Punk rock meets the Rogue Valley

You know how it goes: The snooty wine snob sniffing at the glass, pinky in the air, describing the wine in impenetrable terms while everyone around silently rolls their eyes.

That is not Anchor Valley Wine. It’s a partnership between four people who want to upend the wine world and bring a punk sensibility to wine. Mike Herrera, frontman for punk band MxPx, had partnered with clothing entrepreneur Joe Moxley to launch a rock-and-roll apparel company. Before long, they wanted to get in the wine business and hooked up with Matt and Ashley Cates, who had been looking to launch their own wine label.

Their tasting room is located in the historic Southern Oregon gold-mining town of Jacksonville. It’s usually been a sleepy little spot, filled with tourists enjoying wine before an evening of Shakespeare. But at Anchor Valley, you’ll find (when the pandemic is over) young wine lovers dancing to live music late into the evening – in a spots where tattoos are welcomed, not frowned upon.

As Ashley is fond of saying, they wanted to create a “pinkies down!” wine that is approachable to new wine lovers, but a commitment to quality that even the snootiest sommelier will appreciate (if not the tattoos.)