Applegater., May 01, 2016, Page 17, Image 17

Applegater Spring 2016
GRAPE TALK
Southern Oregon
medal-winning wines at the
2016 San Francisco Chronicle
Wine Competition
Let’s grow grapes—
how hard can it be?
BY DEBBIE TOLLEFSON
If you are living in the Applegate
Valley, you probably know someone who
is growing grapes. Whether they have
one vine or acres of grapes, our valley
is the perfect microclimate for many
varietals, and the explosion of the grape
industry is evident on every road. A
great showing by many southern Oregon
wines at the 2016 San Francisco Chronicle
Wine Competition (see sidebar for some
southern Oregon winners), coupled
with the naming of southern Oregon as
one of the top 10 wine destinations in
the world for 2016 by Wine Enthusiast
magazine, has been a huge boost for local
wineries. But will this boost trickle down
to individual growers and increase the
profit margin for grape growers big and
small in the Applegate?
As a realtor, I know that grapes on
a piece of land for sale attracts the baby
boomers looking for their retirement
Grape growers Dan and Patti Buren
of Buren Vineyard.
dream home. Those grapes and the
potential of making one’s own wine is
very appealing, but what is the reality of
growing grapes?
Dan and Patti Buren, owners
of Buren Vineyard on North Applegate
Road, moved to the valley in the 1990s
and, with a partner, bought the Applegate
Store and Café, managing it through
the early 2000s. They first developed
their property on North Applegate by
planting an acre of cabernet sauvignon
vines. Initially they did all the work
themselves, and still do a great deal of it,
including spraying, bird netting, canopy
development, and pruning. Later they
planted merlot and syrah vines. A few
years ago they hired professionals to graft
viognier onto merlot and syrah vines
and now have around three acres each
of cabernet and viognier.
The Burens hire one vineyard
worker when needed. They work with
other grape-growing friends, including
Annette Parsons and Jim Clover, and
Bob and Barb Finley, and pick for each
other in trade of chili or a brisket lunch.
They also try to hire experienced pickers
if they are available, but those workers
are spread thin during harvest season.
W h e n a s ke d a b o u t t h e
economics of grape growing,
Dan stressed that contract negotiation
is very important. It is great if you can
negotiate top dollar for your crop and
a single winery will take all of your
tonnage. But having to deliver tonnage
to multiple locations adds to your costs.
Dan said the price range for cabernet
and viognier grapes has fluctuated from
$1,600 to $2,000 per ton depending
on the quality and on the supply and
demand—some years there are too many
17
Ron and Laurie Burley, owners of
Steelhead Run Vineyard.
good grapes of a certain varietal and
other years not enough. A few years ago
a number of vineyards grafted some of
their root stock to pinot noir because of
the high demand and increased price per
ton for that varietal.
Like the Burens, Ron and
Laurie Burley, owners of Steelhead
Run Vineyard on Highway 238 in
Applegate, started out doing most of the
work themselves. Today most of their
vineyard management is done by Herb
Quady’s company, Applegate Vineyard
Management (AVM).
In 1989 the Burleys left their jobs
in the semiconductor industry and
moved to their home on the Applegate
River. In 1993 they planted two acres
of grapevines and became the ninth
vineyard in the Applegate Valley.
Until 2007, the Burleys worked
tirelessly on their growing vineyard,
hiring and training one inexperienced
worker. That worker had friends and
relatives who were also trained and added
to the Burley’s vineyard team. Ron kept
his operational costs down that way,
then increased his costs by hiring AVM
to manage the operations.
Ron still negotiates his contracts and
currently provides grapes to 12 different
wineries. Steelhead Run now has 20 acres
planted with seven varietals, including
chardonnay, riesling, viognier, pinot
gris, merlot, syrah, and tempranillo.
The vineyard’s high-potassium terroir
makes for some lovely wines, evidenced
• Red Lily Vineyards 2012
Tempranillo—Double Gold
• Schmidt Family Vineyards 2012
Merlot—Gold
• Quady North 2012 Cabernet Franc,
2012 Steelhead Run Syrah, 2013
Syrah, and 2014 Pistoleta—Silvers
• Schmidt Family Vineyards 2012
Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012 Malbec,
2012 Pinot Noir, 2012 Syrah, and
2014 Riesling—Silvers
• Valley View 2012 Syrah—Silver
• Quady North 2014 Grenache Blanc
and 2011 GSM—Bronzes
• Red Lily Vineyards 2013 Life of
Riley Pinot Noir, 2012 Red Blanket,
and 2013 Night School—Bronzes
• Schmidt Family Vineyards 2014
Albarino and 2013 Tempranillo—
Bronzes
• Troon Vineyard 2014 Druid’s Fluid,
2014 Longue Carabine, and 2013
Zinfandel—Bronzes
There were a number of other
winners in southern Oregon, including
Pebblestone Cellars taking Best of
Class for its 2014 Ellis Vineyard
Viognier.
by the silver medal awarded to Quady
North’s 2012 Steelhead Run Syrah at
the 2016 San Francisco Chronicle Wine
Competition.
Ron said that his biggest
challenge in the early years was
avoiding a divorce and added that there
are better and easier ways to make money.
He believes that anything less than 50
acres should be done for fun, not for
financial gain. We will have to wait and
see if this labor-intensive grape-growing,
still a “hobby” for many Applegaters,
becomes a more lucrative occupation.
Debbie Tollefson
debbie.avrealty@gmail.com