines are produced at Pheasantbrook Vineyards and feature a range of Italian varietals, including nebbiolo, sangiovese, dolcetto, barbera and primitivo. The Primitivo (2013) is produced from vineyards at 1300 feet asl, and features strawberry notes, and dried herbal and potpourri aromas with medium acidity and ripe well-integrated tannins. The fruit is ripe and forward, but not jammy like its California cousins.
Kriselle’s Sauvignon Blanc (2015) is among the most complex white wines produced in Oregon and could rate among the great sauvignon blanc wines in the world. Grapes are picked at three different times, at different levels of maturity. Brix range from 21.5 to 24. The early harvest contributes citrus notes and acidity, while the middle harvest contributes more fruity aromas. The last harvest contributes more tropical notes as well as more palate weight.
Each picking is vinified separately utilizing different yeasts. A combination of neutral French oak and steel are used. Each fermentation is around 12 degrees C and lasts for 2.5 months. The wine fermented in barrels stays on the lees for four to five months with frequent stirring. The different wines are then blended together and bottled.
The resulting wine exhibits a layered complexity of herbal and dried floral potpourri notes, along with elements of citrus, green fruits and just a hint of tropical fruit while still maintaining a brisk acidity.
Cliff Creek Cellars produces a Bordeaux like blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot (2013). The grapes are picked at about 23-24 brix, ripe but not enough to be jammy. It features blue and dark fruit, especially plum and prune, with medium acidity and well-integrated ripened tannins.
Agate Ridge grows 17 varietals and currently produces wine from 14 of them. Its pinot noir (2015) is big and bold with powerful tannins and medium acidity. It offers distinctive red and blue fruit, but without the jamminess typical of warm climate pinot noir.
Its petit syrah (2015), a consistent medal winner in competitions, offers big, ripe red fruits with a hint of milk chocolate, with medium acidity and a structured, pronounced tannic backbone. Yields are a minuscule one ton per acre. Less than 100 cases are produced.
The southern portion of the Rogue Valley AVA lies between Medford and Ashland. The areas rolling topography creates an array of different aspects. Combined with different elevations, a diurnal swing of 40 to 50 degrees F and persistent afternoon winds, which slow down ripening, the region can grow a variety of both cool and warm climate grape varietals.
Among the region’s more outstanding wines are viognier, tempranillo, various rosé blends and, surprisingly, pinot noir.
Rogue Valley viognier is outstanding and has the potential to be one of the region’s signature wines.
See for example the Quady North Viognier from the Steel-Ox Vineyard (2016). This is a full bodied, complex viognier that shows floral notes of white flowers and honeysuckle, along with elements of citrus and stone fruit and a hint of apple and pear. There is a distinctive minerality in this wine wrapped around a crisp, refreshing acidity.
2Hawk Winery is another viognier (2016) producer under whose deft hand Rogue Valley viognier expresses its outstanding potential. Like the Condrieu viognier that inspired it, this wine undergoes an extended barrel fermentation after which it spends 12 months in French oak: half new and half a year old. It spends an additional six months in stainless steel.
The grapes are picked fully, if not slightly overripe (26.3 brix), and have 14.5% ABV. The resulting wine is bold and powerful with aromas of green and stone fruit, along with dried fruit notes of figs and dates. There is a very slight sweetness, along with notes of creamy citrus, caramel and wood spices. The wine has a pronounced palate weight but retains a notable acidity. This is viognier at its best, bold, powerful, aromatic yet still retaining a finesse and crisp acidity typically lacking in warm region viognier. Only a minuscule 49 cases are made.
Irvine and Roberts also makes a similar viognier (2015) with pronounced creamy citrus and white flower notes. The winery describes it as being, “in between an austere style and the sweeter and heavier warm region style” typical of California producers.
Valley View traces its roots to the original winery established by Peter Britt in 1850, although the winery has not been in continuous operation since then. Its viognier (2015) comes from 15-year-old vines that are among the oldest in the Rogue Valley.
Its viognier is leaner, more minerally, with a hint of gunflint while still offering the aromatic complexity that Rogue Valley viognier is known for. It offers notes of lemon, orange peel, green and stone fruit, along with melon and other tropical fruits. The grapes undergo an extended low temperature fermentation in order to preserve fruit aromas and produce more tropical fruit notes.
See also outstanding viognier (2015) from Weisinger Family Vineyards.
Like the Umpqua Valley, tempranillo does exceptionally well in the Rogue Valley, especially when it is vinified in a fruit forward style. The first commercial planting of tempranillo was a in 1995. The original 4 acre planting at Abacela Winery has in turn provided many of the cuttings used by other vineyards in southern Oregon. At 24 years of age, Abacela has the oldest tempranillo vines in the Pacific Northwest.
Valley View has tempranillo grafted onto 40 YO root stocks, which, arguably, could make them the oldest tempranillo in Oregon. The vines however are much younger than the rootstocks. The wine (2015) they produce features blue and black fruit with dried fruit notes and a slightly jammy note. It has medium acidity and ripe, well-integrated tannins.
See also the tempranillo from 2Hawk (2015); a more robust wine, which leans toward black fruits rather than red and has a more pronounced tannic backbone.
Eden Vale Winery crafts a rich and bold Reserve Tempranillo (2008) from four different sites in the Applegate and Rogue AVAs. The sites have very different diurnal swings, soils and elevation allowing the winery to create a layered flavor complexity. The wine undergoes four years of barrel aging and is then aged in bottle until its deemed ready for release. This tempranillo also features more black fruits than red, and also offers a distinctive milk chocolate note.
Other tempranillo from Pebblestone Cellars (2014) and Weisinger Family Winery (2014), all consistent medal winners, are also worth exploring.
Surprisingly rosé is not as common in the Rogue Valley as one would expect. This is surprising, given that US demand for rosé is skyrocketing and that the valley is ideally situated to be a major rosé producer.
Most rosé in Oregon is produced from pinot noir grapes. Pinot slated for rosé is typically cropped at higher levels, usually 3.5 to as much as 4.5 tons an acre, rather than the usual two to three tons an acre typical of pinot slated for red wine production. Higher cropping levels often result in less aromatic complexity, but this is less of an issue with rosé wines where winemakers are looking to craft light, refreshing wines.
One of the challenges of growing pinot noir in warmer southern Oregon sites is that to ensure that sugar ripeness and tannic ripeness coincide, sugar accumulation is slowed down by cropping pinot at much higher levels. The resulting grapes may lack the concentration typical of Willamette Valley pinot noir grapes, but they are ideal for making rosé.
In addition, grenache, which thrives in the warmer areas of the Rogue Valley, and tempranillo also make excellent, more robust rosé. For an introduction to Rogue Valley rosé, see the grenache rosé offerings from 2Hawk or Del Rio or the pinot noir rosé offerings from Irvine and Roberts or Quady North.
Surprisingly, the Rogue Valley can produce outstanding pinot noir on cool sites. These wines typically exhibit pronounced red fruit flavors along with ripe, well-integrated tannins, medium acidity and higher ABV. In a blind tasting Rogue pinot noir is often difficult to distinguish from the Willamette Valley’s offerings. Despite the region’s Mediterranean like climate, pinot is the most widely planted grape variety in the Rogue Valley by a ratio of 3:1. One of the most innovative producers of pinot noir in southern Oregon is Dancin Vineyards.
Dancin Vineyards produces single clonal bottlings of pinot noir grapes, as well as a multi-clonal cuvée blend. The northeast facing site, at an altitude approaching 2000 feet, is often 10 degrees F cooler than the valley floor. Single clonal bottlings allow consumers to appreciate the aroma and flavor characteristics of individual pinot noir clones. The winery’s multiclonal pinot blend, Septet (2016), consists of Dijon clones 114, 115, 667, 777, 828, as well as Pomard and Wädenswil. The wine is distinctly floral, with pronounced notes of red fruits, especially strawberry, along with elements of cola and wood spice. The tannins are ripe, smooth and well-integrated and complement the wine’s medium acidity. See also their outstanding chardonnay (2017) which features citrus and green fruit and crisp bright acidity.
Other pinot noir offerings worth exploring include Belle Fiore (2015), a bolder style of pinot noir that is earthier, with more dried black cherry and dark fruit, as well as bottlings from Irvine and Roberts.
The Applegate Valley is a separate AVA within the larger southern Oregon AVAs. This region, between the Rogue Valley and the Pacific, is cooler than the Medford-Ashland corridor and hosts 19 different wineries.
Wines worth seeking out, include the Augustino Estate Chardonnay (2015). Produced in a reductive style, the wine spends 10 months on its lees with no stirring. The result is a pronounced mineral core, with notes of gunflint and citrus wrapped around a brisk acidity. Augustino also produces a lush deeply colored pinot noir (2015), redolent with aromas of raspberry and cherry. Like other southern Oregon pinots, it exhibits smooth, well-ripened tannins and medium acidity.
Cowhorn is a biodynamic vineyard that specializes in crafting wines from Rhone varietals. Try their Spiral 36 (2017) a blend of viognier, marsanne and roussanne. Their Sentience (2014) bottling is a heavily extracted syrah featuring intense flavors of red and black fruit, along with distinctive milk chocolate notes. The wine exhibits good structure with smooth, ripe, well-integrated tannins and notable acidity.
Plaisance Ranch produces a noticeably cooler climate syrah (2015), which features more red fruit than blue, noticeable pepperiness and higher acidity, while still offering up well-ripened tannins. See also syrah bottlings from Schmidt Family Vineyards.
Troon Vineyards, another biodynamic winery, produces a powerful concentrated blend of 62% Tannat and 38% Malbec called Estate Cuvée Pyrénées.
Like the Umpqua AVA, the Rogue Valley area offers a complex geological jigsaw featuring widely different soils, mesoclimates, aspects and elevations. The result is that many different grape varietals can be grown; at last count over 70. Rhone and Spanish varietals are widely planted. Belle Fiore produces wines from a range of indigenous Italian varieties ranging from fiano to Montepulciano and barbera.
Visitors to the region’s wineries are bound to find something they like. The disadvantage is that no single varietal has yet emerged as the regions signature grape. Viognier is clearly the standout varietal here and has the potential to be world class. Provence style rosés, more heavily extracted with more pronounced tannic structure, could also emerge as the region’s signature wine.
Pinot noir is widely grown throughout the region. Although cool sites have the ability to produce outstanding pinot noir wines, the region has not yet developed its own characteristic pinot noir expression. Bordeaux blends can do well here, but that is an already crowded arena.
Conversely, some of the Spanish and French Mediterranean varietals, like tempranillo or garnacha/grenache, could well blossom here. Either way, like the Umpqua Valley, this is potentially a world class wine region whose vinous evolution is just starting. There is plenty here to tempt the curious palate. Time to jump in and investigate.
See also The Wines of the Umpqua Valley and The Wines of Southern Oregon.
