WineTravelers Archives - Wine Country Getaways

Discovering the wineries of Southern Oregon

August 12, 2012 by Joe Becerra

We love exploring wine country, especially where we have not been before. In Southern Oregon, near the touristy towns of Jacksonville and Ashland, are numerous wineries waiting to be discovered. We are on our way to the 5th Annual Wine Bloggers Conference in Portland, Oregon, and decided to drive from our Bay Area home just so we could spend time visiting wineries in Southern Oregon. We are spending two nights in Ashland and another night in nearby historic Jacksonville before heading north to Portland.

We stopped into the Liquid Assets wine bar in Ashland. On many Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays in the summer, the wine bar invites a nearby winery to pour their wines. On this night it was Fred and Cindy LaBrasseur. They own the LaBrasseur Vineyard in the upper Rogue Valley near the town of Gold Hill. The LaBrasseur wines are polished, well made and very tasty, indeed. I like the wine prices, with no wines in the LaBrassuer lineup over $25. When you buy wine in Oregon, vs California, there is a hidden 8.25% discount. There is no sales tax in the State of Oregon. Whoopee!

Fred & Cindy LaBrasseur

Harvest Film at Sonoma Film Fest and other Wine News

April 5, 2012 by Joe Becerra

The 15th Annual Sonoma International Film Festival is April 11 to 15. For you wine lovers and wine country enthusiasts, the festival will debut the film “Harvest,” a feature-length documentary that follows five Sonoma County family wineries and their experiences in the harvest of 2011. I have not seen the film but I have watched the trailer. It looks like a terrific documentary. I won’t be at the film festival, but I sure hope I have the opportunity to see this film later in the year at other venues. Check out the trailer.

Benziger Family and Earth Day
Benziger Family Winery will host a winery event and nationwide wine tastings to spotlight sustainable winemaking in commemoration of Earth Day. At the winery, the event is called “Earth Day at the Estate” and will be a wine tasting with Mike Benziger. The event will take place April 21 from 11:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Benziger Family Winery, 1883 London Ranch Road in Glen Ellen. The cost is $40.00 for Wine Club Members and their guests and $60.00 for the general public. Seating is limited. To reserve a spot call 800-989-8890 or email [email protected]
Throughout Earth Week (April 22-28), select wine shops and stores nationwide will offer “green flights” of Benziger Family Winery’s award-winning wines at in-store tastings sponsored by the winery’s distributor, Kobrand Corporation. For a complete list of participating locations visit www.benziger.com/earthday. Profits from both events will go to supporting the land and the community of farm workers who tend it.

Indian Rock Vineyards in Murphys – A Little Different

September 20, 2011 by Joe Becerra

This week we are exploring wineries in Calaveras County in the Sierra Foothills. Indian Rock Vineyards was our first stop. Indian Rock does things a little differently than the other 23 wineries in and around the town of Murphys. They do not belong to the Calaveras Wine Association, so you won’t find them on the handy winery guide that is available in just about every store or lodging establishment in town. They prefer to be off the radar, building their clientele on word-of-mouth and the reputation of their wine. They don’t sell their wine retail; most of it goes to their wine club members and the rest is sold to visitors out of their tasting room. A few bottles can be found in local restaurants.

We tasted five wines, two whites and three reds, for a $5 tasting fee (which can be applied to a purchase of wine). Indian Rock makes 25 varietals of wines, so we just barely scratched the surface of their wine offerings. We started off with a very nice and lively Vermentino priced at $16. Indian Rock is just one of a handful of California wineries that make this Italian varietal. We were very impressed with their red blend they call the Coyote Creek Red. It’s a non-vintage red that is priced at $16 and is the most popular of the Indian Rock wines. It is a tasty wine that is very mellow throughout, and definitely a good choice with a variety of foods. The Petite Sirah was also outstanding, a big bold wine that cries out for baby back pork ribs on the grill.

Indian Rock Vineyards – Owner Ed Bauer

We stumbled on the owner Ed Bauer out in the vineyards and had a lively chat with him about the winery and his philosophy of making good food-friendly wines to be sold at reasonable prices. He was proud to tell us that he has one of the best winemakers in California, Marco Cappelli. Marco wanted to escape the Napa Valley scene and moved to Indian Rock for a much quieter and serene lifestyle.

The wine club is the bread and butter of their wine sales. They have capped the wine membership at 700, and as members decide to drop out they offer new memberships to the public. If there are any openings, they list them on a chalkboard. On our visit, two spots were open and were quickly scooped up by guests during our tasting session. If you are in the Murphys area, you will want to put this tasting room on your list. The grounds are beautiful with a shaded picnic area. Bring a lunch and have a glass of Vermentino and enjoy the day.