Page 112 - Southern Oregon Magazine Fall 2018

chow | local habit

CUSTOM

CRUSH

Giving new voices
a chance to be heard

Chris Dennett

Photography by Ezra Marcos

nyone paying attention to the wine industry in Southern
Oregon knows one thing for certain. It’s growing, quickly.
ANew labels are showing up on shelves every vintage, and new
wineries are opening their doors every year. An important aspect of
this growth is the rise of the custom crush industry.

If you’re not familiar with custom crush, you can be forgiven. It’s a rel-
atively recent development locally. But while you may not be familiar
with the actual facilities, a list of their production wines would contain
more than a few recognizable labels.

Custom crush clients and their motivations can be as varied as the wines
they make. On one side of the spectrum, you might find hobbyists who
have an interest in the industry, or people with extensive knowledge of
wine but who only want to make small productions or aren’t interested
in building a full blown winery. Toward the middle of the spectrum you
might find folks who want to launch a full brand but need a revenue
stream before they can open a tasting room. On the other end from the
hobbyists, you might find people who already own large vineyards and
want to produce a label, but don’t have a full-time winemaker on staff.
Sometimes they are winemakers themselves who just need some space
to do their thing. You will even find on the extreme commercial side,
large wineries that are contracting out as custom crush clients because
they simply don’t have enough production space at their own winery.

No matter what the reason for becoming a custom crush client,
Southern Oregon is a great place to do it, because there is a growing
structure of professional and dedicated winemakers who not only love
their craft, but who do it very well. While some local wineries also
take on custom crush clients to better utilize their facilities and as an
additional revenue stream to supplement their regular labels, there are
three facilities specializing full time in custom crush production: Pallet
Winery—the 2009 brainchild of winemaker Linda Donovan, Barrel
42—operated since 2014 by winemaker Herb Quady, and Naumes—
overseen by winemaker Chris Graves since 2015.

A custom crush relationship is a necessarily close one. Since each client
has slightly different needs, flexibility and customization are the driv-
ing forces in a successful relationship. All three of these winemakers
Pallet
110 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | fall 2018