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Anchor Valley Wine 2021 Pinot Noir
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 Bill and Cari Powell, who had a long history of restaurants in the Medford area. Along with Herb Quady, their winemaker at Barrel 42 – this is a dream team for sure!
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 young wine lovers dancing to live music late into the evening – in a spots where tattoos are welcomed, not frowned upon.
As they are 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.)
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Anchor Valley Wine, Jacksonville, Oregon
2021 Pinot Noir
It’s true: Pinot Noir comes from southern Oregon as well as the Willamette Valley. In fact, the dirty little secret is that Pinot Noir is the most widely planted grape in southern Oregon. It’s just that it’s often sold to wineries up north looking to blend in a punch of ripe fruit to their notoriously cold-weather grapes.
The folks at Anchor Valley are proud to be from southern Oregon and wanted to make a statement that Pinot Noir from the warmer end of Oregon can be just as extraordinary as that from up north.
Aromas of fresh cranberries, dried strawberries, and black tea blend together in a beautiful ruby red color. Flavors of juicy red strawberries, ripe cherry, and bitter cocoa make this a stellar example of how Pinot Noir can be wonderful from another part of the state!
A Cellar 503 selection in March 2023, Spotlight on Southern Oregon Rogue Valley | Pinot Noir
