Page 102 - Southern Oregon Magazine Spring 2020

chow | wine

Apricity Vineyard seemingly has it all—bold, superb wine, an eclectic
tasting room, and a crew of phenomenal wine fanatics who are just
as passionate about running their organic wine operation as they are
tasting what it yields.

Started by partners Laloni Cook and Noah Lowry, Apricity Vineyard
was founded in 2014 on several core values—growing organically,
small in size, and sustainably. Before the vineyard, Lowry worked on
an expansive 500-acre ranch in Alturas, California. The sheer size of
the ranch made it difficult to farm totally organically like he’d wanted,
so he and Cook decided they would scale down and start a smaller
project. Since the pair loved wine and Cook hailed from Grants Pass,
it made sense to move north and begin their wine crafting journey in
Southern Oregon.

With the help of Laloni’s longtime friend and tasting room manager,
Terces Davis, the triumphant trio worked to revive an old vineyard in
the Applegate, formerly known as Crow and Bear Winery.

No matter the trials and tribulations they have gone through to cre-
ate flavorful, rich wines, the brains behind Apricity Vineyard stand
firmly behind their values of all-natural farming. They are certified by
Certified Naturally Grown, an organization whose “mission is to sup-
port our members by promoting sustainable agriculture through peer-
review certification, grassroots networking, and advocacy.”

While the vineyard itself is driven by an advocacy-based ethos, the tast-
ing room also upholds Cook, Davis, and Lowry’s standards of a totally
ethical business.

The space was remodeled over the span of two years with sustainabil-
ity in mind, as countless building materials used in the process were
repurposed. Upcycled bricks, barnwood, and hinges from their ranch
in California can be found all around the tasting room, along with trin-
kets that once belonged to Cook’s grandmother and a stunning cin-
der pine rough cut table that came from Lowry’s father. A hempcrete
feature wall, made from ground up stalks of industrial hemp plant,
also serves as another gorgeous, yet sustainable, focal point within the
tasting room.

This vineyard stands apart from the rest not only in its ethics-driven
methodologies, but also in the way it makes visitors feel. As soon as
you pull up to the wrought iron gated entrance of Apricity Vineyards,
it gives visitors the same sensation one would get when coming home
after a long day. Guests of all walks of life are encouraged to come as
they are and indulge in the cozy warmth of the repurposed fireplace
to share wine, beer and spritzers with loved ones— or even make new
friends along the way.

Although the tasting room is open Thursday through the weekend for
tastings, Sundays in particular are more of a community day, featuring
live jams played by Noah Lowry and company. “Someone might show
up with their drum or their bass, you just never really know what’s
going to happen,” said Cook. “It’s really cool that people feel comfort-
able enough to say, ‘Hey, I’ve got my flute, can I play?’”

100 www.southernoregonmagazine.com | spring 2020