Applegater Fall 2019
■ BOUTIQUE WINERIES
Continued from page 1
gold, as indicated by visible mine tailings.
Perfect soil conditions enabled owners
Kathy and Duane Bowman to produce
an exquisite traditional blend of French
Bordeaux. Visitors to their tasting room, in
the historic McCully Inn in Jacksonville,
can sip wines on the garden patio and
hearken back to the inn’s vintage days of
the late 1800s.
Devitt Winery. In 2001, when Jim
and Susan Devitt’s dream of selling grapes
proved more of a challenge than expected,
their backup plan of “making our own
wine” sounded to them like the old adage
“when pigs fly” (which later became a name
of one of their wines). Yet Devitt Winery
proved that persistence can become a pinot
and tenacity a tempranillo and produced
impressive varietals and blends. When Jim
died in 2017, Sue’s grandson, Brendon,
took over as winemaker.
Guzzo Family Vineyard. Paula
and Tony Guzzo transitioned from tech
to terrace with what started as a landscaping
project and a few rows of vines on Murphy
Creek. Not long after reading Jeff Cox’s
book, From Vines to Wines, the Guzzos
traded a home in the San Francisco
Bay Area for their boutique winery.
Their secret, now out of the barrel, is
limited quantities of smooth and mighty
red wines uniquely aged in small format
American oak barrels. The Guzzos are
producing hand-pressed, handcrafted,
award-winning wines, satisfying to the
most sophisticated palate, while remaining
approachable for the emerging wine
enthusiast.
Their recently opened tasting room
allows visitors to see how they ferment,
hand-press, barrel-age, and bottle their
wines. Guests can sip and share stories while
sitting at retired oak barrels hand-painted
by Paula with local scenic landscapes.
LongSword Vineyard. Wine
enthusiasts flock to LongSword Vineyard
to view colorful paragliders overhead while
sampling an amazing flight of varietals.
LongSword’s sparkling chardonnay,
Accolade, is sure to lift your spirit. Those
looking to pursue other flights of fancy
can enjoy an original adaptation of the
classic Peter Pan in September, presented
by Wanderlust Theatre Company at
the winery.
Rosella’s Vineyard and Winery.
Rex and Sandi Garoutte, Rosella’s owners
since 1998, tend ten acres of vines along
Missouri Flat Road. In their quaint tasting
room, where stories from Rex are paired
with Sandi’s famous “Spretzels,” visitors
enjoy tastings of cabernet sauvignon,
merlot, zinfandel, and blends. Many of
their wines have Hawaiian names, e.g.,
Manu Aloha and Ula Waina, in tribute to
Rex’s late mother, Rosella, who loved to
visit the islands.
21
Walport Family Cellars. Second-
generation Applegaters Eric and Amy
Walport represent the next generation
of agro-visionaries incorporating
permaculture design and use of chickens
and sheep into their vineyard management
practices. The Walports’ cattle ranch has
been transformed into rows of cabernet.
Visitors can enjoy cabernet, merlot, and
malbec, among other varietals, in the
new tasting room or under the trees up
Slagle Creek.
Applegate vineyards tended by families
with a passion for wine, a love of the land,
and an eternal hope for a bountiful harvest
are the core of this community.
Come for a visit and a bit of viognier,
sip the latest release of sauvignon blanc,
relax to one of the valley’s many red blends,
and leave singing “K syrah syrah.”
Cathy Rodgers
cathyrodgers55@gmail.com
Winery photos by Cathy Rodgers.
Tasting Room Info
Cricket Hill Winery
240 E. California Street, Jacksonville
541-899-7264 • crickethillwinery.com
Open Thursday - Sunday 1 - 6 pm
May 1 - Thanksgiving
•
Devitt Winery
11412 Highway 238, Jacksonville
541-899-7511 • devittwinery.com
Open daily noon - 5 pm
Closed Wednesdays
•
Brendon Butler (center) of Devitt Winery.
Tony and Paula Guzzo of Guzzo Family Vineyard.
Guzzo Family Vineyard
1386 Murphy Creek Road, Grants Pass
541-862-8617
info@guzzofamilyvineyard.com
Open Friday - Sunday 11 - 4 pm
•
LongSword Vineyard
8555 Highway 238, Jacksonville
541-899-1746
info@longswordvineyard.com
Open daily noon - 5 pm
•
Rosella’s Vineyard and Winery
184 Missouri Flat Road, Grants Pass
541-846-6372 • rosellasvineyard.com
Open daily 11 am - 5 pm
•
Rex Garoutte of Rosella’s Vineyard and Winery.
Eric Walport of Walport Family Cellars.
Walport Family Cellars
470 Slagle Creek Road, Grants Pass
541-846-9563 • wfcellars.com
Open Saturday - Sunday 11 am - 6 pm
HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM THE APPLEGATER TEAM!
From the Heart of the Applegate
Anthology of original essays, poems, and short
stories contributed by Applegate Valley writers
in support of the Applegater.
Available for $16 at:
Amazon.com and applegater.org; Applegate Valley
Realty, Jacksonville; Bloomsbury Books, Ashland;
Oregon Books, Grants Pass; Terra Firma, Jacksonville
A pplegate R iver L odge
& R estaurant
Lodge open 7 days a week
Restaurant open Tuesday - Sunday 5 - 9 pm
Live Music on the deck on Sunday 3 - 10 pm
Available for Retreats , Weddings, and Family Reunions
Lodge 541-846-6690 • Restaurant 541-846-6082
Retreats 541-660-0244
eddings
& Special Events 541-200-9882
W
15100 Highway 238, Applegate, Oregon