A rebel goes north to southern Oregon

In the San Joaquin Valley of California, the name Quady means world-renowned dessert wines and aperitifs, orange muscats that explode like a sunburst on the tongue.

A second-generation winemaker, it would have been easy for Herb Quady to stick with the family business. But Herb Quady has never done the easy thing. Or the expected thing.

So, Quady went north to Oregon to build his own winemaking career. To a place where the wine industry still welcomes rebellious sorts that don’t take themselves too seriously.

And he started making big reds and bright whites, leading with unusual varietals, like Grenache Blanc and Mourvedre, Viognier and Cabernet Franc. And Herb loves to shock folks by selling some of his wines as box wines – enclosed inside ammo boxes.

But the rebel is building quite a reputation, with folks all around wearing t-shirts proclaiming, “Herb is my winemaker.” Which leads to an important question: Can you still be a rebel when you’re the king?