Event generated more than $12 million for health care programs since 2015 MEDFORD, Ore. (Oct. 25, 2023) — After nearly a decade of events and fundraising to support children’s health care programs, Asante Foundation will no longer host Oregon Wine Experience® (OWE). After close evaluation of the overall investment and return, OWE is no longer financially viable as a fundraising event in a post-pandemic economy. “This is one of the most difficult decisions we’ve ever had to make. Asante is incredibly honored and proud of the experience and event we created for our community,” said Andrea Reeder, senior vice president and chief philanthropy officer of Asante. Since 2015, OWE has attracted tens of thousands of people from across the country to experience all-things Oregon wine and to fundraise for children’s health care at Asante, a local, community-owned and governed not-for-profit organization with nearly 6,000 employees who provide medical care to nearly 600,000 people in a nine-county area of Southern Oregon and Northern California. Like health systems nationwide, Asante is navigating financial challenges and is taking steps to conserve resources while remaining true to its mission to serve its community. Simultaneously, Asante Foundation has closely evaluated its own operations and the….

Everyone’s favorite passport is going digital! Beginning August 25th, 2023, you can have the exclusive mobile version of the Bear Creek Wine Trail’s passport delivered straight to your phone via text or email. Formed in 2011, the Bear Creek Wine Trail Association brings together eleven of the Rogue Valley’s premier award winning wineries. Recognized as “one of the worlds’s best wine travel destinations” by the Wine Enthusiast, the Bear Creek Wine Trail is centrally located in Southern Oregon just minutes away from Medford, Jacksonville Ashland, Talent, and Phoenix. As a bonus, world class theater, art galleries, shopping, mountain biking, hiking, and rafting, are just minutes away from visitors touring the wine trail. The BCWT passport is an excellent way to tour and taste the valley. Wineries include Belle Fiore Estate and Winery, Dana Campbell Vineyards, DANCIN Vineyards, Grizzly Peak Winery, Hummingbird Estate, Naumes Suncrest Winery, Paschal Winery, Pebblestone Cellars, StoneRiver Vineyards, Trium Wines, and Weisinger Family Winery. These eleven wineries are home to more than twenty-five of the most desired Burgundy, Bordeaux, Rhone, Spanish, and Italian varietals. The Bear Creek wineries have earned accolades and honors from some of the world’s most esteemed magazines and wine competitions, including the Wine….

Marca family to share Barbera and Nebbiolo with Medford, Oregon’s Sister City Medford, OR., April 4, 2023 — This month DANCIN Vineyards (www.dancin.com) will take part in the annual Vinum Festival (www.vinumalba) in Alba, Italy, in the famed Piedmont wine region. It is considered to be the largest open-air wine festival in Italy. The visit is an element of Medford, Oregon’s long Sister City relationship with Alba. On April 22-25 DANCIN owners Dan and Cindy Marca will present a wine master class followed by several pouring sessions in Alba’s historic center during the Festival. They will showcase the winery’s Barberas, a grape indigenous to the Monferrato in Southwestern Piedmont. Barbera is Piedmont’s most planted grape and is second in importance only to Nebbiolo. “We will also be sharing our first-ever Nebbiolo,” said Dan Marca, “along with four different expressions of Barbera from Southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley – three of which were awarded 93-point and 97-point scores and four Double Gold medals.” In addition to the Vinum master class and pouring sessions, the winery will host a blind tasting and pairing dinner with local winemakers for side-by-side comparisons, with the dinner prepared by Michelin-starred Chef Marc Lanteri. The next day brings a….

Unique shows to benefit local youth support organizations. Medford, Ore., September 3, 2021 — Following her four-chair-turn appearance on NBC’s popular singing competition “The Voice,” DANCIN Vineyards & Winery will present two performances by Chicago-based blues & soul singer/songwriter Katie Kadan on September 15 and 16 at 5:30 pm. In-person seating was limited to DANCIN wine club members and fans, and all spots have been claimed, but both concerts will be live-streamed for free on the winery’s Facebook page, www.facebook.com/DANCINVineyards. The concerts are designed to raise awareness of the vital work done by Hearts with a Mission www.heartswithamission.org and the Maslow Project www.maslowproject.com, nonprofits helping meet the needs of homeless youth and their families across the Rogue Valley. For more information, contact DANCIN Vineyards & Winery, 4477 South Stage Rd., Medford, (541) 245-1133. Background on Katie Kadan. Kadan is a Chicago-based blues & soul singer/songwriter who made it to the Top 4 finale and became a global crowd-favorite on NBC’s “The Voice.” Music industry luminary John Legend exclaimed: “Everything she sings, she makes it sound like it’s her song. She makes it sound magnificent. She’s a superstar. We’re fortunate that she’s even on our show.” Kadan’s vocal prowess is a force….

PHOENIX, OREGON (March 23, 2021) – Southern Oregon Winemakers Andy Myer (Goldback Wines), RobFolin (Ryan Rose Wine) and Joe Chepolis (Sound & Vision Wine Co.) have come together to launch Catalyst Wine Collective. Located at 4495 South Pacific Hwy #340 in Phoenix, Oregon, Catalyst Wine Collective will offer unique tasting options from each winery in their new modern space. “We are excited to have an outlet to share our wines with new and established customers,” says Rob Folin, Ryan Rose Winemaker. “Collaborating with Goldback Wines and Sound & Vision Wine Co. is a great option for us to work with like-minded Winemakers and business partners.” Blending the unique styles and backgrounds of the Catalyst Wine Collective wineries, visitors can expect a personalized tasting experience highlighting the individuality of each brand. Joe Chepolis and wife Carmen Nydegger started Sound & Vision with the goal to make wines that their friends wanted to drink. “Working together with Rob (Folin) and Andy (Myer) was a natural step in the evolution of our brand,” noted Chepolis, Sound & Vision Wine Co. Winemaker. “It has allowed us to follow our entrepreneurial spirit while doing what we love,” added Nydegger. The Collective launches amidst the fire….

The Bear Creek Wine Trail had an impressive showing at this year’s San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.  The wine trail, which now consists of 14 wineries, were awarded more than 25 medals; among those were Best of Class for Grizzly Peak Winery and Belle Fiore Winery, Double Gold for Weisinger Family Winery and Trium Wines, Gold for Grizzly Peak Winery, StoneRiver Vineyard and Trium Wines. The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition is one of the largest and most respected wine competitions in North America, evaluating nearly 5,700 wines from over 1,000 wineries.  Judges from major wine regions throughout North America came together to offer a diversity of expertise to each judging panel to determine the best of the best. Over the years, southern Oregon wineries have been making their mark in the wine world, racking up medals, and letting the world know that southern Oregon, the Rogue Valley, and the Bear Creek Wine Trail is truly in it to win it. Each winery along the trail is dedicated to creating the highest quality wines.  Paying the utmost attention to every detail from vine to bottle, resulting in wines that are receiving recognition at major competitions, as well as an impressive….

The Bear Creek Wine Trail will release the 2021 edition of the Bear Creek Wine Trail Passport on the first day of Spring, March 20, 2021. Passports will be available for purchase at all of the Bear Creek Wine Trail Wineries. Passports purchased during the release weekend will be treated to a free bonus taste that day. The Bear Creek Wine Trail wineries invite guests to “Spring forward” into the new year with hope, optimism, and great wine. This will be the eighth passport release since the group’s formation in 2011. The wine trail has grown to include 14 wineries. Passports are priced at $30 and entitle the bearer to 3 wine tastes at each of the 14 Bear Creek Wine Trail Wineries (4 tastes on release weekend), and 10% off all bottle purchases. Passports are valid for a year from the date of sale. The Bear Creek Wine Trail wineries include: Aurora Vines, Belle Fiore Winery, Dana Campbell Vineyards, Dancin Vineyards, Grizzly Peak Winery, Hummingbird Estate, Ledger David Cellars, Pebblestone Cellars, Paschal Winery, Platt Anderson, RoxyAnn Winery, StoneRiver Vineyards, Trium Wines, Weisinger Family Winery. Southern Oregon has emerged as a world class vinicultural region, resulting in an array of….

Sadly, Margaret Lyon of Daisy Creek Vineyard, one of Southern Oregon’s most-beloved and respected winery owners, has passed away. Respectfully, we offer our readers the following tribute to her – by Mike McClain. October 5, 1937 – December 27, 2020 – Margaret Lyon was born in Wray, Colorado on October 5, 1937 and left this world in Jacksonville, Oregon on December 27, 2020. After attending school for twelve years in Wray, Margaret headed off to the University of Colorado in Boulder where she majored in English and French. She would laugh remembering her college sorority days and especially when a sorority sister would try to get someone to go on a date with her cousin, Robbie, who, while he had a fancy sports car, was too short to get a look. That Robbie would later be known as Robert Redford.  After graduation from college, Margaret headed to Bellingham, WA where she was hired to teach high school French. That Christmas, she came home to attend the wedding of her best friend and in the process met the groom’s best man, Russ Lyon, who on August 21, 1960 became her husband. This past August, they celebrated 60 years of marriage. For….

World-renowned wine experts evaluated 315 Oregon wines; 76 merit an award-winning title  JACKSONVILLE, Ore. (Aug. 14, 2020) – Three Oregon wines won Best of Show honors from this year’s Oregon Wine Competition®, the platform of Oregon Wine Experience®, on Friday, Aug. 14. The 2020 virtual Medal Celebration saluted all of the participating wineries, 76 of which are going home with at least one medal—Silver, Gold, Double Gold or Best of Show. Wineries across Oregon enter their wines in the Oregon Wine Competition based on three categories: Specialty, White and Red. Below are the 2020 Best of Show honorees: Specialty: 2019 Brandborg All Hands Petillant Naturel Gewurtztraminer White: 2019 South Stage Cellars Romeo & Juliet White Blend Red: 2017 Quady North 4-2,A Syrah “I’m sure that a lot of it [the quality of Oregon’s wines] has to do with geography but I suspect a lot more of it has to do with Oregon talent,” states David Yoshida, Master Sommelier. “It [Oregon winemaking] really is such meticulous winemaking. The credit goes to the people themselves and their passion.” In addition to three Best of Show winners, 15 wineries merited a Double Gold, 38 took Gold and 120 received Silver. The full list….

Grand Tasting is Opportunity to Sample the Best Tempranillo Wines from Around Oregon For Immediate Release – December 3, 2019, Ashland, OR The Oregon Tempranillo Alliance (OTA) announced that it is in the final stages of preparation for the 2020 Oregon Tempranillo Celebration, which will be held January 18-19 at the Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites in Ashland, Oregon.  The Celebration kicks off with a unique, consumer-oriented wine class on Saturday, January 18th from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.  The OTA, in partnership with the Oregon Wine Experience® and Oregon Wine University®, is hosting the class titled “Discover Your Tempranillo Palate.”  The class will be led by famed Master of Wine and Oregon resident, Tim Hanni, and will focus on helping wine enthusiasts determine which style of Tempranillo best suits their particular palate. The class costs $75 and includes admission to the Sunday Grand Tasting. Seating is limited, so buy your tickets now at www.theoregonwineexperience.com. Meanwhile, the feature event of the Celebration will be the Grand Tasting, which takes place Sunday, January 19th from 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm.  This event is an opportunity for Tempranillo enthusiasts to sample from among the best Tempranillo wines produced in Oregon, accompanied by an array of sumptuous tapas and a complimentary logo souvenir wine glass. The….