Southern Oregon Wine and Food
Sams Valley – Southern Oregon Wine Country
Southern Oregon Wine and Artisan Food
Wine lovers are discovering Southern Oregon wine and artisan food — the two fastest growing industries in Southern Oregon with more than 60 wineries. Combining wine and food for culinary excursions or day trips is as fun as it’s satisfying.
Southern Oregon Wine
Southern Oregon wine country is truly a premier world-class wine destination. It offers visitors interactive and intimate experience with non-corporate wine makers and growers set in stunningly beautiful wine country. The rugged mountain valleys and diverse climates throughout the Southern Oregon wine region allow for a wide variety of intensely flavored wine grapes to be grown – more kinds of grapes thrive here than any other wine region in the world.
For information on the Southern Oregon wine region as a whole with its wineries, maps and events the Southern Oregon Winery Association (SOWA) has a very complete website.
Rouge Valley and Applegate Valley AVAs are the two closest to the Chanticleer Inn — both are within the Southern Oregon AVA. While it’s possible to visit wineries from both AVAs in one afternoon, focusing on one at a time makes for more leisurely tours.
Touring So. Oregon Wine Region
For “Do It Yourself” wine tours, visitors have many options and can spend multiple days exploring this elegant wine region. The Southern Oregon wine region can be organized by the sub-regional valleys/rivers: Bear Creek Valley, the Upper Rouge, and Applegate Valley. Each area has its own winery association with a website (listed below) providing information on all the member wineries and growers, their events, tour maps and downloadable brochures.
- Bear Creek Boutique Wineries — These wineries are truly boutique, all of them grow, bottle and sell their own wines offering an interactive experience for all visitors.
- Upper Rouge Wine Trail — Six family wineries and six different interpretations of wine. Follow the trail and taste award winning wines along the way.
- Applegate Wine Trail — From Historic Jacksonville to Grants Pass wander through stunningly scenic wine country on Rt. 238 choose from among 18 wineries to visit and taste.
Chocolate and Cheese
Lillie Belle Farm Chocolate
Ashland is a town for chocolate lovers: home of many artisan chocolatiers who distribute via the Internet and Ashland shops, such as Paddington Station and Ashland Food Co-op. Enchanted Florist has a counter on Main St and Dagoba Organic chocolate has a tasting room south of downtown. Early March is when they all gather to share their art at the annual Chocolate Festival held at the Ashland Springs hotel.
If passing by Central Point on I-5, you should take a small detour for a extraordinary culinary break. Just off Hwy 5 on exit 33, is a two-for-one stop, award-winning tasting opportunity: cheese and chocolate. The Rogue Creamery, an artisan cheese company dedicated to sustainability, and the art and tradition of making the world’s finest handmade cheese; and Lillie Belle Farms an artisan chocolates company creating hand-made confections using time-honored European techniques, but with a true American twist. Well worth the stop!
