Southern Oregon Wineries

We will be in Southern Oregon later this Summer. I know nothing about wineries in the southern part of the state. Any suggestions?

Cowhorn is a must. Roxyann in Medford is a good stop.
Schmidt Family Winery in the Applegate valley is well set up for visitors with a picnic area and a wood fired pizza oven. The wines tend to be higher in alcohol than I enjoy.
Maybe Quady North for dessert wines.
If you are over near Cave Junction, Foris is interesting.
More to the north in the Umqua Valley, Abecela is worth a visit to try what they are doing with Spanish grape varieties.

P Hickner

I had a nice experience (good wine, excellent view) at Dana Campbell Winery near Ashland, OR. It’s up in the foothills a ways and has a beautiful view across the valley of downtown Ashland. Ashland, in and of itself, is worth a stop.

We are staying in Ashland.

Nice, Jeff. My wife is from Ashland and, up until last year, her parents still lived there so we spent a good amount of time down there. Enjoy! I also definitely agree with Peter’s recommendations.

Abacela is a must visit - really delicious wines - all Spanish influenced. The Tempranillo Reserve is delicious -

A little farther north is Girardet Cellars - They produce a nice Riesling, unoaked Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but their Baco Noirs are really superb -

Good timing. I just got a new car (that I trust!) and want to make trips south and east.

Another vote for Abacela. Also check out Folin Cellars, even closer to Ashland - very good Rhone varieties plus Tempranillo.

+1

New Sammy’s Cowboy Bistro, between Ashland and Medford, for Lunch or Dinner is a must. Perhaps the best Oregon restaurant outside of Portland.

Glad to see Southern Oregon wineries getting good press along with the Ashland Shakespeare Festival helping regenerate the economics of the area after the demise of the wood products industry. Wine tourism is strong in the WV and can be the same down there. [cheers.gif]

Unfortunately this information is probably dated. Restaurant is for sale. Wine list is not what it used to be. Still, very nice if they do still own it this summer but not the destination restaurant of days gone by.

Food was still very good last time we were there and that list still has gems but be prepared to part with some dollars if you want to dive deep.

At Sammy’s it’s well worth chatting with Vernon about what he has available (which may not even be on the list). About six years ago, following our ordering and chatting about our wine preferences, he suggested he might have a perfect wine if we wanted to give it a whirl (I don’t think it was on the list). Sure, why not?! He brought us a 1986 Z-H Clos St. Urbain Riesling. It was stellar, and all of $95. But, as Glenn notes, the wine list is not priced the way I understand it was many years ago. The food ranges from very good to magical, and is well worth a try. Have fun!

If you get a bit farther north, Brandborg is well worth a visit.

New Sammy’s has changed but is still the best thing down there by far. The sauternes/dessert collection is still pretty nice and Vernon does seem to dig out excellent pairings for your tastes. Be certain to ask him about his cork collection…