Hi everyone,
I’m going to be in the Medford area this weekend and was wondering if there were any wineries (or breweries) worth visiting?
I must admit my knowledge of Oregon wine is incredibly limited but hopefully this visit will help fix that.
Thanks for any reccos!
Ian
In Medford, Roxyann and Edenvale. A bit north Folin. All solid wines that show the local terroir. Also visit Harry and David big outlet store. Fantastic selection of PacNW wines and craft brews too, decent prices, no tax!
I haven’t visited the brewery yet, but Southern Oregon Brewery makes good beer.
Eat downtown at Porters.
A bit of a drive, Cowhorn.
+1. Quady North also well done. If you seek beer I’d make the drive to Caldera.
I’ll be passing by Ashford on my way up so I’ll swing by Caldera. Thanks for all the tips! Looking forward to venturing outside of my usual Sonoma and Napa haunts.
Ian
In Ashland, the Caldera brewery is a must, you want the new facility on the East side of I-5. Their Mogli is often ranked in the top beers in the US.
I also recommend hitting Rogue Creamery, again their cheese is often ranked best blue in the world.
If you’re into chocolate, Dagoba is good too.
Yeah Cowhorn (biodynamic vineyard) if you have time. If you go farther north a bit, Del Rio Vineyards. Lunch at Sammy’s New Cowboy Bistro in Talent is an experience, usually a good one.
We went to Del Rio after Cowhorn and the difference in quality and style was obvious.
+1 Rogue and Cowhorn
Great recommendation - By far the best American blue cheeses I have ever had - cool little place as well -
Thanks again everyone. The adventure begins tomorrow morning with the first stop being Caldera.
how was it?
Yes, please report. I’m headed in that direction this weekend, and had come up with Roxyann and Cowhorn as likely visits.
Reviews I’ve read on Caldera are polarized, especially regarding service. The beers lean towards weird, at least in description.
P Hickner
Caldera definitely has good, bad and weird beers.
Roxy Ann Claret is delicious so another vote for them…definitely hit up Harry & David for some decent prices for Pinot, they pretty much carry everything and offer a big discount for military. They sell RV creamery bluecheese so you dont have to go central point.
There is a small tasting room in Jacksonville and a funky wine shop
Next to the Inn that carries old Bordeaux thats been sitting for 20 years…
Thank you everyone for your suggestions! I didn’t hit up as many wineries as I had hoped but had an amazing (short) trip to the area.
Quick recap:
Caldera: Good strange brews. Mogli is dessert in a glass. The chile beer is crazy weird but interesting. Pizza was just OK.
Southern Oregon Brewing: Good but not blown away. Coming from California, I’m still in awe over their growler-filling policy. They said they would even fill mason jars.
Cowhorn: Really enjoyed speaking with the hsuband and wife team. Good cool climate northern Rhone style whites. Not as impressed by their syrah or grenache.
Jaspers cafe: CRAZY good hamburgers! I’d go back just for this.
nice! I’ve got a decent clone recipe for the Mogli in case anyone wants it.
Schmidt family winery continues to impress me. I especially like their Rhone styled whites.
We made Schmidt family winery one of our stops, on the advice of a vineyard owner we met. The wines were all well made, but reflected the warm climate. Even the whites were ~15%ABV, and lacked a refreshing minerality. Other than that, they were tasty, and as they were having a 45% off sale, we brought some home. I’ll try to remember to report how they do in a regular dinner setting.
Cow Horn was another stop. Somehow they managed to bring in the wines with ABV in the vicinity of 13%.
They are by no means AFWE wines. Fruit is at the forefront, to the point of being intense. I was reminded of Loring wines, although not that fruit forward. The white Rhone variety wines are among the best examples I’ve had from the US.
P Hickner