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Anchor Valley Wine Anchor Valley Merlot
Sideways
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.
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 spot where tattoos are welcomed, not frowned upon.
ANCHOR VALLEY is a dream team of individuals, each with a unique set of skills and talents that combined, are unstoppable!
Cellar 503 Tasting Notes
Anchor Valley Wine, Jacksonville, Oregon
Anchor Valley Merlot
The film "Sideways" (released in 2004) is credited with a "Sideways Effect" where Merlot sales declined, while Pinot Noir sales increased, due to the film's portrayal of Merlot negatively and Miles' character's dislike of it. Some argue that there were pre-existing issues with Merlot and that Merlot was already in decline due to over planting and the perception of some California-style Merlot as "flabby" or "too sweet" even before the movie's release.
But regardless of trends in consumption or planting, this grape reigns supreme. Out of the five most expensive red Bordeaux wines, four are from Pomerol. The small, deep clay appellation on the right bank of Bordeaux, France that cultivates mainly 100% Merlot wines. At the very top of the industry is Petrus, which is not a chateau. It’s just called Petrus, not Chateau Petrus, and it sells for about $4,500 a bottle on average.
This Merlot is a tribute to the nobility of it's heritage and the heritage of those who both grew and made it. Challenge Conformity.
A Cellar 503 selection in March 2025, Big on Bordeaux Rogue Valley | Merlot
