Page 101 - Southern Oregon Magazine Winter 2018

TO BUILD A FIRST

Ecodesign Tasting Room at
Cowhorn Vineyard and Garden

PAULA BANDY CLAIR THORINGTON PHOTOGRAPHY
ince the 2008 opening of Cowhorn Vineyard and Garden, almost 80 of their Rhone-style wines have
Sreceived a 90+ score. They have a quarter acre of 1,000 lavender plants, and they annually sell 7,000
pounds of asparagus to three local markets. Also grown on the estate are cherries, heirloom fruit trees,
artichokes, and hazelnuts. They have four dogs, and Bo graces the cover of the Winery Dogs of Oregon
book. Their recently completed elegant, modern Euro-style tasting room is the first in the world to
receive the rigorous Living Building Challenge (LBC) status. It’s currently overproducing energy at 190
percent. The tasting room also received a national award from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Among
the many accolades Cowhorn has received, a particularly shiny one came from Wine Advocate who called
them “Southern Oregon’s Viticultural Star.” Cowhorn may sound a bit charmed, but it has not come
without personal vision and a lot of hard, focused work by founders/owners Bill and Barbara Steele.
They reached for a star and they made it shine.

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