Building Bridges Rogue Valley Tempranillo

 

This wine is a Naked Wines selection.  My sister and her husband shared this wine with us at dinner the other night. 

First a little bit about the winemaker Scott Steingraber. 

After having a wine moment with an Oregon Cabernet Sauvignon, Scott and his family went all in in 2006 – never looking back – buying a ranch in Rogue Valley where they planted vineyards from scratch. Scott’s made wine from different areas for over 25 years – but Southern Oregon’s warmest and driest region won his heart. There, he can make his beloved Cabernet Sauvignon and other varieties – his way. The Rogue Valley isn’t Oregon Pinot country – it’s something new – and spectacular.

Now a little about the Rouge Valley in Oregon. 

Nestled in the southern-most reaches of Oregon, riding the border of California and comprised of 3 adjacent river valleys is the Rogue Valley AVA (a sub-appellation of the Southern Oregon AVA).  The area was originally planted by European settlers in the mid-1800s with the first official winery being Valley View Winery opened in 1873 by one of the regions pioneers in wine, Peter Britt.  Sadly, when prohibition went into effect, Rogue Valley was all but lost to memory until 1968 when an Oregon State University professor planted an experimental vineyard to great success and the area was essentially rediscovered.  Rogue Valley was established quite sometime after its revitalization, acquiring recognized AVA status in 1991.

With a large designated land area of a little over 1.1 million acres, only 87 vineyards are currently established with around 2,300 acres under vine (0.2% of total area).  There are only 33 wineries in the whole region to date.  Suffice to say, it is still a “small” region, excluding the size of the designated AVA boundaries.

Now the wine;

Rich red fruit with notes of smoke and pepper, coco and chocolate hints.  Very nice on the palette.  And I nice acisty to finish leaving you wanting another sip it paired well with the our dinner of T-Bone steaks and pasta. Absolutely delicious!

If you want this one look up Naked Wines and give it a try!

 

 

This wine was shared with me by my sister.