Where we’re going, we don’t need roads

I was horribly lost. After spending five weeks in Ashland, I thought I knew just about every nook and cranny in the Rogue Valley. Put off by the ROAD NOT PAVED signs, I gave up and turned back, convinced that I was in the wrong place. But after a sheepish call to the vineyard confirmed that DEAD END really meant “you’re almost to our winery!”, I continued up the road and down into the gorgeous Emigrant Creek Valley hidden behind the rolling hills just outside of Ashland. It was a breathtaking sight – and could have easily been in France or Italy. Owners Doug and Dionne Irvine grew up in Ashland and decided to return home to raise their young daughters. The family owned land just outside of town and soon discovered it was a perfect vineyard site. At 2100 feet in elevation, on the steep banks just off of Emigrant Creek, it has the ideal soils, elevation and slope to make wines reminiscent of Burgundy. A lot has happened since we first featured them. They’ve expanded their family-based operation, hired a full-time winemaker away from a prestigious winery in the Willamette Valley and opened a stunning tasting room