Volume 1
Ask a random sampling of
many Southern Oregon residents who are transplants from other locales how they
discovered the region and chances are you will hear a story of some serendipitous
event…They had read about the legendary North Umpqua or Rogue Rivers, and
finally traveled here to fish them…a friend invited them to attend the renowned
Shakespeare Festival…they were just passing through and detoured off I-5 for a
respite in the area’s burgeoning wine country.
They were so taken by
their experience as tourists; you would hear frequently, that they vowed to
return one day for good.
The stories like these
will change, however, if you walk into the tasting room of a Southern Oregon
winery and, while sampling a sublime Tempranillo, Grüner Veltliner or Pinot Gris, you ask the same question
of your host.
Few, if any, of the dozens of the talented winemakers who have
settled in the Southern Willamette, Umpqua Valley, Rouge or Applegate
appellations in recent years have wound up here by accident.
No, men and women who
are turning to winemaker from rocket science, medicine, real estate, marketing
and the like don’t often walk away from successful careers and leave their
futures to chance.
Depending on which
winemaker you ask, you may hear in passionate detail the story of a
painstaking, time-consuming, scientific search that ultimately brought your
host to what, despite growing attention, is still called “America’s last great
undiscovered wine region.” A place
offering an ideal combination of climate, topography and quality of life.
Or, you may simply find
a world map spread out in front of you, with a straight edge positioned atop it
stretching, on a perfectly straight plane, from Southern Oregon to a spot
directly between Bordeaux, France, and Rioja, Spain.
And that may answer your
question better than words ever could.
The growth of Oregon’s
wine industry could be depicted just as simply, with another straight edge,
only this time angled at a steep trajectory. Pick a number to plot on the
Y-axis over the last 15 years and the angle is always upward. In 2004, wine grapes were the fourth highest
value fruit crop in Oregon. Four years
later they were No. 1.
Here are a few examples
of the average annual growth in the industry from 1994 to 2008:
- Numbers of Vineyards 7.7%
- Planted Acreage 12.8%
- Bearing Acreage 12.4%
- Price per Ton 9.5%
- Number of Wineries 13.6%
- Tons Crushed 16.1%
- Cases Sold 12.4%
- Value of Production 44.8%
Ideal conditions make
Southern Oregon fertile territory for the expansion of Oregon’s booming wine
industry.
This is the No. 3 wine
grape-producing state in the country, situated between Nos. 1 (California) and
2 (Washington). Border to border in Oregon the latitude runs from 40 to 46
degrees north, aligning the state directly in geography and conditions with the
richest wine-producing lands of Southern France and Northern Spain
And in this ideal
environment, Southern Oregon can claim something few other regions can – an
abundance of affordable agricultural lands.
This reality already has
made a significant impact on local economies.
Indeed, no other industry in Southern Oregon boasts a track record of
continuous growth that the wine industry has experienced.
Certainly none offers
the promise of continued expansion.
Historically the region’s economic fortunes have been tied to the timber
industry. But the continued decline of
logging on public lands has led to high unemployment and shrinking economies
throughout the region. Diversification
is the key to a more stable economic future.
