Page 126 - Southern Oregon Magazine Winter 2018

chow | wine

husband, Doug, and Doug’s sister
and brother-in-law, Kelly and Duane Winemaker Vince Vidrine
Roberts. From the original five acres
of vineyard planted in 2007, they
have grown to twenty-three acres
featuring nine clones of Pinot Noir and
six clones of Chardonnay grapes.

Through that growth, they have seen the
community respond well to both their
wines and their expansion. “We’ve had
amazing support locally,” says Irvine, as
Irvine & Roberts’ signature Pinot noirs and
Chardonnays have been welcomed by local
shops, wine sellers and restaurants. “It’s
been a fantastic segue into opening our own
tasting room.”

With over 800 wineries in Oregon,
Donovan knows they have created a unique
and inviting variation in their new tasting
room, where their knowledgeable staff
offers a relaxed and informative connec-
tion to the wines being sampled. They also
offer special events and perks to their fast-
growing wine club. “I refer to them as our
family,” says Donovan of their wine club
members. “They believe in us, and have
become part of our story.”

“Wine’s supposed to be fun,” says Irvine,
and their tasting room offers club members
what Irvine refers to as “expanded tast-
ing experiences” including small, intimate
cooking classes with local chefs in their on-
site commercial kitchen, or pairing events
that showcase their wines. It’s a combina-
tion of value, quality, and relationship,
says Donovan that ideally suits their vision
for their winery and the beautiful setting
they enjoy. From the drive up through the
vineyards to the Northwest themes of the
tasting room overlooking the valley, says
Donovan, “We’ve created a warm envi-
ronment to share the vineyard’s story.” He
adds, “Being five minutes from downtown
Ashland doesn’t hurt either.”

Just above the tasting room, the new win-
ery was built to be state of the art, says
Donovan, but also with an eye to practi-
cal realities. “We wanted our winery to be
flexible and open, like a basketball court,”
he laughs. The multipurpose facility easily
adapts to each season with ample room for
crush, fermentation, barreling and bottling

124 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | winter 2018